Mazda brings all-new Mazda5 and Shinari Concept to LA

At this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, Mazda North American Operations will be making the debut of the all-new North American version of the popular Mazda5 multi-activity vehicle. The new vehicle will be sharing the Mazda stand with the world premiering Shinari concept car.

The new Mazda5 is incorporating details taken from the Nagare design language which, inspired by the beauty of nature, which delivers an elegant look that calls to attention.  Besides the new look the new Mazda5 also gets new engine for the North American market, a 157-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that can be paired with either a manual or automatic transmission. The new Mazda continues to offer good fuel economy and unexpected drivability.

The Mazda5 arrived in showrooms in Europe in October 2010 with two petrol engines: the 150-PS MZR 2.0 DISI with direct injection and ‘i-stop’, Mazda’s unique stop start system, and the 115-PS MZR 1.8-litre, both paired with a six-speed manual transmission. In the beginning of 2011 a new engine will make its debut: the MZ-CD 1.6-litre diesel engine with 115 PS and six-speed manual transmission.

The Shinari design concept will be sharing the spotlight with the Mazda5 at Mazda’s Los Angeles Auto Show stand. The new design concept from the brand is the first vehicle to feature Mazda’s new global design language, Kodo, or the “Soul of Motion.” This designed has been conceived under the direction of Ikuo Maeda, the company’s new Global Design Director and evokes lessons learned from the successful Nagare series of concepts, taking them to another level. Although people will never see a vehicle that looks just like this on the road, these designs works as a learning tool for designers, offering new ways to explore form and surface language.

The Shinari is a pure design concept model of a four-door, four-seater sports coupe which expresses the Kodo design theme in a graceful and carefree form. In Japanese the word shinari is used to describe the powerful yet supple appearance of great resilient force when objects of high tensile strength, such as steel or bamboo, are twisted or bent. It also refers to the appearance of a person or animal as it flexibly transforms its body to generate a fast movement.

The two vehicles will be presented to the media during a press conference scheduled to November 17th. The 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show will be open to the public on 19-28 November 2010.