1992 Mazda Miata Mx5 With A Automatic Transmission, Custom Wheels And Hardtop on 2040-cars

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Recharge Wrap-up: Renault-Nissan hits 250,000 EVs, will the next Toyota Prius be an SUV?

Will the next Toyota Prius be an SUV? Mazda and Toyota recently reached an agreement to share powertrain technologies, which will help Mazda comply with California's tightening ZEV restrictions with a plug-in vehicle. On the flip side, Toyota will have access Mazda's Skyactiv diesel powertrain, which a source tells Motoring will be used in an SUV based on the Toyota Prius (and, as Hybrid Cars suggests, on the Toyota C-HR concept). Interestingly, the collaboration will also give Mazda access to Toyota's fuel cell technology, which could mean more hydrogen powered cars on the road and the subsequent expansion of hydrogen fueling infrastructure. Could it also make way for a long-awaited hydrogen powered rotary-engine sports car from Mazda? Read more at Motoring. Samsung SDI unveiled two new lithium-ion stationary batteries at Intersolar Europe. In doing so, Samsung throws its hat in the ring with the likes of automakers Tesla and Mercedes-Benz, using knowledge from electric vehicle batteries in the arena of home solar energy storage. In addition to its 3.6-kWh battery, its new 5.5-kWh and 8.0-kWh batteries offer storage solutions at a larger, more practical scale for solar customers. Called the All-in-One, the battery system, borrowed from electric vehicles, is made up of a photovoltaic inverter, battery PCS and lithium-ion battery, and promises efficiency, compactness, fast installation and an affordable price. Read more from Samsung SDI. The Renault-Nissan Alliance has sold its 250,000th electric vehicle. The quarter-millionth EV was a white Renault Zoe sold to a French computer engineer from Bordeaux named Yves Nivelle. While he credits a government program offering a ˆ10,000 rebate for EV buyers trading in an older diesel vehicle for helping him make the decision to pull the trigger on the new Zoe, "I have to say, I was convinced the first time I drove the car. It's a real pleasure to drive and it feels good to do my part for the environment," says Nivelle. The Alliance had sold around 31,600 EVs from January to May this year, up 15 percent from the first five months of 2014. See the video above, and read more in the press release below. Renault-Nissan Alliance sells its 250,000th electric vehicle • Historic EV milestone reached in early June • Alliance sells half of all EVs globally • EV sales up nearly 15 percent through May vs.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata to be revealed on September 3 [w/video]

Now in its 25th year and on the market in its current form since 2005, the Mazda MX-5 Miata has been due for replacement for some time now. A mid-life facelift helped things along some in 2008, but the moment that roadster enthusiasts have been anxiously awaiting is almost upon us.
Mazda has now confirmed that the 2016 MX-5 will be officially unveiled on September 3 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca just ahead of the "Miatas at Mazda Raceway" event, where the Japanese automaker will also display "an array of heritage, concept and motorsports MX-5s," just as it did alongside the upcoming new roadster's Skyactiv chassis at the New York Auto Show.
Not to leave the European and Asian markets out of the fun, Mazda will simultaneously unveil the new Miata in Spain and Japan as well. But in the meantime you can view the teaser video and press release below to keep that excitement drummed up.

Why is it called Mazda CX-30? Plus other questions answered

GENEVA — Mazda just introduced its latest crossover, the CX-30, and it left us raising an eyebrow. It's planned for a global release, including the United States, and it's supposed to slot between two compact crossovers that one might not think had room for another model. Plus it has a name that doesn't fit Mazda's typical nomenclature. So we thought we'd take a little time to explain some of those things, starting with the name. Mazda arrived at the CX-30 name because of a self-created problem: the Chinese Mazda CX-4. The CX-4 name would be perfect for the CX-30, since it would fall right between the CX-3 and CX-5 where it's positioned. But with the name taken, and evidently no plans to discontinue, replace, or rename that Chinese model, Mazda needed something else, and fractions and decimals weren't on the table. So appending a zero was the plan. Talking with a Mazda representative, there were hints, though no concrete confirmation, that this naming scheme could possibly spread throughout the Mazda line. There would be advantages to such a system, such as bringing the CX-30 into line with other Mazda products, but it would also provide room for other in-between models named CX-35, CX-25, etc. Now for the size. Mazda says it fits between the CX-3 and CX-5, both of which will be sold alongside it for the foreseeable future. But is it closer to one than the other? Length-wise, the CX-30 is 4.7 inches longer than the CX-3 and 5.9 inches shorter than the CX-5. It's also an inch wider than CX-3 and 1.8 inches narrower than CX-5. Interestingly, the CX-30 and CX-3 are the same height, which is 5.9 inches shorter than the CX-5. The CX-30 does have a bit more ground clearance than the CX-3, but only by a few hundredths of an inch. To add some context outside the Mazda brand, the CX-30's size also puts it on par with crossovers such as the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross, Subaru Crosstrek and Jeep Compass. All of those are sort of in-betweeners themselves. By contrast, the CX-3 is one of the smallest subcompact crossovers and aligns more closely with a Hyundai Kona. In other words, there actually was a segment gap Mazda could fill as the CX-30 fall pretty squarely between the CX-3 and CX-5. As such, we also imagine that pricing will fall between the two. The CX-3 starts at $21,435 and the CX-5 at $25,395. So about $23,000 seems reasonable for the base Skyactiv 2.0-liter engine, and probably more for the Skyactiv-X engine.