More pics of the Mazda Hakaze concept
click above image to view all the new Hakaze photos
Mazda has had a successful auto show season so far thanks to the warm reception of its first two concepts, the Nagare and Ryuga. Unveiled at the L.A. and Detroit auto shows respectively, those two concepts were admittedly as far from production ready as you can get. Mazda's third and final concept for this show season, the Hakaze, is said to be the only one of the three that could be made production ready in a relatively short amount of time. Well, we brought you a large gallery of images showing the development and design team behind the Hakaze concept already, but there were only two exterior shots of the vehicle and no interior shots in that batch of snaps. KickingTires.com has come across almost a dozen additinal shots that show the Hakaze in real world situations, as well as the interior.
[Source: KickingTires.com]
Gallery: Mazda Hakaze Concept
After viewing the additional images, we have to admit that we're lost on how the Hakaze is supposed to be any more production ready than Ryuga, for instance. While the exterior is an obvious evolution of the brand's "emotion of motion" design ethos, it doesn't seem to work as well as wrapped around the traditional proportions of a modern day CUV. Those surface waves on the sides that worked so well on the Nagare and Ryuga make the Hakaze look like a malnourished dog with its ribs showing. The interior, as well, if a designer's flight of fancy with the center console comprised of three vertical lines flanked with glowing orange buttons.
We're certainly not about to trash the Hakaze for being too much a concept, but we're disappointed Mazda doesn't have something for us a little more grounded in reality. If it were up to us, we'd fast track the Ryuga concept into production as a closed coupe counterpart to the MX-5, but that's just us.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
NoNameDenton 7:38PM (2/21/2007)
Kinda looks like a 4X4 hatchback car (yes I have actually seen one in Tennessee)
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Rossi 7:58PM (2/21/2007)
one word.
UGLY.
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Lithous 8:21PM (2/21/2007)
Are these guys making fun of their majority shareholder's excessive use of chrome grilles? That is not a very nice thing to do.
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Howard Kerr 8:31PM (2/21/2007)
And now, from the same folks who brought you the Isuzu Vehicross........
Well, not really, but doesn't it look like that kind of a vehicle?
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BOB 8:59PM (2/21/2007)
Didn't I see this in an iNfomercial in October, with Ron Popeil selling it as...........
"THE GINSU COMBINATION JACK-O-LANTERN CUTTER AND
FINISHED, LIGHTED JACK-O-LANTERN"?
____________________________________________________
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Jap H8r 7:20AM (2/22/2007)
Must be Japanese for "looks like crap!"
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doglet 10:43PM (2/21/2007)
the answer to a question no one asked. ugly useless and a complete waste of space. take it away, i dont want to see it again
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BartMack 10:54PM (2/21/2007)
Ha. Mazda's making fun of crossovers, aren't they?
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BartMack 10:56PM (2/21/2007)
wait... shouldn't it be called the seppuku?
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A_DUCK 11:36PM (2/21/2007)
Is it on the way to rob a bank or something?
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Carletti 11:51PM (2/21/2007)
This automobile is a fairly disturbing sight. Based on this showing, my hope is that Mazda Hakaze designers don't take themselves too seriously, respectively. I'm not trying to appear as if I am in a state of hyperbole but, nonetheless, the Hakaze is probably one of the most odd concept cars I have ever seen.
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Frogwhistle 12:35AM (2/22/2007)
I'm pretty sure there must have been a transcription error along the way somewhere. "Hakaze?" Surely that should have been "Hazukashi." the Japanese word for "embarrassed."
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BOB 2:46AM (2/22/2007)
NOW I DECIDED THEY MADE THEIR CONCEPTS UGLY/ CONTROVERSIAL SO WE WOULD NOTICE MAZDA AND TALK ABOUT THEM.
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mikomi 7:53AM (2/22/2007)
This concept does not look too bad if they did something to the grille and the gills. That's just a personal opinion of course. But CUVs are not my thing, impractical for my daily needs.
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felipe 8:22AM (2/22/2007)
lithous- thats hysterical.
from the back, it looks like a big eye. actually my eye hurts looking at the big eye..... it should blink when it rains instead of a rear wiper.
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Mike 8:50AM (2/22/2007)
I agree with Rossi. UGLY.
http://www.internetseriousbiz.com/
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C. McFeeny 8:59AM (2/22/2007)
Gotta go with the crowd on this one. I like Mazda a whole lot and I think their styling team has done an excellent job with the 3, CX-7 & CX-9 (and the forth coming 2) but this looks ridiculous. The grill looks like a big Pokemon smiley-face. The rest of it is pretty cool, though. I like the wavy body details. If they could tweak the grill to look more in tune with the rest of the body and less like a cartoon it would be cool. Either way, it's just a concept.
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Tal 12:56PM (2/22/2007)
Basic smooth flowing shape looks good.
Another artists' approach is needed to create a more palatable end product if Mazda intend to market it.
There is an article within todays group about the many Mazda offerings of crossovers/ Does this fit into the already crowded category?
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ebm14 1:36PM (2/22/2007)
This looks like a Sperm Whale cross-breed with an Acura MDX.
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DAN SMITH 10:18AM (3/02/2007)
MAZDA NATION:
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE MAZDA PLANS TO OWN A VERY LARGE CHUNK OF THE CROSSOVER MARKET, AND IS POSITIONING ITS PRODUCTS TO GRAPPLE WITH EVERYTHING FROM INFINITI'S ALL NEW CX TWINS TO HYUNDAI'S VERA CRUZ. THEY'VE CERTAINLY GOT ALL OF THE NECESSARY PLATFORMS, DRIVETRAINS AND POWERPLANTS TO GET THE JOB DONE, AND THEIR NEW DESIGN LANGUAGE JUST NEEDS TO BE RATIONALIZED FOR PRODUCTION. IF I WERE THE COMPETITION, I THINK I'D BE LOOKING FOR A VERY SERIOUS ASSAULT FROM THIS MANUFACTURER ACROSS MY ENTIRE MODEL LINEUP.
BETWEEN HYUNDAI, INFINITI AND MAZDA, I THINK NEARLY EVERY HOLE IN THE DIKE IS GOING TO GET PLUGGED. AND ANY EXCESS SPILLAGE COULD BE CLEANED UP WITH JUST A LITTLE KITCHEN MOP ACTION.
BOTH THE MAZDA RYUGA AND HAKAZE LOOK TO BE INTENDED AS BOOKENDS FOR THE HOT SELLING CX7, WITH THE RYUGA SETTLING NATURALLY INTO THE GRAND TOURING SEGMENT AND THE HAKAZE BECOMING A HIGH PERFORMANCE TWO DOOR HATCH. FORD CERTAINLY HAS AN AMPLE SUPPLY OF UNDERUTILIZED PRODUCTION CAPACITY DOMESTICALLY IN ODER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN, AND WITH THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF THE EDGE AND MKX, THE ENTIRE GROUPING WOULD CONSTITUTE A POWERFUL THREAT TO ANYONE IN THE MARKET. AND FORD'S OWN CUVs ARE SUCH VERY DIFFERENT PRODUCTS WITH THEIR OWN DISTINCTIVE PERSONAS, THAT THIS BROAD SURGE OF VEHICLES WON'T LIKELY BE FOUND EATING ITS OWN TO ANY MEANINFUL DEGREE.
THE HAKAZE COULD SIMPLY BE DROPPED ONTO A SHORTENED EDGE PLATFORM, ARMED WITH A MAZDASPEED 2.3 LITER TURBO, AN MX5 6-SPEED MANUAL, BUCKET SEATS, ALL-WHEEL DRIVE, AND THEN YOU'D HAVE A POTENT ADVERSARY FOR EVERYTHING FROM THE INFINITI CX35, TO NISSAN'S NEW ALTIMA COUPE, AS WELL AS GM'S RAPIDLY EXPANDING INFLUX OF OPEL PRODUCTS; EFFECTIVELY CUTTING DEEP INTO SATURN'S EFFORTS TO EXPAND THE FOOTPRINT THAT THE GERMANN MANUFACTURER'S PREMIUM PRICED VEHICLES LIKE THE NEW SATURN VUE REDLINE AND PERHAPS EVEN THE OPEL INSIGNIA, SHOULD IT BE PUT INTO PRODUCTION ALONGSIDE CHEVROLET'S CORVETTE AND CADILLAC XLR ALREADY IN PARALLEL PRODUCTION IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY. FORD'S NEW MANAGEMENT TEAM IS ADVANCING ON A WHOLE HOST OF FRONTS, AND YOU CAN EXPECT A LOT OF SURPRIZES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS; UNPLEASANT SURPRIZES FOR THE COMPETITION, BUT ONES SURE TO FIRE UP CAR ENTHUSIASTS LIKE US. THAT'S IT FOR NOW. I'M DAN SMITH FROM SQUARE-ONE AUTOMOTIVE.
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