Mazda has so much on the showroom floor to entice you this summer it's hard to know where to begin.

But since summer is all about vacations and travel, a good place to start is the all-new CX-9.

This seven-passenger crossover -- powered by a 250-horsepower, 3.5 liter V-6 -- is sumptuous enough inside to make the big luxury car makers nervous and powerful enough to make driving enthusiasts happy.

Inside, the CX9 has lots of aluminum, cylindrical shapes and blacked out instruments on a T-shaped instrument panel. There's cool blue illumination and indirect lighting located in the front and rear door trim and in the car's ceiling.

What I really appreciated about the CX-9 is that it has unusually large openings for the rear doors, and an easy one-touch lever that folds the second row seat back and moves it forward, thus making it a simple, comfortable process to get into the third row.

There's also a full complement of safety equipment, including roll stability control, anti-lock brakes, traction control, dynamic stability control and sensor activated side curtain air bags along all three rows in the interior.

	The 2007 Mazdaspeed3. Click photo for larger image.

CX-9 will be offered in Sport, Touring and Grand Touring models.

Prices are $29,035 to $33,895. Fuel economy is rated at 18 mpg city and 24 highway.

Another Mazda product that's "hot-hot-hot" this summer is the all-new 2007 Mazdaspeed3 with its 2.3 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that puts out 263 horsepower and has a top speed of 155 mph.

This car hits 60 mph in 5.8 seconds yet has a base price of $22,800 and fuel mileage rating of 20 mpg city and 28 highway.

It has rack-and-pinion steering, a six-speed manual transmission, power equipment, tilting and telescoping steering wheel -- and that's just for starters.

Inside you'll find a black finish to everything with red stitching on the steering wheel, seats and the manual transmission shift knob.

The Mazdaspeed3 has a stiffer body than other versions of the car, as well as reinforced springs and stabilizer bars. The front fenders are flared and it features 18-inch, 10-spoke alloy wheels.

In other news, Mazda's hot CX-7 crossover is flying off showroom floors. It's a car with a terrific, low-slung sexy look that you won't find at other dealerships. That look has been achieved partly by one of the most steeply sloped windshields in the industry -- a 66 degree angle that's sharper than what you'll find on most sports cars.

Inside you'll find a three-dial instrument cluster, three-spoke steering wheel and two-toned surfaces. All the plastics are soft to the touch with the overall impression being of a much more expensive car. One interesting feature is a reversible trunk surface -- the plastic underneath alloys you to carry dirty cargo and keep the carpet clean, too.

Power is provided by a 244-horsepower, 2.3 turbocharged, engine rated at 19 mpg city and 24 highway with two-wheel drive and 18 city/24 highway with all-wheel drive.

What's Coming in 2008

Mazda will unveil an all-new Mazda6, its sporty family sedan. Not much is known about it right now other than that it will be larger, sportier and more powerful than the current generation model.