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Leaked images show digital gauge cluster for Mazda3

Most everything divulged about the 2019 Mazda3 so far has focused on the trick Spark Controlled Compression Ignition (SPCCI) Skyactiv-X engine. If a series of photos posted on a Chinese website are accurate, it looks like Mazda has novel plans for the cockpit as well. The three images show a three-color, all-digital gauge cluster in two different configurations. The first configuration places a three-digit speedo in the center of a blue-ringed tachometer, with gear indicator and water temp displays on the left, fuel range calculator and what appears to be a funky clock on the right. The second configuration splits the tachometer to the left and the speedo to the right. In between them is what looks like a road surface display for automatic cruise control. Trip info lies just under the blue-banded road, while water temp, fuel gauge, gear indicator and range info line up across the bottom. A swath of empty space on the left could be where Mazda's relocated the current car's passel of warning signals. Of note: Everything around the digital gauges appears to come straight from the current Mazda3. The instrument panel surround, the steering wheel and buttons, the stalks, all of it is lifted from today's car. If the photos are what's headed our way on some trim of the 2019 Mazda3, though, they show a clean, handsome evolution of the no-nonsense cluster in the current compact hatch. Mazda's worked up a head of good press on the run-up to the Mazda3 launch for both the engine and the dynamics. We're told we'll get between 10 and 30 percent more torque from the 2.0-liter SPCCI Skyactiv-X, and about 25 percent better fuel economy compared to today's 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G. Handling-wise, the jinba ittai philosophy — horse and rider as one — has led to engineers reworking everything from tire sidewall stiffness to multi-contoured torsion elements and the mounting and shape of the seats. The hatchback's torsional stiffness climbs by 30 percent, any excess rigidity countered by 7.5 meters of "matrix resin material" applied in 16 places on the body "to absorb vibration and dissipate it as heat." The point has been to eliminate dynamic static between the driver and the road, and then to give the driver the best natural seating position to take advantage of the body's reflexes to dynamic input. At the same time, this digital gauge cluster might also give that driver something tasty to look at. Related Video:

Why Mazda did so well and Volvo so poorly in Consumer Reports survey

The poor performances of Tesla and all three domestic automakers got the headlines in Consumer Reports magazine's latest reliability survey, but there were other results that caught our interest. Tiny Mazda notched the biggest gain among the 29 brands included in this year's list, leap-frogging nine spots to No. 3. Buick, which was in the top 10 last year, fell 11 spots to No. 19, the biggest decline of any brand. And then there's Volvo, a brand often vaunted for its quality and reliability, dropping six spots to dead last. What gives? For starters, all three brands benefited or suffered in large part due to their relatively small portfolio of vehicles. So when raves or complaints rolled in for even one particular model, as was often the case, it weighed heavily on the entire brand. That's especially true when it involves a relatively high-volume, hot-selling model such as the Buick Enclave (more on that in a moment). Mazda fared as well as it did despite the CX-3 losing Consumer Reports' influential "recommended" status due to problems with its climate system, including leaks from the condenser and refrigerant unit that triggered a service bulletin from the automaker in late 2016. Deputy auto editor Jon Linkov said that scratch didn't hurt the overall brand, since the CX-9 crossover and MX-5 Miata both jumped up to replace it on CR's list of newly recommended vehicles, thanks to several back fixes Mazda made to both models. For Buick, the redesigned Enclave SUV earned a "Much Worse Than Average" rating after owners reported problems with the new nine-speed automatic transmission it shares with the Chevrolet Traverse as well as some issues with the climate system. There were issues with rough shifting, plus complaints about the torque converter that necessitated fixes to the computer or outright replacement. "Again, similar stuff that we saw with the Traverse: both first-year vehicles, similar powertrains," LInkov said. He said all-new vehicles or redesigns typically fare poorly in CR's reliability survey due to issues that are hard to suss out before vehicles go into everyday use by consumers. The top-selling Encore and Envision fared well, Linkov said, but were outdone by the Enclave's problematic transmission components. The Enclave was Buick's second best-selling model through September at 35,227 units. Then there is Volvo, about which there is one word to sum up its woes: infotainment.

Mazda MX-5 GT gets green light

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is as popular around the Autoblog offices as Kate Upton posters are around fraternity houses. Few staffers have much criticism for Mazda's ubiquitous roadster, and fewer still aren't overjoyed when one arrives in their driveway. So you can imagine how a report from Auto Express about a more potent MX-5 model is going over in our offices today.
The new model, which was shown in concept form as the Mazda MX-5 GT at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, has a slight catch, though. First, we have absolutely no idea if Mazda will bring the MX-5 GT to the US. Secondly, and perhaps more problematically, this isn't a production car - it's a kit from the team at Jota Sport.
Now, to be fair, the kit doesn't sound like a bad thing. It bumps the UK-spec 2.0-liter, 157-horsepower engine up to 203 hp thanks to a sports exhaust and a revamped ECU (46 horsepower from an ECU and exhaust in a naturally aspirated car?). To make the little Miata even more agile, Jota has also fiddled with the suspension. AE doesn't mention things like the grippy tires or Recaro seats that were found on the concept, though.