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2019 Mazda Miata officially announced with 181 horsepower

It turns out the rumors and leaks are true. The 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata will indeed get a slight performance increase. This fall, the car's naturally aspirated 2.0-liter inline-four will make 181 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. That's a 26 horsepower and 3 pound-feet bump over the 2018 model. It may not sound like a lot on paper, but consider the fact that it's a nearly 17 percent increase in power in a car that weighs just 2,332 lbs. When the current ND generation debuted a few years back, the Miata actually took a slight hit to power. It was offset by a sizable weight loss program, but it didn't stop people from making a fuss. These days, it's not often that a newer model actually loses power compared to the outgoing car. The new car now makes roughly the same power as the old turbocharged Mazdaspeed MX-5 from 2004. Peak power for the 2019 model comes at 7,000 rpm while peak torque arrives at 4,000 rpm. That's 1,000 more and 600 fewer revs respectively. The Miata's redline is now 7,500 rpm, up from 6,800. It should make the car feel more lively through the rev range and should drop the car's 0-60 mph time back under 7 seconds. The 2019 model only weighs 7-pounds more than the outgoing model, so it's essentially a non-issue. In order to get the extra juice, Mazda engineers did some significant work to the engine's internals. Piston mass has been reduced 27 grams while the connecting rods are down 41 grams. The exhaust system and inner exhaust manifold have been modified to reduce pumping losses by 30 percent. The intake and fuel injectors have been changed, too. A new dual-mass flywheel replaces the single-mass unit. This should help better manage engine vibrations and responsiveness. Lastly, the final drive ratio has been increased from 3.454 to 3.583. Other gear ratios remain unchanged. There are other minor but welcome changes for 2019. The steering wheel now telescopes, a boon for drivers with long legs. The doors are easier to open and feature revised door stops. The cupholders and seat levers have both been updated. Finally, there are new 17-inch wheels and a new brown canvas soft top. How all these changes will affect the car remain to be seen. While many people have been clamoring for more power, some of us here at Autoblog feel the Miata may lose some of its current character with such a significant shift in power and torque. Either way, we're as excited as ever to get behind the wheel. Related Video:

Teen Miata enthusiast and friend of Autoblog passes away

When Thomas' illness made it impossible for him to drive, he relied on friends to do it for him.
Attending the reveal of the 2016 MX-5 Miata and the subsequent 25th anniversary celebration at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca confirmed that the little roadster maintains broad appeal, one not limited to the elderly or a certain gender as detractors might have you believe. In fact, the assembled crowd was surprisingly youthful, particularly amongst the club racer set and tuners. But one young Miata owner and superfan unfortunately wasn't in attendance - Thomas Jost, 19, was busy fighting for his life in a Maryland hospital.

Cedar Rocket is the fastest all-electric log car in the world

An electric turbine manufacturer, a mechanic, and a log house builder walk into a bar. No, wait. The three are standing around at Barrett-Jackson a few years ago, talking about the world. What's the eventual punchline? An all-electric vehicle mash-up of a Mazda RX-8 and a giant piece of wood. One that was just awarded a Guinness World Record for "fastest motorized log." "Truly, what else would you think of?" - Bryan Reid, Sr. Bryan Reid, Sr., star of the reality show Timber Kings, is the log house builder in the set-up above, and he's now the proud owner of Cedar Rocket. He told AutoblogGreen that a log-based EV is the natural result of the three guys chatting. "Truly, what else would you think of?" he said. "I mean, really? There has to be something to come out of it other than girls. It was crazy, but it's a good story and nobody gets hurt. It's hard to make the news when everything's positive." Idea in hand, Reid and his friend set off to actually build the car. Gerald Overton, the mechanic, turned the Mazda into a welcoming recipient, working on the disc brakes, axles, frame, differential, and suspension. While the presence of a television producer kept things moving, Reid said that it still took almost two years. "It started out, not as a joke, but as something very light," he said. "You put a log on a couple of axles and 'ha ha.' It ended up taking many thousands of hours. We don't do anything halfway." In the end, Reid and the team took the Cedar Rocket to the Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona and managed two runs of 55 miles per hour within an hour (that's what Guinness required to hand out the official record). The Rocket is incredibly stable – heavy batteries help there – and Reid pointed out that because the EV uses electric turbines, it's not a quarter-mile car. "It's more like a salt-flat car," he said, because the "turbines that take a while to spin up." Given the right conditions, Reid said the team thinks the Cedar Rocket could go 120-130 mph. "It's crazy because it's different." But the point of this car isn't to just go fast. The builders will bring the car to Barrett-Jackson and auction it off next year, but before that it will make the rounds at places like SEMA and a number of unexpected events, like golf shows. The point is to get attention and raise money and awareness for veterans groups. "I believe it's for the best cause in North America," he said.