2023 Mazda Cx-5 2.5 S Preferred Package on 2040-cars

Auto blog

NHTSA releases updated Takata airbag recalled cars list, but it still has errors

Unfortunately, the government's list still contains errors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued an updated list of vehicle models that it's urging owners to repair under the mushrooming Takata airbag inflator recall. The latest version adds vehicles from new automakers like Subaru and Ford that are missing from the original announcement, and it also removes erroneous entries from General Motors, leaving only the 2005 Saab 9-2X (a reskinned Subaru WRX), and the 2003-2005 Pontiac Vibe, a joint project with Toyota.

The Mazda MX-5 Miata and saving a marriage

I've had the privilege of knowing Zach Bowman – former Autoblog scribe, now penning great things over at Road & Track – for nearly a decade. We met at the Detroit Auto Show when we were both relatively new to the business, and joked about how someday, we'd work together and eventually conquer the world as big shots in the industry (we're still figuring that last part out, by the way). Thus, I was thrilled when Zach joined Autoblog in 2010, just a couple of months after I was hired, and was equally saddened when I learned he'd be leaving us. Zach is someone I'm proud to call a colleague – nay, a friend – and I've enjoyed the voice he's brought to this line of work. I tell you this on a personal level because Zach has just published what you could arguably consider his most heartfelt piece of automotive work to date. It's a charming, emotional story about his relationship with his wife, and how they, like so many young couples, learned to make marriage work through the many ups and downs found in any solid relationship. I call this "automotive work" because Zach intertwines this tale into a story about driving his 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata across the country, his wife by his side, learning about love and life from the cockpit of a two-seat roadster. I can honestly say it's one of the best things I've read in a long while. Rather than continue to wax poetic about Zach's latest piece, I'll let his own words speak for themselves. Head over to Road & Track to read the full piece.

Road & Track to take Miata on million-mile march

Road & Track has taken on a Miata project. One hell of a project, if we're honest. You see, the Miata in question, a 1989 example in Mariner Blue, isn't a high-mileage Mazda that the publication intends to fix up, or make race-worthy, or try to flip or give away to a reader or something. No, it's a rather typical well-used NA, with a hefty 325,000 miles on the clock to-date that the staff plans on driving until the six-digit odo reads all zeros again. One million miles or bust (or both, most likely).
Procured for the bargain-basement price of $1,600, complete with seat covers that "really do look like muppet pelts" (according to Zach Bowman) and a bondo-filled love tap on the nose, the NA Miata actually looks like just the sort of fun-machine that a real driving enthusiast would pick up to get some cheap thrills in. The R&T team already has some interesting plans for the Miata, including a potential run up Pikes Peak and loaning it out to readers (or perhaps your author...). Click through to read all about it.