Grand Tourin 2.5l Cd Front Wheel Drive Power Steering 4-wheel Disc Brakes A/c on 2040-cars

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2019 Mazda 3 recalled because the wheels could fall off while driving

Here’s a recall we had to read twice before believing. Mazda is bringing in 25,003 Mazda 3s that just rolled off the assembly line, because the wheels may fall off while driving. All the Mazda 3s are 2019 model year cars, so itÂ’s only the totally new generation Mazda 3 under the gun here. Thankfully, Mazda says there are no cases of this occurring to owners, and therefore no injuries or deaths related to the issue. As for the cause of the wheel detachment? Mazda put out a statement explaining the issue at hand.  “A manufacturing process error may result in a gap between the wheel hub bolt and hub flange during assembly. This gap causes loosening of the lug nuts though they were initially tightened to the correct specification at the plant. A rattling noise occurs prior to a wheel detachment from the vehicle,” Mazda says. ItÂ’s heartening to see Mazda did in fact tighten the lugs at the factory, but still extremely troubling to see that they can loosen all on their own. Our advice? Walk on out to your shiny, new Mazda 3 and torque those lugs to spec. If you donÂ’t have a torque wrench, then just use the wrench that came with the car to make sure theyÂ’re not loose. Those that have a new Mazda 3 should be on the lookout for a recall notice in the mail. YouÂ’ll then be able to take the car to the dealer for Mazda to fix the problem. Until then, just keep an eye on your lugs. A wheel flying off while driving at speed is always a recipe for disaster, and we sure do enjoy driving the new Mazda 3 at speed.

2019 Subaru Ascent vs. 2018 Mazda CX-9: Driving two class leaders side-by-side

As the de facto replacement for the family sedan, we expect a lot out of modern crossovers. They need to excel at family-hauling duties while delivering reasonable performance and fuel economy. They have to offer all-wheel drive and the latest safety technology. They ought to be ruggedly handsome, and they can't be so prohibitively expensive that the families they are targeting can't afford them. It's a tall order, and some automakers have hit closer to the proverbial bullseye than others. By some stroke of luck, we managed to snag a 2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring as our chariot to take the four-hour drive from Seattle to McMinnville, Ore., where we got our first drive of the 2019 Subaru Ascent. As one of our favorite vehicles in this class, the CX-9 would serve as a good comparison to the Ascent. And, on paper, the similarities are abundant: Both come from automakers with a clear, go-your-own-way approach to vehicle engineering, are powered by turbocharged four-cylinder engines, and offer three rows of seating in a relatively compact package. Put simply, we expect the Ascent and CX-9 to be cross-shopped by a lot of new-car buyers looking for a new family car. What we found is that the CX-9 is the better choice for the buyer who values a sporty driving experience above all else, while the Ascent is probably better for families looking for a healthier dose of practicality. Either option will ably serve the suburban American family they are targeting, but the ways they go about that life of servitude are quite different. It's worth noting that pretty much every automaker in America is selling a vehicle in this class, which means there are a heck of a lot of vehicles from which to choose. For a few other options, check out this spec-sheet comparison here, and for anything else, be sure to visit the handy Autoblog compare tool. With that out of the way, let's break it down a bit more granularly. Styling: View 36 Photos Looks-wise, we prefer the Mazda. A crossover is going to be generally box-shaped, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring. The CX-9's bodywork flows gracefully from nose to tail, with just the right amount of flashiness in the form of headlights that take the form of cat-like eyes, a five-point grille surrounded in chrome, and gently arcing bodyside lines. It all works to form what we think is the most attractive midsize crossover overall. We don't hate the Subaru Ascent's looks, but it's definitely more boring than the CX-9.

Crossovers help Mazda post its best January sales in 24 years

Mazda's 2017 ended on a bit of a flat note. It wrapped up the year with 2.8 percent fewer U.S. sales than 2016, and 8 of the 12 months lower month-over-month. But 2018 is off to a much brighter start with the company having its best January sales month since 1994, with just under 25,000 cars sold. Besides that headline statistic, the higher sales also mean this January exceeded 2017's sales by 15 percent or about 3,300 cars and put it ahead of January in that healthy 2016 year. Compared with this past December, though, sales are down about 2,000 cars. The gains are entirely due to the success of Mazda's crossover SUVs. The CX-5 was the best of the best with a month-over-month gain of over 66 percent. In actual numbers it sold about 13,500 copies compared with about 8,000 last January. The big three-row CX-9 had a big jump going from 1,600 units sold last January to about 2,300 for a gain of almost 47 percent. Even the little CX-3 saw a small gain between the two Januarys, going from about 1,200 to 1,350 sales. View 14 Photos Mazda's January would've been even better if its conventional cars hadn't dropped so much. Both Mazda Miata and Mazda6 sales dropped by just over half. The Mazda dropped from 3,300 sales to just under 1,600, and the Miata dropped from a little over 900 to a little over 400. Mazda3 held on a little better with just a 12 percent drop from last January going from about 6,600 to 5,800 sales. The lopsidedness of these sales isn't all that surprising. Crossovers have been a boon to loads of manufacturers. For example, Mitsubishi had an 2017 full of sales improvements, with the company finally breaking 100,000 units for the first time in years, and it was all because of improving crossover sales. January's sales also continue an unfortunate downward trend for Mazda's cars, with both the Mazda6 and Mazda3 having month-over-month declines every single month since February. It will be interesting to see if the new turbocharged engine option on the Mazda6 will improve sales of the sedan later this year. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.