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2014 Mazda6 i Sport

In an automotive landscape dominated by platform sharing, technology exchange and any number of other cross-fertilization/cost-saving/amortization exercises, it's actually pretty rare that we get to drive a new car that is as "all-new" as this, the 2014 Mazda6. With brand-spanking new Skyactiv architecture throughout - engine, transmission, body and chassis all included - this 6 represents a new era of flexible production and cutting edge running gear for the happily lithe car company.
Our own Jonathon Ramsey did a cracking job of running the Mazda6 through its First Drive paces a few months ago, and sufficiently impressed upon us just how good looking a car this is for the midsize sedan segment. Suffice it to say, now, then, that this is easily the most interesting (and quite possibly the most beautiful) midsize sedan in the segment today. However, as Mr. Ramsey reviewed a fully contented example of the 6 - one equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission - we took advantage of Mazda's North American launch event of the car to suss out the base Mazda6 i Sport, complete with its six-speed Skyactiv manual gearbox. This may not shock you, but the stripper's pretty good, too.
Driving Notes

2014 Mazda6: Winter's End Update

The Winter Without End is seemingly dead. Outside my office windows, my brown and yellow lawn is fully exposed to the increasingly powerful sunshine, the morning birdsong is louder than anything until the garbage trucks start rolling, and I'm seriously considering having the summer tires put back on my personal fleet. That last one is a little scary, as I'm a firm believer in the April Snow Jinx, but you get the idea.
The long-term Mazda6 has also long since left my driveway. Looking back on my notes from the time it was in my charge, however, I see all remarks are dominated by one highlighted section at the top: "worst winter drive of all time." I hardly need the reminder, to be honest. Here's what happened.
When the Mazda showed up at my door, we'd already fitted the thing with its new winter rubber: Bridgestone Blizzaks. Plunking down for dedicated snow tires was a near necessity this year - as it almost always is in Michigan. We didn't see much reprieve from snow-choked, iced over roads here in Ann Arbor, and the knobbier rubber proved invaluable in getting me out of my house time and again.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata in motion for the first time

By now, you've already poured over the details (however few there may be) and images of the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata. For us enthusiasts, it's arguably the most important new car debut of the year, and for Mazda, it marks the 25th anniversary of its iconic roadster - something that's being celebrated all weekend long out in Monterey, CA.
Our resident Miata owner, Chris Paukert, is out in sunny California and just passed along this video, showing all four generations of the MX-5 in motion (slowly), on the road at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This is the first time the 2016 MX-5 has been shown driving under its own power, and it will join a wealth of other roadsters as Mazda attempts to break the world record for most Miatas in one place at one time.
Have a look at the emailed-from-an-iPhone-quality video above, and then take a moment to read Paukert's own notes from the ND Miata's live showing earlier this week, here.