With Mazda6 sales having sagged in the showroom, there's been some speculation that the Japanese automaker might just abandon the midsize car segment in the U.S. But a concept car introduction headed for the Tokyo Motor Show may lay that notion to rest.

Mazda Takeri is the next-generation midsize sedan concept car due for the December show.

The Takeri not only takes Mazda in a new styling direction for what most brands is the mainstay sedan -- for Mazda, it's actually the smaller Mazda3 -- but it also includes the latest technology. That would be Mazda's Skyactiv technology, an array of fuel-saving ideas including, in this case, a clean-diesel engine with stop-start technology at intersections and regenerative braking.

As for that styling, it is designed to express "an intuitive sedan identity" and "an overwhelming emotional beauty," Mazda says.

For those who occasionally love the way a rental car drives enough to want to own one, one rental car giant is going to make the process a little easier.

Enterprise Holdings, which operates both the Alamo, Enterprise and National, car rental chains is starting a program in which it affixes Quick Response, QR codes, to select Mazda6 vehicles throughout the U.S. Though the experiment, renters can scan the codes with their smartphones to learn more about buying a Mazda6.

People who rent a Mazda6 from Enterprise will be encourage to scan this QR code with their smartphones
Enterprise says the effort, "OnRampSM," is an industry first. It will eventually add QR codes to nearly 1 million vehicles throughout North America.

Scanning the QR code with a smartphone launches a mobile-optimized site where car rental customers can learn more about the vehicles they are renting, find a local dealer if they are interested in purchasing a similar car to the one they are driving, and more. The QR codes are placed on key tags as well as on the driver side window of all vehicles.

"Placing QR codes in our rental fleet vehicles is an innovative way to connect with drivers during the millions of test drives taking place in Enterprise's rental vehicles monthly," said Susan Lombardo, vice president of vehicle acquisition for Enterprise Holdings. "OnRamp exposes the thousands of renters who are likely looking for a new vehicle to a new experience that extends beyond the rental transaction and puts a spotlight on vehicles from our manufacturing partners like Mazda."

OnRamp starts this week with the special QR codes appearing in select Mazda6 vehicles throughout the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand network of locations.

"Mazdas are for those who care about what they drive, how it drives, and the way it makes them feel," said Ron Stettner, vice president for Mazda North America.

Mazda surprised folks today by announcing that the redesigned 2014 Mazda6 sedan will have its world debut at the -- drum roll -- Moscow auto show on Aug. 29. It also released these photos of the all-new car.

The Moscow unveiling indicates how much Russia is being seen by automakers as a key growth market (it also helps that, unlike the rest of Europe, Russia isn't being dragged into economic funk by Greece). It's also a bit of a snub for France -- the roll-out had been expected at the Paris show in September, where Mazda now says it will show some additional versions.

The 2014 Mazda6 is expected to begin going on sale in the first quarter next year. Mazda says only that specific markets and models will be announced later.

In a bit of technical news about the new 6, Mazda says it will have the "world's first capacitor-based," rather than battery-based regenerative braking system. Called i-ELOOP, for Intelligent Energy Loop, Mazda says the system, about which it gave no more details, will provide a 10% fuel economy boost.

As you can see, the look of the 2014 Mazda6 closely follows the Takeri concept car (at right) that made its North American debut in New York this spring. Takeri was Mazda's third concept in its new Kodo ("soul of motion") design theme.

The new Mazda6 will be the company's second global model -- after the 2013 CX-5 crossover -- that was developed from the pavement up with the full package of Mazda's SkyActiv fuel-efficient technologies -- new gas and diesel 4-cylinder engines and new transmissions, as well as weight-saving design and construction.

It will be sold with the SkyActiv gas and diesel engines worldwide and we hope here, too. Mazda has said it will bring a diesel to the U.S. , says spokeswoman Beverly Braga, but has not said what product or products will get it. We'd like to put in a vote for both the CX-5 and Mazda6, for the torque and the mpg's -- particularly since SkyActiv means no more V-6 for the Mazda6.

The current 6 is something of a 'tween model -- on the small side of the mid-size class, bigger, heavier and more expensive than a compact. It has not done huge volume, but sales of 25,369 in the first half this year are up 63% from the period last year (Autodata). And it was, when it rolled out in 2002, the first of a new generation of Mazdas to be pitched with the Zoom-Zoom brand message.

The new Mazda6 (the Atenza in Japan) will be built for North America at Mazda's Hofu Plant in Japan. The current model is made for North America at the Flat Rock, Mich., plant Mazda shares with partner Ford, and also is made at Hofu and in China.

"The decision to relocate to Hofu and consolidate the production ... makes the most sense for our business," Mazda CEO Takashi Yamanouchi said in a statement in June. "However, we are committed to working with Ford, our joint venture partner in (Flat Rock), to identify potential future opportunities for the plant."

Mazda will give the redesigned Mazda6 a soup-to-nuts reveal in just a few days, but the family sedan won't come from Flat Rock, Mich. That's where the automaker has built the Mazda6 for a decade, but it announced more than a year ago that Mazda6 production in Flat Rock would end. That end comes today, as the Detroit News reports a small ceremony will mark the final Mazda6 rolling off the line.

Mazda plans to import future Mazda6s for the U.S. market from overseas. The automaker will retain a 50/50 stake with Ford in the Flat Rock plant, a joint venture between the two automakers since 1992. Flat Rock also builds the Ford Mustang and, with another 1,200 jobs and $550 million investment by Ford, will add the next-gen Fusion.

The Mazda6 hasn't sold well. It arrived in summer 2008, and sales for the year hit 52,590 — a level not reached since, and still a fraction of competitors like the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima. Known as AutoAlliance International, the Flat Rock assembly plant's history includes the Mazda MX-6 and Ford Probe, plus the Mazda 626 and the two-door Cougar from Ford's erstwhile Mercury division.