The Mazda3 hatchback will be unveiled next week at the Bologna Motor Show, and Mazda has released a quartet of photos to help get everyone excited. The Euro backdrop means that the 5-door's engine lineup will include a 2.2L turbodiesel that's guaranteed to keep the EU carbon nannies placated. Up front, it wears the same moderately unnerving perma-smile as its sedan brother. Look for more info next week, and feel free to start mentally transforming it into the next Mazdaspeed3. We have.

It wasn't the number one pick of our readers (earning the silver medal in your voting), but Mazda managed to take the top honors at the LA Design Challenge with its KAAN concept. The design itself is a fanciful look into a future where all the roads in California are paved with... um, sub-level electro-conductive polymer (m'kay), which provides juice to the electronic tires that allow the KAAN to reach speeds of up to 250 mph. Up to 30 KAANs would travel together in formations that would cheat the wind, so MAZDA designed the vehicles so that they could fit tightly together in the peloton.

While GM is being swamped with the persistent rumors surrounding the addition/dissolution of Chrysler, Ford's rumor mill has been heading in the complete opposite direction. It appears Volvo is on the way out of Dearborn, but Mazda may be sneaking through the exit first. Recent reports since disputed by Mazda have Ford selling off a portion of its 33.4% stake in the Japanese automaker, which means the Blue Oval would lose majority ownership status.

Rumors of Ford selling part or all of its 33.4% share in Mazda have picked up steam this week since we first reported on them over the weekend, and analysts in Tokyo think a deal that "clears a cloud over Mazda" is imminent. Nikkei English News also reported that Ford has asked Japanese supplier Denso to purchase part of its stake in Mazda, but the Japanese news agency didn't claim any sources and Denso has declined comment in the matter. Most are guessing that potential buyers would include Mazda itself, as well as a number of companies over which the risk of investment could be spread, while Ford would likely hold on to at least some of its stake in the brand but lose its controlling share of the company.