2012 Mazda3 Navi, Tech, Manual on 2040-cars

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Mazda doubles down with a pair of Threes

Looking to appeal to the compact tuner crowd, Mazda brought two different flavors of its 2014 Mazda3 to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this week. The Club Sport 3 Concept hatchback (above) has more of a racing vibe to it, while the Vector 3 Concept sedan (right) looks to inject a little extra fashion into the all-new Mazda3.
Hotting up the 3, Mazda stuck with the stock 2.5-liter engine on the Club Sport 3 Concept but added a limited-slip differential and six-speed manual gearbox, the latter of which was lifted from the CX-5 crossover. Other upgrades include coil-over shocks, a performance exhaust, Brembo brakes and an aero body kit - the latter of which will be offered to buyers at a later date.
While the Vector 3 Concept does get some performance bits like two-piece Brembo brake rotors and grippier tires, the focus on this sedan is all about styling. Starting with a custom paint job and ghost stripes, the whole look is tied together with 19-inch, V-spoke Rays wheels.

2018 Mazda6, Porsche Panamera and Nissan Titan | Autoblog Podcast #541

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder and Associate Editor Reese Counts. We talk about driving the updated, turbocharged 2018 Mazda6, 2018 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo 4S Sport Turismo and the 2018 Nissan Titan S 4x4 King Cab. We also discuss aftermarket parts for the Chevy Colorado, pick our favorite 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels and, as always, help a listener buy a new car in our "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #541 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we've been driving: Mazda6, Porsche Panamera, Nissan Titan The aftermarket takes on the Chevy Colorado 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Aftermarket Podcasts Chevrolet Mazda Nissan Porsche Car Buying Truck Wagon Sedan Hot Wheels porsche panamera sport turismo

Crash test videos show how rust compromises safety

These recently released Swedish videos serve as a reminder that rust isn't just a cosmetic flaw, when it comes to cars. The insurance company Folksam and the homeowner organization Villaagarnas Riksforbund gathered examples of two relatively popular, but by now rusty cars, and then performed crash tests with them at the Thatcham Research facility in Britain. The results are sobering. The rustier cars chosen for the tests were first-generation Mazda6s, cars that have a reputation for early-onset rust in salty surroundings, such as the Nordic countries in Europe or the Salt Belt in the U.S. The cars in the other end of the spectrum were fifth-generation Volkswagen Golfs, which thanks to their body treatment only really start to show rust at over ten years old. But rust isn't just on the surface, it goes bone deep. While the Mazda did decently well in Euro NCAP testing as a new car, there's now a 20 percent higher risk of death in the 2003-2008 Mazda due to the degradation of its bodyshell. In the rusty car, the chassis rail separates from the floor, the footwell ruptures, the sill gives way, the seat mountings move and the dummy's head hits the B-pillar; all important failures, despite Thatcham saying the cars actually performed better in the crashes than they expected with all the rust. But still, the corroded structure isn't able to transmit loads in the way it was originally designed to do. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Golf does significantly better — despite rust flakes flying when the Golf hits the wall — as the years have only caused it to lose a single point. An important thing to remember is that the cars aren't tested in comparison to corresponding new, 2018 cars: the tests are in reference to the crashworthiness standards in place when they were new. The cars' airbags inflate like they were supposed to, but on the Mazda the dummy's head bottoms out the airbag due to the car's structure failing, meaning the airbag cannot perform as designed. Driven cautiously, an older car is still mostly fine for driving around. But tests like these remind us that it's not enough that a car runs and drives, if the body has turned into Swedish knackebrod. And if you repair the visible rust and the structure underneath remains as compromised as ever, there's an ugly truth under all the bondo. Perhaps it isn't such a bad idea to have yearly roadworthiness inspections.