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Living Life Large: Driving $2 million worth of cars in one week

Monterey Car Week has quickly become one of my favorite events of the year. There's something for everyone – classic car shows, modern concepts and new vehicle debuts, auctions, racing, and so much more. From a media perspective, there's also a chance to drive a ton of cars. Many automakers bring their latest wares out to Monterey for us to test during our limited free time, and it's a great opportunity to experience fantastic metal against a gorgeous backdrop. That's exactly what I did this year. Instead of flying into Monterey and being driven around, my journey started in Los Angeles and ended in Napa, and I managed to get behind the wheel of some $2 million worth of new cars. Some were old favorites, and many were new experiences. But looking back, this was one of the best weeks of driving I've had in years. Rather than try to come up with some common arc to tie these cars together, here are my notes on all the cars I tested in California earlier this month, presented in the order in which they were driven. 2016 Mazda CX-3 The CX-3 pictured here isn't the exact one I drove in California, but it's close. The only difference was color – my delivered-to-LAX tester wore Mazda's awesome new Ceramic hue (pictured below on the MX-5 Miata). I used the CX-3 to slum through crummy Los Angeles traffic for two hours on the way out to Santa Barbara, with a quick stop at In-N-Out Burger on the way for good measure. A lot nicer inside than I remember. Everyone praises Mazda for its excellence in engineering and design, but there's a lot to be said for the improvements in overall interior refinement. Quiet, comfortable, and well-equipped; the CX-3 made sitting on the 405 freeway a lot more pleasant. Not all that functional. I had a hard time fitting a week's worth of luggage for two people inside. The cargo area and rear passenger compartment were filled, with only enough room on top to see out the back window. A Honda HR-V would've swallowed all that luggage with plenty of room for more. So good to drive. Not surprising, since this wasn't my first time in the CX-3. I knew this CUV would be good on twisty roads, but on the highway it's really exceptional. Road and wind noise are minimal and the overall ride quality is a comfortable sort of sporty. This is definitely something I could drive every day – it's enjoyable during commuting and entertaining on more interesting roads.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata named World Car of the Year

Kicking off Day Two of the New York Auto Show, the World Car of the Year awards are finally being handed out. The overall winner is, as God himself intended, the Mazda MX-5 Miata. It beat the Audi A4 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class. The unique thing about these awards are that they aren't limited to the US domestic market (that's why they're called the World Car of the Year awards). For example, nominees for the overall award included the Skoda Superb, Renault Kadjar, and Subaru Levorg. In the Performance category, the forbidden fruit was repped by the Honda Civic Type R. But both the Civic and the Mercedes-AMG C63 Coupe were beat out by a far more expensive competitor – the new Audi R8. The fourth-generation Toyota Prius and the second-generation Chevrolet Volt, were two of the big finalists for the World Green Car of the Year award. They both lost out, though, to the Mirai fuel-cell car. Yes, a hydrogen car beat out two of the world's premiere hybrids. The luxury race that was perhaps the hardest to predict. That's because each of the three finalists have received near universal acclaim. In the end, though, the BMW 7 Series beat out the Audi Q7 and Volvo XC90. Finally, we have the World Car Design of the Year, where the overall winner (MX-5) and the Mazda CX-3 faced off against the new Jaguar XE. While both the CX-3 and XE are handsome vehicles, the WCOTY committee realized the answer is always Miata, and awarded Mazda's iconic roadster another 2016 award. Related Video: AND NOW THERE IS ONE... MAZDA MX-5 - 2016 WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR NEW YORK – March 24, 2016 - For Immediate Release The Road to World Car journey ended today with the declaration of the MAZDA MX-5 as the 2016 World Car of the Year. The winner was announced during a press conference hosted by the New York International Auto Show, Bridgestone Corporation and Autoneum. 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the partnership between World Car and the New York show, and the third consecutive year that the World Car Awards have retained their ranking as the number one automotive awards program in the world in terms of media reach. Mazda Motor Corporation is no stranger to the World Car Awards program – now in its 12th year. The Mazda2/Mazda Demio was the 2008 World Car of the Year. While the Mazda3 (2014), Mazda6 (2013) and Mazda MX-5 have all earned "Top Three in the World" status as voted by our 70 plus international automotive journalists that make up the jury.

Huet Brothers working on new Miata-based retro coupe

Does the name Huet ring a bell? The Dutch brothers started out doing classic car tours in Europe before they started designed and building their own retro sports cars. The first was called the Huet Brothers Special. It was based on an old Triumph TR6 and surfaced back in 2009. But a few years later they started showing designs for a new coupe that called for a straight-six engine under a long bonnet with a fastback roofline, and started taking orders. Over the past two and a half years we didn't see anything materialize out of the Huet Brothers' plans, but word out of the Netherlands has it that the design is back on the table.
According to the Autovisie section of Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Tino and Paul Huet were planning on building their coupe on the base of the MX-5 Miata. But now that Mazda is preparing to launch an all-new model, the Huets have decided to wait until next year and build their dream car on the new Skyactiv roadster chassis.
Rather than trying to shoehorn in a bigger engine (or the subsequent diesel model that was set to follow), the Huets are reportedly prepared to stick with Mazda's four-pot, offering it in stock form and various states of upgraded tune.