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Mazda expands scope of vehicles affected by Takata airbag recall to 330k

Earlier this week a Reuters report indicated that Mazda was considering a nationwide expansion of its recall for vehicles equipped with Takata airbag inflators. The company has now confirmed said expansion, with the vehicle count jumping from 86,770 to 330,000 affected in the US. As before, the affected vehicles are Mazda6 and RX-8 cars from the 2004 to 2008 model years. Mazda reports that Takata has tested a "large number of inflators removed from Mazda vehicles" and not found any to be "non-compliant" as of yet. With that said, the company also reports in its statement that one 2005 Mazda6, located in Florida, has been identified as having had an "abnormal" deployment of the driver's side airbag. For what it's worth, though the company's statement references the Takata inflator issue as a proper recall, it is calling its own program of notification a "Safety Improvement Campaign" for the moment. Find the full, if brief, Mazda press release in the form below. UPDATED MAZDA STATEMENT REGARDING TAKATA AIRBAGS Dec 11, 2014 WASHINGTON, DC (December 11, 2014) – In addition to the actions announced on December 4, 2014, as discussed in a separate document, Mazda today announced the following steps in the Takata recall: Mazda will institute a nationwide Safety Improvement Campaign of 2004-2008 model-year Mazda6 and RX-8 models equipped with certain Takata airbag inflators. The nationwide Safety Improvement Campaign will cover the driver's-side airbag inflator, as Mazda has not made a safety defect determination at this time. This action will support us to gather additional parts for examination and to promote customer satisfaction and safety. There are approximately 330,000 vehicles included in this Safety Improvement Campaign in the United States So far, Takata has tested a large number of inflators removed from Mazda vehicles, and NONE have been found to be non-compliant at this time One vehicle – a 2005 Mazda6 located in Florida – has been identified as having experienced an abnormal driver's-side airbag deployment. Mazda has worked closely with NHTSA on this situation Mazda will participate in the independent, industry-wide joint testing program for Takata airbag inflators For history, on December 4, 2014, Mazda announced: It would expand the area of the high-temperature, high-humidity region recall to include the Gulf Coast states.

Mazdaspeed3 concept tipped for Frankfurt debut

The last quarter of 2015 could be a big one for Mazda as a report has emerged from Australia claiming that the company will come to the Frankfurt Motor Show in September with a near-production concept of the third-generation Mazdaspeed3, while a second-generation CX-9 will be shown a few months later in Los Angeles. Motoring.com.au ran the initial report, and although the news seems plausible, the outlet doesn't provide sources for either piece of news. Likewise, our friends at Mazda USA refused to comment on "speculation." Speculation it may be, but it's surely tantalizing considering the recent popularity of both the hot hatch and three-row crossover segments. According to the Aussies, the concept Speed3 will quickly evolve into a production model, which will launch alongside a mid-cycle refresh for the current 3. A turbocharged 2.5-liter will spit out 295 horsepower, and could have all-wheel drive. Even if only the front axle is doing the work, the MS3 will easily be able to stand toe-to-toe with hotter half of the segment based on output alone. As for the more mundane offerings, Motoring reports the long-in-the-tooth CX-9 will get a replacement in LA, although it doesn't offer much in the way of details beyond that. It should be interesting to see how the company's Skyactiv philosophy will be implemented on such a large vehicle. Perhaps the biggest surprise from the Australian report, though, are the outlet's reports on the CX-7, which will return sporting a third row of seats after its larger sibling debuts. That'd give Mazda a versatile lineup of four crossovers, with the sub-compact CX-3, the compact CX-5, the midsize, seven-passenger CX-7 and the fullsize CX-9. As we weren't able to confirm any of this with Mazda, we'd still warn that this news should be ingested with grains of salt. Still, it looks like the company could be set to make some waves in the first two shows of the upcoming auto show season.

Mazda refurbishing this NFL running back's 22-year-old daily driver

I don't actually care for the Washington Redskins (which is a good thing, considering the start to their season this year), but I love their running back, Alfred Morris. Why? Well, to start with, Morris helped deliver a dominating 10-3 season for my fantasy football team last year after a flash of prescience saw me pick him up off the waiver wire in Week 1 (hit me up on Twitter if you need fantasy sports insight, guys, I'm sort of like the Ruxin of Autoblog).
Morris is also pretty endearing because of his loyalty to his car, Bentley. Hold up - that's not to say the running back has splashed out on a Continental GT or a Flying Spur. No, Morris gave his much-loved 1991 Mazda 626 the tongue-in-cheek name "Bentley" while he was still a student at Florida Atlantic. One 1,613-rushing-yard rookie season and a $2.2-million contract later, and Morris is still using his Mazda as his daily driver. It might be easy to assume that the young player is simply being really prudent with all of his newfound wealth, but the guy really just has a thing for his five-speed-manual 626.
And Mazda, of course, loves the story of Morris' affection. In an effort to keep his 626 running strong and looking good, the company's Washington D.C.-area dealers have agreed to refurbish Bentley back to its original showroom freshness. Rather than spoil the classic (?) lines of the 626, the Mazda folks are essentially restoring the car for Morris. The cracked dash will be swapped out for a factory replacement, the engine and transmission given a thorough going-over and the whole vehicle generally made as fresh as Will Smith circa 1991. Bentley is expected to be completed and rolling through the capitol city by October 15, and in the meantime, Morris has been driving around in a new 2014 Mazda6 loaner car.