Mazda Tribute 04 on 2040-cars

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Five automakers now being investigated by NHTSA for airbag woes

It appears that Toyota's renotification to owners of recalled vehicles from last year is just the tip of the iceberg for what could potentially be a much larger industry-wide recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation investigation into roughly 1.1 million vehicles from Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and parts supplier Takata regarding faulty airbag inflators in several models.
NHTSA has received six reports - three directly, two from Takata and one from Toyota - of vehicles with ruptured airbag inflators from 2002-2006, which resulted in three injuries. So far, all six incidents have occurred in high humidity areas like Florida and Puerto Rico. According to Toyota's latest recall announcement, the inflators may have an improper propellant that could cause it to rupture in a crash and the bag to deploy abnormally.
This new investigation follows a previous recall from April 2013 of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide for the airbag inflators from Takata. As Autoblog reported, Toyota jumpstarted the new situation when it found that the original list of serial numbers for the faulty part was incomplete and discovered more cars in need of replacement. Honda and Nissan told us that they were investigating whether further models would need called in again as well. Mazda told Autoblog: "Regarding the current Takata situation, we're working closely with NHTSA and investigating the situation, but nothing else to report at this time." Chrysler Group responded to us with the statement: "Chrysler Group engineers are conducting the appropriate analysis. The Company will cooperate fully with the National Highway Traffic Administration."

2019 Mazda CX-5 Turbo First Drive Review | Two-row crossover perfection

Listen: If you're shopping for a crossover, and by all accounts most Americans are, there is no better option on the market than the 2019 Mazda CX-5. When we test drove the all-new 2017 CX-5, we were astounded by its marked improvements over the already-great previous generation. We noted then its biggest drawback was its average 187 horsepower. The CX-5 didn't feel slow, and it certainly made up for it in other ways, like by delivering superior road-hugging abilities. But, it was probably enough to turn off buyers who do their shopping by analyzing spec sheets. For 2019, Mazda addressed that exact issue with a vengeance. With an all-new 2.5-liter SkyActiv Turbo good for 250 horsepower, the CX-5 not only leapfrogs bestselling rivals like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4, but lands squarely in the realm of luxury stalwarts such as the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. When we drove the 2017 CX-5, we likened the handling to that of a Porsche Macan. Now it has the power to match. Among its direct competition, only the 2019 Toyota RAV4 breaks the 200-horsepower mark, ringing in at 203 (and the Hybrid makes an even more impressive 219 ponies), while the Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester and VW Tiguan all sit between 180 and 190. Now, to get the full herd you must fill the tank with 93 octane premium, but if you don't mind leaving a few ponies in the stable you can pump 87 octane for a slight dip to 227 horsepower. The engine adjusts with no ill effects. Even better, torque stays the same no matter what, and the stump-pulling 310 pound-feet of torque comes quick at just 2,000 rpm. The SkyActiv turbo is full of clever engineering tricks, too. There's an exhaust port restrictor, for instance, a narrower channel used only at low engine speeds. Mazda engineer Dave Coleman likened it to a thumb over a firehose, making more exhaust pressure at idle to spool up the turbo, and thus delivering more oomph when you take off from a standstill. Mazdafarians will recognize the mill as the same one that debuted on the 2018 Mazda6. It powers the CX-9 too, Mazda's highly acclaimed three-row crossover. The 3,825-pound CX-5 has 558 fewer pounds to shuffle around than its larger stablemate, making it downright snappy. However, that extra pep does come with a fuel economy penalty, 22 city and 27 highway mpg versus the naturally aspirated version's 24 city and 30 highway mpg.

Illinois’ pro-union stance kills bid for Toyota-Mazda plant, report says

Mazda and Toyota are fielding bids from states eager to land its new prize: an all-new $1.6 billion U.S. plant where the Japanese automakers would jointly build electric vehicles and employ around 4,000 workers. Now we can apparently scratch Illinois off the list of contenders. According to Automotive News, the Land of Lincoln has been disqualified due to a lack of shovel-ready sites and the state's lack of a right-to-work law curtailing union membership. Mark Peterson, the president and CEO of economic development agency Intersect Illinois, told the publication he's been informed Illinois is not among the three or four finalists for the facility. It's believed those finalists are all in the South. Peterson said that "many national site consultants charged with making recommendations for corporate relocations and expansions will not even consider a state that is not a right-to-work state. In this case, the three states I am told are still in the running are all right-to-work states." The Midwest may be the ancestral home of U.S. automotive manufacturing, but the South has made major inroads in recent decades, with the likes of Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota all opening plants there, among others, thanks to lucrative tax incentives and the absence of labor unions. Recent years have also seen so-called right-to-work laws, which prohibit union dues and membership as a condition of employment in organized workplaces, spread to traditional labor strongholds such as Michigan and Wisconsin. The new joint venture plant, which would start operating in 2021, would be capable of producing 300,000 vehicles a year, with production divided between the two automakers. Mazda and Toyota would also take small stakes in one another as part of the deal. It's expected that at least 15 states have submitted proposals to attract the plant. Expect the Illinois news to trigger a new round of debate over the role of organized labor in the modern economy.Related Video: Image Credit: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Mazda Toyota