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Autoblog's top 50 car photos of 2016

This one shouldn't need much explanation. We like cars a whole lot, and that includes not just driving them but taking great pictures of them. We've collected our 50 favorite images from this year in the mega-gallery above. It's a mix of old and new, with a healthy dose of vintage and modern race cars mixed in, and not one single shot under the harsh lights of an auto show. So click through and enjoy. Featured Gallery Autoblog's Top 50 Photos of 2016 View 50 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Autoblog.com Audi BMW Chevrolet Dodge Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Volvo Convertible Coupe Motorcycle Luxury Racing Vehicles Performance Supercars Classics

Mazda plans to launch an EV in 2020, plug-in hybrid by 2022

Thanks to an interview Automotive News Europe conducted with Mazda president and CEO Akira Marumoto, we have more insight on Mazda's plans to lower its vehicle emissions in Europe. This will undoubtedly bring changes to the U.S. lineup, too, but The Continent sees the first fruits in part because Mazda is well over the European Union's fleet CO2 emissions target for 2021 of 95 g/km. In response to how Mazda plans to achieve the necessary reduction, Marumoto said the carmaker will launch its first EV in 2020 and have a plug-in hybrid on the road in 2021 or 2022. First, some clarification on the emissions numbers and timeline. The 95g/km figure is based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) emissions schedule being phased out next year; the AN piece cites JATO Dynamics findings that Mazda Europe's fleet CO2 average is 135.2 g/km. The new Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) schedule comes into full effect in 2020, the fleet CO2 target under that methodology translating to 114.9 g/km. The rules dictate that 90 percent of an automaker's range needs to meet the cap number by the end of 2020, the rest of the lineup must come into compliance by the end of 2021. Failure means enormous fines. Industry analyst IHS Markit estimates "average fines for those not complying could reach ˆ624 ($707) per vehicle at the end of 2020, with a further ˆ190 ($215) increase in 2021." The penalties quickly grow so large that Fiat will reportedly pay Tesla hundreds of millions of euros to pool their fleets and avoid an even larger bill. Mazda's most popular vehicle in Europe is the CX-5 with CO2 emissions ranging from 128 g/km to 150 g/km. On top of that, for a small automaker, the size of potential fines has material effect on the R&D budgets necessary to develop the technologies that will lower emissions, and whatever EV Mazda launches in 2020 needs to sway legions of customers into purchases to be of practical use. This will be challenging. A line in the IHS Markit summary about the industry in general states, "Once in 2021 and subject to full WLTP regulatory monitoring, only a seismic shift (over the baseline) in consumer demand for BEV ('Electric-Plug-In') and PHEV ('Hybrid-Full Plug-In) will result in the full mitigation of EU28 fleet level excess emissions premiums." Mazda hooked up with Toyota and Denso in 2017 on a joint venture called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd to develop EV technology.

2020 Mazda CX-30 small crossover lands an IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

The 2020 Mazda CX-30 has come out of the gate swinging on the safety front, earning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick award in its first year on the market.  Mazda's new baby crossover earned a "Good" rating in all six of the Institute's crashworthiness categories (driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint) and its accident avoidance system was rated "Superior." Sadly, only one set of available headlights was rated "Acceptable" or better, which kept the CX-30 out of the running for the coveted Top Safety Pick+ award. The best-rated lamps available on the CX-30 are actually those that come standard. The curve-adaptive units offered as an optional upgrade were rated "Poor" due to excessive glare. For 2020, IIHS made the guidelines for earning Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards even more stringent. Up until 2019, cars needed only to earn an "Acceptable" rating in the passenger-side small overlap test to qualify for a Top Safety Pick. For 2020, that has been raised to "Good."   The bigger challenge for many OEMs will be headlights. To earn Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle cannot be sold with any headlight configuration that does not earn at least an "Acceptable" rating.    So far, fewer than two dozen 2020-model-year vehicles for sale in the U.S. have met the criteria for Top Safety Pick+; roughly half again as many qualify for the lesser award. In coming years, the Institute is expected to add even more conditions, especially in the realms of accident avoidance and pedestrian safety.