2004 Mazda Rx-8 Base Coupe 4-door 1.3l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai, Mazda and Ford offering support to victims of Colorado flooding

Hyundai, Mazda and Ford have initiated programs to aid victims of the recent floods across Colorado. Hyundai is stepping in to give help directly to drivers, offering those with flood-damaged vehicles a $750 credit on a new Hyundai. "At this stressful time, the last thing flood victims should be concerned with is how they are going to replace their water-damaged or destroyed vehicles," Dave Zuchowski, executive vice president of Hyundai's American sales, said.
The Hyundai program will run from September 18 through the end of October, and will cover all citizens in counties declared disaster areas by FEMA. Residents will need to provide proof of residency and a letter from their insurance company describing the damage to their vehicle.
Mazda, on Friday, announced that it'd be donating $25,000 to the American Red Cross and a further $15,000 to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley, in the name of disaster relief. Mazda's President and CEO, Jim O'Sullivan, said, "The flooding across the states of Colorado, Texas and New Mexico has been absolutely devastating for not only the people living there but their four-legged loved ones as well. Mazda hopes that those in need can get the help they deserve through such great organizations as American Red Cross and Humane Society of Boulder Valley."

Edmunds ranks the best used cars for 2013

When people ask us what car we would recommend for them, it's usually not easy to answer. To make a useful recommendation we must consider which of the numerous vehicle segments fits their needs best, and then choose one of the many vehicles offered in each segment. For some people, new cars don't meet their expectations of value, because they lose so much of it the moment they are purchased and driven off the dealer lot. For them, there's always the used-car market, where great deals can be found, but cars' histories of reliability and maintenance records - and perhaps that Certified Pre-Owned warranty - become ever-important factors playing into purchase choice.
To help out, Edmunds has done us the favor of assembling a list of the best used vehicles money can buy, covering model years 2006-2011, according to what it considers the most important criteria when shopping for used autos: reliability, safety, value and availability. That means unreliable, unsafe, super-expensive or limited-edition models don't appear on the list, but instead cars from each segment that are more likely to satisfy the general population.
There are some real goodies on the list, including but not limited to vehicles such as the capable Honda Fit, the cultish Honda Accord coupe (which can be had with a 240-horsepower V6 and a six-speed manual transmission some years), and the powerful Chevrolet Corvette. While Edmunds' choice of the Volvo C70 for best used convertible baffled us at first (not that it's a bad car), it redeemed itself by stating that the Mazda MX-5 still is an unofficial top choice if you don't require more than two seats.

Ward's releases 10 Best Interiors list for 2014

While we're still a ways off from the automotive awards season proper, where things like North American Car and Truck of the Year, Motor Trend's Car of the Year and Car and Driver's Ten Best are named, that doesn't mean there aren't trophies being handed out to deserving automakers. Ward's 10 Best Interiors being one of them.
As the name might imply, the magazine focuses on the very best interior treatments in the US market. Whereas some awards purposely exclude extreme, high-dollar offerings, Ward's considers them - the only requirement is that a vehicle has a "new or significantly redesigned interior."
Ward's offered up the list of winners in simple, alphabetical order, and it only seems fair to do the same: