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The Miata gives me a new perspective on the world

The Miata: making everything a new experience and turning low-beam headlights into high-beams since 1989. That's what happens when you're basically sitting on the ground, something I've become intimately familiar with when driving our long-term 2016 MX-5 Club. I am not a tall person. Far from it. In most cars I drive, I crank the seat height up close to maximum as soon as I get in. That's easy in the Miata because there's no height adjustment at all. Couple that with the facts that the seat is thin and the car barely hovers off of the pavement, and my eyes end up sitting at the height of most car's exhaust systems. That results in a lot of examining other cars' bumpers in traffic. And one day recently, it almost led to me missing my exit from Interstate 94, part of the route I take every day to work. Everything just looks different from down here – it is quite literally a different point of view from what I'm used to. And then there's the issue of night driving. When you're this low down and stuck in traffic, the headlights of cars following look extremely bright (and incredibly close). They're not, of course, you're just lower than every other driver on the road so it seems like you're staring down high-beams in the rearview mirror. I still love the Miata. It's just not the best commuter vehicle, which should come as a surprise to precisely no one. But when a hole opens up in traffic, the Miata and I are the first to fill it. I just hope the other cars see me. Related Video: Mazda Long-Term Garage Convertible Lightweight Vehicles Performance

Did Mazda designer Derek Jenkins leave to head up a 'Stealth Project?'

Not long after Derek Jenkins officially gave the 2016 MX-5 Miata to the buying world, he's left the Mazda building. Jalopnik reported that the head of design for Mazda North America changed the current job description on his LinkedIn profile to "Stealth Project." Mazda backed up the discovery with this reply to Jalop's inquiry: Derek left Mazda last Friday. He left on great terms in order to work on a new endeavor. We wish him the best of luck. He will be missed, but we are sure that he will do great things in the next chapter of his career. That "last Friday" would be July 17. Emphasizing the "stealth" bit in his new position, as far as we can tell, Jenkins still hasn't publicly answered any question about what he's doing. Every automaker has secrets, but traditional automakers usually make a hubbub about hiring big-name designers, especially one with Jenkins' resume. For his new employer to go all Ghost Recon with all information, well that's the kind of mystery this summer needs. The obvious culprit would be a certain fruit-named company in a certain Cupertino, CA office park. If that ends up being the case, Jenkins would be the second chief designer at Mazda NA to go electric: he replaced Franz von Holzhausen in the position after von Holzhausen went to Tesla. Various other Apple Project Titan hires have made the news, though. For all we know, Jenkins' project might not be automotive. So let's just go ahead and cue the speculation. We're looking forward to whatever he's got coming, and to whoever gets nominated to keep the full head of Zoom-Zoom going at Mazda NA.

Turbocharged 2018 Mazda6 EPA mileage figures released

A few months after the reveal of the new turbocharged variant of the Mazda6, we now know how much more fuel the force-fed family sedan will require. The EPA rating puts it at 31 mpg on the highway, 23 in the city and 26 combined. That is less than the naturally aspirated model with either an automatic transmission or a manual, the former of which gets 35 mpg highway, 26 in town and 29 combined. But the naturally aspirated Mazda6's 184 horsepower and 185 pound-feet of torque are well short of the turbo engine's 250 horsepower and 310 pound-feet. The turbo Mazda6's fuel economy also puts it right in the range of similarly powerful sedans in the mid-size arena. In fact, almost every 2018 2.0-liter turbocharged sedan in the segment gets 26 mpg combined, including Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, Chevy Malibu, Buick Regal, and most versions of the Honda Accord, with only a difference of 1 or 2 mpg in city or highway results. The V6 Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima also hit this 26 mpg fuel economy mark. As far as power is concerned, the Mazda6 is also very even with the competition, most of which makes right around 250 horsepower, though the Toyota Camry's naturally aspirated V6 is a class-leader at 301 horsepower. But the 6's advantage is in torque. None of the mainstream family sedans touch the Mazda's whopping 310 pound-feet. The 2.0-liter Honda Accord and Ford Fusion come the closest at 273 and 275 pound-feet respectively. To beat the Mazda6 would require going for the Ford Fusion Sport, which is a unique step up in the segment with a turbocharged V6 making 380 pound-feet. The Fusion Sport takes a serious hit in the fuel economy department, though, getting just 20 mpg combined. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.