2011 Mazda2 Launched at LA Auto Show

Mazda finally unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show the Mazda2 model which is going to be sold in the United States starting 2010. The US-bound Mazda2 features the same smiling face we've seen on other models launched by the Japanese carmaker worldwide while the interior has been reworked, now looking similar to the Mazda3's.

Even if it is expected to hit US stores next year as model year 2011, only a few details are actually available regarding the car. For example, we do know that power will come from a 1.5-liter four-cylinder powerplant mated to either a five-manual or a four-speed automatic transmission but mileage and performance details are still kept secret.

However, Mazda officials are claiming that this it the most fuel-efficient model ever sold by the Japanese carmaker in the United States.

"Mazda2 will be the most fuel-efficient car in our showroom, and the most fuel-efficient car ever sold in North America by Mazda," said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of Mazda North American Operations, according to AP. "It is everything that the other cars in our lineups are, just in a more focused package."

Mazda2 is one of the most successful models in Mazda's lineup, with sales driven forward by government incentives across the world. In Europe for instance, consumers were attracted by fuel efficiency figures which, in the case of the local 1.5-liter engine version, reach 30.9 mpg city and 48 mpg highway. The European edition develops 103 horsepower and 137 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm.