GENEVA — Mazda will roll out two Mazda 3 models at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, but the new stop-start technology on one of the variants is not likely to make it into the U.S. market. The Japanese automaker will show off the Mazda 3 i-stop, with the stop-start technology, along with the Mazda 3 MPS — short for Mazda Performance Series — which is the European version of the Mazdaspeed 3.
"As it stands, we have no plans to bring i-stop to North America," Jeremy Barnes, Mazda North American Operations spokesman, told Inside Line on Tuesday. Regarding the Mazda 3 MPS, he said, "It is anticipated that it will be in the U.S."
The timetable for the Mazdaspeed 3 is expected to be a minimum of six to eight months in the U.S., although Barnes said he could neither confirm nor deny those plans.
The i-stop system is used in combination with the MZR 2.0 DISI — direct-injection spark ignition — engine. Mazda said the two technologies create a 12 percent improvement in fuel economy for the Mazda 3 over the previous 2.0-liter version.
In Geneva, Mazda will also introduce the Mazda 3 MPS with the MZR 2.3-liter DISI turbocharged engine that churns out 260 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque. It is also scheduled to go on sale in Europe shortly after the Geneva show.
Inside Line says: Mazda spices up the 2009 Geneva Auto Show with two tantalizing Mazda 3 variants. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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