2006 Mazda 6 S Sedan 4-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2004 Mazda RX-8

You know when a type of vehicle has reached its value tipping point (where it's not worth fixing up a broken or crashed one) when examples of it begin showing up in the big American self-service wrecking yards. During 2016, the BMW Z3 and Mazda RX-8 reached that point and began to appear, just one at a time, here and there, but obviously they were the advance scouts for many to follow. Such cars usually get picked over in a hurry ... at first. Here's a well-stripped example of a first-year RX-8 I found earlier this year in a Denver yard. Some RX-7 owner probably nabbed the Renesis engine right away, and then the guys who grab late-model parts to flog on eBay were next. Still, plenty of interesting components remained on this car when I photographed it, and RX-8s that end up here in a year or two won't get swarmed by the vultures anywhere near as quickly. Does that mean that RX-8s are now cheap enough to race in the 24 Hours of LeMons? Could be! Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 2004 Mazda RX-8 View 11 Photos Auto News Design/Style Mazda mazda rx-8

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla road rage video, Mazda tests EVs vs. hybrids

A Tesla Model S driver was caught driving recklessly in a dashcam video. On Toronto's Don Valley Parkway, the driver of a white Model S can bee seen speeding along the left shoulder. Another car moves partway onto the shoulder to block the driver, who moves back into the left lane. As traffic slows, the driver pulls back onto the shoulder and speeds away. The folks at Teslarati suggest that this serves as an example of why vehicle autonomy could make the roadways safer. See the video above, and read more at Teslarati. Formula E will be broadcast live on Italy's Rai network for the next two seasons. The programming will include the live races, as well as practice and qualifying highlights, podium celebrations, interviews and other pre- and post-race coverage. "It's a great opportunity for Formula E and motorsport fans to have Rai broadcasting the live races of our series in Italy," says Trulli Formula E team owner Jarno Trulli. "It's a step forward to make the series grow and get stronger after a successful first season. I'm looking forward to cooperate with Rai and show the Italian fans what we are truly doing with our technology." Read more from Formula E. A new study links a decline in cancer risk to California's air quality regulations. The study from CARB found that cancer risk from toxic air contaminants declined 76 percent from 1990 to 2012, a time period that corresponds with regulations targeting those contaminants. Even as the amount of diesel miles driven has steadily increased, cancer risk from diesel particulate matter has declined significantly. The paper predicts that cancer risk will continue to drop as a result of controls on toxic emissions. Read more at Green Car Congress. Mazda is conducting consumer trials of hybrid and electric vehicles in Japan to gauge reception. Depending on whether hybrids or EVs prove to be more popular, Mazda will adopt one of the two types of powertrain for future production vehicles. The automaker is currently testing an electric Mazda2 against a hybrid Mazda3. While this round of testing is focused on the automaker's home market, Mazda may need to expand trials to the US in response to tightening regulations in California. Read more at Green Car Reports.

2015 Mazda3 shows its shape

Mazda's new Kodo design language is set to quickly spread across the automaker's entire lineup, judging by these spy shots of the next-generation Mazda3 that show some very familiar styling cues. No matter, we're impressed with what Mazda has done on the CX-5 crossover and Mazda6 sedan in terms of design, and we're happy to see the C-segment hatchback ditching the smile-for-a-mile Nagare design.
It's unclear what sort of architecture is found below the new Mazda3 - our spy shooters suggest that the car could simply be using a heavily massaged version of the Ford C1 platform found under the current car. Our best guess is that it's actually a reworked version of the platform used in the CX-5 crossover, however, chocked full of weight-saving Skyactiv technologies. After all, the CX-5 plays in the compact CUV segment, and those vehicles are commonly based on C-segment platforms. And besides, there's probably some economic savings at work with the new chassis - both in terms of fuel efficiency and economies of scale. Still, no one is totally certain what lies under all that black-and-white paper at the moment.
The new Mazda3 is targeted to arrive for the 2015 model year, meaning we could see a final production car debut as early as this year. We expect the hatch you see here to debut along with a traditional four-door sedan, and unless we hear otherwise, we don't doubt that a Mazdaspeed version will be far behind.