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2020 Mazda6 Review & Buying Guide | Still at the top

The 2020 Mazda6 should be on anybody’s sedan shortlist. ItÂ’s modern and attractive both inside and out. The ride and handling balance is unmatched by anything short of the 2020 Honda Accord, and itÂ’s priced well alongside all of its tough competition. An Accord is still the only one in this segment to offer a manual transmission for enthusiasts who care to shift themselves, but the Mazda6 with the 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder is still plenty of fun with its smart-shifting six-speed auto. Mazda has also succeeded in putting together a luxurious interior — highlighted by the Signature trim — that outdoes the more pedestrian interiors found in other pricey mid-size sedans. Tons of work was put into the Mazda6 to make it more refined and premium, and itÂ’s worked. Downsides are few in number, but if the Mazda6 suffers anywhere, itÂ’s in the infotainment and utility departments. The software Mazda uses is old and antiquated compared to its new system in the Mazda3 and CX-30, as well as those in the Accord, Hyundai Sonata and others. The trunk is also smaller than most in this segment. Those may be deal breakers for some, but people who value an engaging driving experience will appreciate it for its sharp steering and agile chassis, and those who could care less will still love it for the refinement and comfort. WhatÂ’s new for 2020? There isnÂ’t much new for the 2020 Mazda6 this year. Mazda says itÂ’s switched to the key fob design used on the Mazda3 and CX-30, and thereÂ’s also a new “Signature” badge for the top trim. Besides that, the car carries over unchanged from 2019. 2020 Mazda6 Signature View 57 Photos WhatÂ’s the interior and in-car technology like? The 2020 Mazda6Â’s interior is simple and beautiful. Mazda has upped its interior quality game beyond the competition, and itÂ’s accomplished this without pricing the sedan out of the ballpark. Comfortable chairs make long rides a breeze as does the hushed cabin noise. From lower trims on up, the cabin looks and feels of a high quality. Even the basic entry-level Sport trim has an excellent interior that goes above the more basic furnishings of competitors, while on the other end of the spectrum, the Signature boasts rich suede-like cloth and beautiful Sen wood to create an environment encroaching on the luxury segment. However, MazdaÂ’s infotainment system is way behind compared to others in the segment.

Laguna Seca getting another awkward name with WeatherTech sponsorship

According to the Monterey Herald, and also reported by Autoweek, Laguna Seca is getting a new title sponsor and as a result, a new name. The track is currently known by the official name of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, a less-than-elegant name that goes away soon because Mazda is ending its sponsorship on March 31. The newspaper reports that the new sponsor is WeatherTech, and the new name, arriving on April 1, adds a word: WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca. We're not sure why it can't simply be known as Laguna Seca, since that's the name that sticks after the sponsors disappear. And we don't know why adding a word is better. Why would you add syllables to say and letters to type (insert lazy writer joke here)? It seems that those in charge of the track are happy with the deal, though. The Monterey Herald reports the deal is for five years of sponsorship at a cost of $5 million and that it's about two-thirds of what Mazda was paying. But the newspaper also reports that the track won't be providing the same track access that Mazda needed, and it may attract other automakers to the track when the track's name isn't partly that of a competitor. Related Video: News Source: Monterey HeraldImage Credit: Getty Marketing/Advertising Mazda Parts and Accessories Laguna Seca

A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.