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Junkyard Gem: 1990 Mazda 929 S

In the late 1980s, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda were cleaning up in the American market with the Cressida, Maxima, and Legend, respectively. Mazda wanted some of those dollars, so the HC-series Mazda Luce was modified for the US market and sold here as the 929. It had rear-wheel drive, a powerful V6 engine, and lots of luxury features, but not many were sold. Here's a rare '90 that I spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service yard. In 1990, the sporty 929S version got 190 horsepower from its DOHC 3.0-liter V6. Unfortunately for Mazda, American buyers associated the marque with sensible econoboxes and screaming rotary engines, not luxury machinery, at the time. For the 1990 model year, American-market cars were required to have either a driver's-side airbag or automatic seat belts. The 929 had the automatic belts, the less said about the better. The Luce-based 929 became the Sentia-based 929 for the 1992 model year. Meanwhile, the new luxury brands from Honda, Nissan, and Toyota were kicking the crap out of 929 sales; Mazda had planned to launch the Amati brand in the United States, but didn't have the resources to follow through. The last 929s were sold in the United States for the 1995 model year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Mazda 929 S View 16 Photos Auto News Mazda

2019 Mazda3 Review and Buying Guide | Redesigned and exceptional

The Mazda3 has long been a darling of car enthusiasts for its sharp styling and sharper driving dynamics. So when it was redesigned for 2019, there was some collective anxiety as to whether Mazda could continue the magic. From our experience, Mazda certainly has, and has improved its compact sedan and hatchback in many areas such as design and refinement. As a result, the 2019 Mazda3 is easily the most fun car in its segment to drive, barring specifically performance-oriented compact models, and now has materials and looks to rival entry-level luxury cars. Its only real faults are a slightly tight interior and a character that might put off fans of cushy cruisers. What's new for 2019? Pretty much everything. The Mazda3 has been completely redesigned for the 2019 model year. It's down to one engine for now — a lightly updated 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder with or without cylinder deactivation — but a high-efficiency spark-controlled compression-ignition engine is coming later. And for the first time, the Mazda3 has available all-wheel drive on both sedan and hatchback body styles, making it one of only two cars in the segment with such a feature. 2019 Mazda3 AWD View 24 Photos What's the Mazda3's interior and in-car technology like? While the interior of the previous Mazda3 was one of the finest in the segment, the new model is vastly superior. In fact, it feels about on par with actual luxury cars in the top Premium trim. The dashboard has a sleek, modern look with subtle air vents, surfaces wrapped in a soft leather-like material, and an elegant steering wheel has nicely integrated buttons. All of the switchgear has a solid, crisp feel. The driving position is excellent, allowing the driver to sit either low or high and keeping all the controls and displays perfectly centered. Mazda also redesigned its infotainment system for this car. A major change is that there is no touchscreen functionality whatsoever, which is also partly why Mazda has moved the infotainment screen farther up the dash and more into the driver's line of sight. The entire menu layout has been revamped as well with options listed vertically instead of horizontally. The system runs substantially faster and smoother than the previous version, though it's not as easy to use due to additional layers of menus. It still isn't as complex as systems found in German cars, though. Mazda has also finally made Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard features. How big is the Mazda3?

AWD Mazda6 or Mazda3? That could be a thing, but there's a problem

We wanted a stronger engine in the Mazda6, and last week at the L.A. Auto Show we got one, Mazda's turbocharged 2.5-liter four. (Though some of us wanted a manual transmission with it, but didn't get that.) And now we learn that apparently a lot of us would like to have all-wheel drive in Mazda's sedans. That might be a tough ask, but Mazda says it hears us. In an interview with CarAdvice, Masahiro Moro, Mazda North America's president and CEO, said there's a big demand in the U.S. for AWD, so Mazda's looking into it. Ah, but maybe we can't have everything. "I think we are not able to combine four-wheel drive and the 2.5-liter turbo. We have a layout issue with the sedans, that's why a four-wheel drive isn't deployed on the Mazda 3 and 6 so far," Moro said. "But there is a huge demand, at least what I know is that in the East Coast of the USA, 80 or 90 percent of premium sedans are sold with all-wheel drive." And with Mazda going upscale, it only makes sense to give upscale, performance-oriented customers what they want, like the AWD sedans the German premium brands have been offering for years. "Four-wheel drive becomes a premium cue for U.S. consumers," said Moro, "and obviously I have asked our R&D department to think about how we can accommodate four-wheel drive capability in the future." Though the CX-9, being a crossover, of course has AWD in combination with that turbo engine, it simply must not have the platform limitations of the sedans. And all-wheel drive in the Mazda6, at least, has been available in Japan, Europe and Australia, but paired with the Skyactiv-D and another smaller engine, diesels we don't get here. Moro's statement leaves open the possibility of AWD with the base 2.5-liter engine, but maybe not. Besides, a premium buyer would want the turbo. So, when Moro says the future, he means not now, not in the Mazda6 facelift we just saw. But maybe in the next big redesign? Or maybe the configuration problems will be easier to overcome when working with the innovative new 2.0-liter Skyactiv-X compression-ignition engine that's expected in the 2019 Mazda3. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2018 Mazda6: LA 2017 View 16 Photos Image Credit: Drew Phillips / Autoblog Auto News Mazda Technology Emerging Technologies Performance Sedan