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Mazda will introduce a groundbreaking new diesel engine in 2020

Mazda is preparing to introduce its first series-produced electric car, but it's not sending the diesel engine to the automotive graveyard. The company remains committed to turbodiesel technology, and it will take its efficiency to the next level when it introduces a new range of engines in 2020. "We are sticking to diesel engines. In 2020, we have a new approach to diesel engines. We will show you how clean and very efficient diesel engines can be," pledged Christian Schultze, the head of research and development for Mazda's European division, in an interview with British magazine Autocar. He declined to provide specific details about the breakthrough that made a cleaner, more efficient diesel engine possible. Asked about how the engine compared to SkyActiv-X, the carmaker's newest and most innovative gasoline-powered engine, he pointed out "there are not so many differences between [gasoline] and diesel." His announcement falls in line with Mazda's belief that it's crucially important to consider real-world emissions over the life cycle of a car, not just local emissions. The company has realistically stated the internal combustion engine -- whether it burns gasoline or diesel -- will "continue to be the base power for 85 percent of all cars up until 2035." It might join forces with a 48-volt electrical system, or it might be part of a plug-in hybrid drivetrain, but it will still be around in 15 years. To that end, it's important to keep improving the technology, and not to prematurely pen its obituary.  "We hope governments wake up and see that electrification is one way but there are others, too," Schultze concluded, adding that SkyActiv-X is a step in the right direction. Mazda will release more details about its next turbodiesel engine in the coming months, but it's too early to tell whether it will available in the United States, where demand for oil-burning cars has hit rock bottom. As of 2019, the only diesel-powered Mazda sold in America is an upmarket variant of the CX-5 (pictured). Auto News Mazda Diesel Vehicles

A '70s F1 car and a first-gen Miata make an amazing lovechild

For no apparent reason, this artist asked what if Mazda built an MX-5-based F1 car? And what if it were from the 1970s, the glory days of James Hunt and Niki Lauda? Here's what it'd look like. Look at it! Look at its adorable little eyes and the huge tires. And the intake! The rendering is by YasidDesign and was done live in front of Facebook followers in a Facebook Live session. It borrows heavily from 1970s F1 cars – it looks like a March 741 served as the basis for the open-wheel portion – and blends it effortlessly with MX-5 styling cues. It all came together in about 90 minutes. Watching the process is remarkable, especially considering YasidDesign is doing the bulk of the work live while taking comments and advice from people on Facebook. Check out the video and YasidDesign's other works on his Facebook page. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 1991 Ford Festiva with 317K miles

Most cars that make it to astoundingly high mileage figures tend to fall into one of two categories: engineering masterpieces that ended up being hard to kill (and got a lifetime of at least the most important maintenance items) or machines that inspired unquestioning love from owners willing to keep opening their wallets for decades to keep them on the road. Today's Junkyard Gem falls into neither of those groups; it's a penny-pinching Ford Festiva, one of the cheapest cars available in its time … and yet it cracked the magical 300,000-mile mark before getting discarded. So, a total of 317,207.3 miles over its nearly 30 years on the road. We just saw a discarded 1989 Honda Civic with a mere 308,895 miles on the clock, and this Festiva comes close to topping this 1993 Honda Civic DX. The highest-mileage junkyard car I've ever found (keep in mind that most cars before the middle 1980s had 5-digit odometers, and most cars this century have unreadable-in-the-boneyard electronic odometers) is this 1987 Mercedes-Benz 190E with an amazing 601,173 miles. This Mercedes-Benz 300D came close, with 535,971 miles. Detroit went to six-digit odometers late in the game, but this 1986 Olds Calais reached 363,033 miles, and this Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor reached the 412,013-mile figure thanks to a second career as a taxi. A Festiva surpassing the 300k mark, though, is not something I ever expected to see. These cars were sold as cheap, no-frills transportation, period. The MSRP on a base-level Festiva started at $6,620 in 1991, or about $12,610 in 2020 bucks. Not many cars could squeeze under that price at that time; the Subaru Justy could be purchased for $5,995, the Hyundai Excel 3-door hatch cost $6,275, and the Yugo GV (yes, it could still be obtained new as late as 1991) had a hilarious $4,435 price tag. Even the lowly Geo Metro, Pontiac LeMans, and Toyota Tercel EZ cost more than this Festiva. Still, this car came with snazzy pinstripes, now faded to near-invisibility by the Colorado sun. You can see the cover plate in the spot where the air-conditioning button would have gone, had the original buyer of this car been willing to squander precious dollars on such frivolity. Five-speed manual transmission, naturally. You could get an automatic in the Festiva, but anyone willing to spend that kind of money on extras would have been able to afford a much nicer Tercel EZ.