Mazda

A rumor is making the rounds that will be welcomed by fans of the Mazda MX-5. Right now, the car uses a 155 hp four under the hood. Word is that the 2019 year model will get a pretty significant horsepower boost.

Mazda is showing off the 2018 MX-5 RF at the Chicago Auto Show. For the second year of its production, there are some new features along for the ride. For starters, all MX-5 models now come standard with Advanced Keyless Entry.

Mazda has announced some sweet new options for the 2018 MX-5 that will go on sale next month in the US. One of the most notable options is a new Dark Cherry soft top. That really means maroon, but it still looks very nice.

For the last few years, Mazda has been pushing its entire line into their muscular and dynamic “KODO” design language with great success. If you ask me, it’s the most distinctive, consistent, and identifiable look that any automaker has on the road today.

Has there ever been a time when a little Mazda sports car hasn’t kicked ass? Sure, they may be a bit quirky, and lord knows rotary-powered platforms had their fair share of maintenance and performance faults, but dammit if they haven’t all been cool in one regard or another.

The Mazda MX-5 (Miata) might not be a high-powered sports car in stock form, but it has the handling, balance, and fun to drive nature that make it fantastic on the track. The ND MX-5 is already all kinds of awesome, but if you want more, the guys at North Carolina outfit Long Road Racing can turn the MX-5 into the track car of your dreams.

To be completely honest, I was rather looking forward to revisiting Mazda’s micro-sized CX-3 crossover. It had been about a year and a half since I last reviewed a Touring model, and was overjoyed when I saw the “Dynamic Blue Mica” GT version roll into my drive. 

Talk to anyone who likes to drive, and they’ll surely talk to you about a Mazda product they’re fond of. Whether it’s the nimble and light Miata, or the family-friendly-yet-sporty CX-9, Mazda makes cars for people who like to drive.

One of the first things that people who track Mazda Miata/MX-5 cars want to do when they start shedding weight to go faster is remove all that heavy soft top stuff and put on a factory hard top.

When the latest generation (ND) Mazda MX-5 Miata was first released, I thought it was a fantastically fun and well designed car. Going back to basics by providing a lightweight, balanced vehicle with a responsive engine and great transmission made it the best Miata since the highly-regarded first-generation model.

The Mazda CX-5 first launched just a few years back with the 2013 model year, and quickly rose to become the best-selling vehicle in the entire Mazda line here in the US. With over 370,000 global sales last year, and representing about 1/4 of Mazda’s total sales, it’s always a risky proposition to make changes to such a popular and important part of any manufacturer’s lineup. 

Not that long ago, Mazda changed its tagline to “Driving Matters,” and in a rare case of a product living up to its marketing message, I think Mazda has truly delivered on that promise. I can’t name another full-line manufacturer whose entire line-up has such consistent concern for the driving experience.

Mazda is showing off a cool new limited edition Miata that will be offered to only 400 people in the UK. The car is the MX-5 Arctic package, and it replaces all the glossy black trim with shiny silver.

At first glance, the current Mazda CX-5 isn’t an old vehicle. In a sea of crossovers that are currently on sale, it looks better than many of them and has the good driving dynamics present in all Mazda products.

Mazda has a pair of sweet MX-5 concepts that will be coming to SEMA 2016 early next month and I want them both in my garage. The MX-5 RH Kuro has a cool custom paint color that is a semi-matte metallic in grey.