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2023 Honda Pilot and the promise and pitfalls of PHEVs | Autoblog Podcast #766

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a chat about the new 2023 Honda Pilot and its beefed-up TrailSport model. After that, we get a winter-weather long-term update on the BMW 330e care of Greg. Then, it's on to news. The big headlines this week were the brand-new Mazda CX-90 crossover and word that Genesis plans to build its outrageous (and expensive) X convertible concept. Is the world ready for a Bentley fighter from Korea? Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #766 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2023 Honda Pilot 2022 BMW 330e xDrive  News 2024 Mazda CX-90 three-row SUV revealed, with your choice of inline-6 or PHEV The ravishing Genesis X Convertible Concept is going into production Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Mazda's Hofu plant builds its ten-millionth car

Ten million is a lot no matter which way you cut it, and no matter what you're talking about: Ten million dollars, ten million miles, ten million people... certainly ten million cars. And that's the milestone that Mazda's Hofu plant in Yamaguchi prefecture of Japan has just achieved.
The Hofu facility has been in operation since 1982, and was supplemented with a second plant on the same site ten years later. Hofu reached a million units built in 1986 and five million in 2002. But with production now at 482,100 units per year, it took less than twelve years to double that previous milestone.
The magic ten-millionth car was a new Mazda6 (known locally as the Atenza), which is built at Hofu Plant No. 2, while Hofu Plant No. 1 gears up for the new Mazda3 (aka Axela). Scroll down below for a related press release.

Mazda MX-5 Miata RF Luggage Test | How big is the trunk?

The Mazda Miata would not be my first choice for a road trip car. Would probably be in the bottom 10, in fact. The interior fits me like a coffin, the seats pinch my back and the amount of passenger legroom is laughable. It's not exactly the most serene car, either.  But hey, there are sadists out there who may want to venture somewhere in it. I work with some of them. So, as they were the ones who requested this, here is the answer to the question: how much luggage fits in the Miata's trunk? Alright, so on paper, the Miata RF has 4.48 cubic-feet of trunk volume. The regular soft top Miata, the one you should absolutely get instead, has 4.59. Does that different matter? Probably not. However, when talking about trunks in this diminutive size range, the shape is the ultimate factor. For instance, the Porsche 911's 4.6-cubic-foot frunk is basically the same as the Miata's, yet it's narrower and deeper. My BMW Z3's trunk is 5 cubic-feet, yet it's wider, longer and much shallower. On paper, they'd seem to be the same, but you can't fit the same items within them.  Usually, I'd now list all the bags I have to test, but dude, in the words of Jay Mohr in "Go" ... This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Go (8/8) Movie CLIP - It's a Miata (1999) HD   Here's what I could fit ...     This bag is 26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep and you'd have to check it in at the airport (remember those?!?). It BARELY fit inside the Miata. The ever-so-slightly larger gray version of this bag I have did not fit.   By contrast, it slid very easily into my Z3 and as you can see (below left), the remaining area was far more easily accessed due to the wider trunk opening. However, this bag wouldn't fit at all in the 911's frunk as the space isn't wide or long enough.      Alternatively, shown above, I could stack two carry-on roller bags (one 24L x 15W x 10D, the other 23L x 15W x 10D). This time, the tight fit came from height.    By contrast, these two would fit with room to spare in the deep 911 frunk as Zac Palmer discovered with his similarly sized bags (below left). They also fit in my Z3 (below right), but were side-by-side and just BARELY fit due to the trunk's much shallower depth. Basically, the Z3 was worst here.