2021 Mazda Cx-5 Carbon Edition W/roof on 2040-cars

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Mazda seeks $2.8 billion in loans to ride out pandemic

TOKYO — Mazda has sought loans totaling about 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from Japan's three megabanks and other lenders to ride out the coronavirus epidemic, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Saturday. The megabanks — Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mizuho Financial Group — along with the Development Bank of Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings and others are set to agree, with some already having extended the loans, the person said, declining to be identified because the information is not public. All three megabanks declined to comment on the loan request, which was reported by the Nikkei business daily earlier. Mazda did not immediately respond to a request for comment.    Mazda, like most other automakers, has reduced or halted production at factories around the world for the past few months as governments try to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.     Mazda's car sales and balance sheet had been weak even before the virus slammed the brakes on demand, with its interest-bearing debt of 650 billion yen far exceeding its cash and cash equivalents, according to the Nikkei.    Mazda is scheduled to announce its financial results for the year ended in March on Thursday. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2019 Mazda3 Press Conference In 15 Minutes

2019 Mazda CX-5 to get 2.5-liter turbo and revised G-Vectoring

The 2019 Mazda CX-5 is getting Mazda's 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine if this supposed internal document from Reddit is correct. The user claims a salesperson showed him the document in question. In addition to the availability of the turbo engine, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto appear to be added onto every trim level. Do take note that the document says it's from Mazda Canada at the bottom, so that's why the trim levels don't have the same names as they do in the U.S. Another interesting mention in there is G-Vectoring Control Plus. We've had Mazda's G-Vectoring Control technology for a little while, but never has a car come out with the Plus moniker on there. Our best bet is Mazda has revised its original G-Vectoring system for 2019; we'll have to wait for official information to see what exactly changed though. At the top of the page Mazda lists "substantial visual changes to the interior" as one of the highlights. The biggest change we can find related to that is a seven-inch LCD display added to the gauge cluster on what would equate to the Grand Touring trim in the U.S. At least Canada — and maybe we too — seems to be getting a fourth trim level called "Signature." This will probably consist of more expensive materials used throughout and maybe a few bonus tech features over the Grand Touring. The page shared looks plenty legitimate, but it's still best to maintain some healthy skepticism. It's also from Canada, so there could be some slight variations between how those cars are equipped versus those coming stateside. We're excited to see the 2.5-liter turbo in the smaller CX-5, though. It should give that car the extra punch it needs to fend off faster rivals in the ever-expanding crossover segment. Featured video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Five automakers now being investigated by NHTSA for airbag woes

It appears that Toyota's renotification to owners of recalled vehicles from last year is just the tip of the iceberg for what could potentially be a much larger industry-wide recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation investigation into roughly 1.1 million vehicles from Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and parts supplier Takata regarding faulty airbag inflators in several models.
NHTSA has received six reports - three directly, two from Takata and one from Toyota - of vehicles with ruptured airbag inflators from 2002-2006, which resulted in three injuries. So far, all six incidents have occurred in high humidity areas like Florida and Puerto Rico. According to Toyota's latest recall announcement, the inflators may have an improper propellant that could cause it to rupture in a crash and the bag to deploy abnormally.
This new investigation follows a previous recall from April 2013 of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide for the airbag inflators from Takata. As Autoblog reported, Toyota jumpstarted the new situation when it found that the original list of serial numbers for the faulty part was incomplete and discovered more cars in need of replacement. Honda and Nissan told us that they were investigating whether further models would need called in again as well. Mazda told Autoblog: "Regarding the current Takata situation, we're working closely with NHTSA and investigating the situation, but nothing else to report at this time." Chrysler Group responded to us with the statement: "Chrysler Group engineers are conducting the appropriate analysis. The Company will cooperate fully with the National Highway Traffic Administration."