Mazda Mpv Lx Standard Passenger Van 3-door 3.0l- on 2040-cars

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8 cars we're most looking forward to driving in 2015

Now that 2014 is officially in the books, it's time to look ahead. And following our list of the cars we liked best last year, we're now setting our sights at the hot new metal that's coming our way in 2015. Some of these, we've already seen. And some are still set to debut during the 2015 auto show season. But these are the machines that keep us going – the things on the horizon that we're particularly stoked to drive, and drive hard. Jeep Renegade Not the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Not the Ford Mustang GT350. Not the new John Cooper Works Mini. Nope, I'm looking forward to the adorable, trail-rated Jeep Renegade. And that's because I really, really, really like our long-term Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I do not, however, care too much for the Cherokee's looks, and I really don't like its $38,059 price tag. The Renegade Trailhawk, meanwhile, promises much of the same rough-and-tumble character as its big brother, but at what we expect will be a more reasonable price (I'm personally wagering on the baby Jeep's off-road model starting at no more than $23,000). With a 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a nine-speed automatic, it should also be a bit easier to fill than the V6-powered Cherokee. Also, I can't help but love the way the Renegade looks. It's like someone took a Wrangler, squished it by 50 percent and then handed it off to George Clinton for a healthy dose of funk. The interior, with its bright, expressive trims and color schemes should also be a really nice place to spend some time. I'll be attending the Renegade's launch later this month, so I'll have a much shorter wait than my colleagues. Here's hoping the baby Jeep lives up to my expectations. – Brandon Turkus Associate Editor Mazda MX-5 Miata Here's an uncomfortable truth: I'd rather spend a day driving a properly sorted Mazda MX-5 Miata of any generation on a winding road than I would nearly any other vehicle, regardless of power, price or prestige. It's not just that I prize top-down driving and enjoy the Miata's small size because it gives me more road to play with. I just find there's more motoring joy to be had with high-fidelity handling and an uncorrupted car-to-driver communication loop than I do with face-distorting power or grip – let alone valet-stand gravitas. But perhaps most of all, I love Miatas because they can deliver that level of feedback and driver reward at modest speeds that won't put the locals on edge or endanger lives – you can use more of the car more of the time.

Mazda CX-5 Luggage Test | How much cargo space?

We're already seen how Mazda's largest crossover, the CX-9, does at stuffing luggage inside its cargo hold. Now it's time for the next rung down the Mazda ladder. The Mazda CX-5 has 30.9 cubic-feet of space behind its raised back seat, which on paper, is considerably less than its top competition. The Hyundai Tucson leads the way with 38.7 cubic-feet, the Honda CR-V (39.2) and Toyota RAV4 (37.5) are basically the same, and the Subaru Forester has between 33 and 35 depending on options. However, the CX-5 does have more than the Chevrolet Equinox (29.9), Jeep Compass (27.2) and Ford Escape when its sliding back seat is in its aft-most position (33.5 when all the way forward).  Basically, this compact Mazda's cargo area is midpack, which makes it a good choice for my first luggage test of the segment. Let's see how much of the luggage in my garage fits inside. As a refresher, I use two mid-size roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).  I started by keeping the cargo cover in place to see how much fits underneath it. The answer is the four largest bags. The two smaller ones did not. OK, now let's remove the cargo cover, which is an unusual design. Rather than a roller-type cartridge that you manually pull into place or a rigid hatchback-like unit that rises up when the liftgate goes up, the CX-5 basically combines the two. The forward bit is attached to the liftgate and unspools when opened.  To detach it, you need to unfasten these plastic clamps and then remove the cartridge reel much as you would a normal cargo cover. OK, and now here's how much the CX-5 can fit with the cargo cover removed.  All of it! That above configuration is just the first thing I came up with, but there's likely additional Tetris formations to be found. Note that the tailgate does close here but the middle cases' wheels are awfully close to the window.  I'm not going to stop there, though. I went ahead and rummaged through my garage to see what it would take to fill'er up. There you go: one duffle bag and one gym bag stuffed into the spaces. You could probably fit a grocery bag right in front there, too.

Airbag recall widens to include BMW, Chrysler, Ford and Toyota

The recall of faulty airbag inflators supplied by Takata has exploded today to grow to seven automakers. In most cases, only models in certain high-humidity regions were affected because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found in its investigation that moisture played a roll in determining whether there would be a problem. However, some companies opted for national campaigns. The exact number of affected models for these campaigns isn't yet known at this time.
BMW is recalling an undisclosed number of 325i, 325Xi, 330i and 330Xi models from the 2001 through 2005 model years and the 2001-2006 model year versions of the 325Ci and 330Ci for the driver side and passenger side inflators. Only vehicles currently registered in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands are covered under this recall.
Neither Chrysler's filing with NHTSA nor its press release list the specific models affected, but a company spokesperson told Autoblog that at this time it only covers the driver and passenger side inflators for the 2006 Dodge Charger in Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands