Of course, Maeda, who took over the design position almost a year ago, has other credits making him seem a natural heir to the brand heritage. For example, he’s the man behind the shape of the Mazda RX-8 sports car – and he’s the son of the man who designed the original Mazda RX-7. That’s a pretty impressive auto design lineage.

“I was a real car lover long before I started designing cars,” Maeda told the press, in an interview at Mazda’s headquarters in Hiroshima, Japan. He continued, “”There are lots of car enthusiasts at Mazda, but I think I’m at the top.”

And what’s his top priority? Keeping Mazda cars zoom-zooming is definitely near the peak. He races one of the company’s MX-5 Miatas, when he can find the time, and in his private garage, a Lotus Elise sits in wait. Even more, he says he wants to bring back the RX-7.

“I do have a strong yearning to revive the RX-7 during my tenure,” he said. “But in order for that to happen, we need the U.S. economy to come back, first and foremost.”

Meanwhile, Maeda is concentrating on a less racy Mazda, the Mazda5 minivan with wavy side paneling (meant to invoke fluidity). It may not be a sports car, but it’s inspired, in part, by a series of concept cars known as the Nagare, which he inhereited from his predecessor Laurens van den Acker, originally of Ford Motor Company. Of the Nagare, which means “flow” in Japanese, Maeda says, “”It is like a Japanese garden. It encapsulates nature in a restricted area. It re-creates nature in something man-made.”

In announcing the price level, Jim O’Sullivan, Mazda North American Operations CEO said, “Bringing any new car to market at a competitive price has always been critical, but seldom more so than today. Customers are looking for that rare combination of style, dynamics, economy and a great price, and the all-new 2009 Mazda6 delivers on all levels.” (Buyers of the Mazda6 are also supporting the national economy since this is the only model Maza builds in the U.S. at a plant in Flat Rock, Michigan.)

So how’s Mazda6 doing for sales this year? Not all that poorly. In the first half of 2008 the company moved 33,063 units, a climb of 1.2 percent over 2007. As to performance, you can expect to get about 17 to 21 mpg around town and anywhere from 25 to 29 out on the road. Not the best available, but reasonable. Certainly worth of a test drive if you’re in the market for new wheels.