Mazda Motor Corporation has announced the debut of mixed model production on the engine parts machining line at its engine plant located near Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima. Reports say that the engine plant manufactures the new 3.7-liter V6 engine and the current in-line four-cylinder 1.8- to 2.3-liter MZR series gasoline engines. For the month of May, V6 engines were produced. It was nearly four years since the production of the engine stopped in August 2003. Mazda announced in North America that the new V6 engine will be installed in the 2008 CX-9 that is scheduled to go on sale this summer. Once incorporated with other performance parts, a Mazda vehicle will surely have an optimum performance.

Mazda’s Senior Managing Executive Officer in charge of Production and Business Logistics, Masaharu Yamaki, said, “Achieving mixed model production for both V6 and in-line four cylinder gasoline engine parts machining at the Ujina plant is the first step toward Volume and Model Mix Flexible Production, which lies at the heart of Mazda’s Manufacturing Innovation concept. Going forward, Mazda will progressively introduce the latest techniques to all of its production facilities in Japan and overseas as part of our Manufacturing Innovation initiative. We will continue to support improvements in production that raise Mazda’s brand value and enhance our business efficiency under the ‘One Mazda’ banner.”

The hyped-up Mazdaspeed 3 is all about its factory-tuned version of Mazda Parts that will surely rock the socks out of any speed enthusiasts foot. With its powerful engine that could generate 300 ponies under the hood up to its chassis-riding on a racetrack-type coil over suspension kit; this ensemble of performance parts definitely means business.

The appeal of the Mazdaspeed came into focus during the test drive’s slogging through stop-and-go traffic. The car was said to feel strikingly “normal” according to some journalistts who tried out the car. Granted, that’s what you’d expect when you spend roughly $30,000—$24,650 for a Mazdaspeed 3 Grand Touring five-door hatchback and nearly $5,000 in aftermarket goodies. But you’d be surprised by how many tuner specials should be consigned to one of the lower circles of automotive hell.

Dramatically improving the Mazdaspeed 3 is a challenge. Thanks to a turbocharger, intercooler and direct injection, the 2.3-liter twincam four-cylinder engine cranks out 263 hp and 280 pound-feet of torque. Once you factor in some hardware from the Mazdaspeed accessory catalog, the Mazdaspeed 3 gets an aggressive new personality.

The coil-over kit ($1,775, plus $250 for recommended camber links) sits the car right down on the ground. The Mazdaspeed 3 itself is an inch lower than a conventional Mazda 3, and the coil-overs can reduce the ride height another 0.5 to 1.5 inches. The dampers are adjustable in both compression and rebound, and low- and mid-speed damping are affected, so body control is enhanced while ride quality remains much the same.

Once you get the car’s weight where you want it by adjusting ride height and corner weights, R-compound 225/40ZR18 Toyo Proxes RA1 tires ($212 each) ride on forged alloy wheels ($550 each).

Pop the hood and feast your eyes on the shiny, sinuous curves of the mandrel-bent aluminum cold-air intake ($399). Peeking out from the rear bumper skirt is the polished tip of the stainless-steel cat-back exhaust ($729). Stavana is coy about how much power these bolt-on Mazdaspeed Accessory pieces produce, but our test numbers suggest at least 25 hp, which would put the Mazdaspeed in the same territory as the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru WRX STI.

It’s an old story. A huge team of highly skilled engineers devotes hundreds of thousands of man-hours to optimizing the design of a production car. Then, some yahoo picks a bunch of parts out of a catalog while he’s sitting on the can, and slaps them on his car with the help of two buds and a case of Coors. Can you say “prescription for disaster”?

Mazda didn’t get into this business until 2004, and since then, its sales have increased at about 50 percent per year. Jack Stavana, director of accessory operations for Mazda North American Operations, claims that the reason lies in Mazdaspeed’s interest in performance, not appearance.

“It’s all real stuff, and it’s all track-proven,” he says in an interview. “We don’t just put stickers on the cars, and you’ll never see Mazdaspeed sticking a badge on an air freshener. We’re not about overblown aero kits and huge spoilers and airdams that drag on the ground. We’re going after high-performance addicts. So the question we ask ourselves is, ‘What can we do to make the car better?”