1999 Mazda Miata on 2040-cars

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Toyota, Honda, Nissan and more collaborating to increase fuel efficiency

Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu have announced an alliance that will see a push to improve fuel economy from both gas-powered and diesel-powered engines by as much as 30 percent before the end of the decade.
The newly assembled Research Association of Automotive Internal Combustion Engines put the roughly $20-million project together, with the Japanese government committing to half the cost while the eight manufacturers will chip in the rest.
According to Automotive News, the automakers will team up and share basic research on internal-combustion engines in a bid to cut costs. Eventually, the results of the research will find its way into a production vehicle, although it's unclear just when we'll see the fruits of this partnership on the road.

Mazda CX-5, Mazda6 and Mazda3 could stall due to software glitch

Mazda is recalling 262,220 vehicles due to a software error that could cause the engine to unexpectedly stall out. The recall affects 2018-2019 CX-5 crossovers, 2018-2019 Mazda6 sedans and 2019 Mazda3 models.  According to NHTSA recall No. 19V497000, which was filed June 27, a programming issue in the powertrain control module (PCM) on select Mazda vehicles could cause the engine to shut down. More specifically, "the software controlling the hydraulic valve clearance adjuster may operate improperly when transitioning from cylinder deactivation to full cylinder activation modes." This could potentially cause the intake valve rocker arm to come out of position and hit something else in the engine. If this occurs, the engine could misfire, the engine could lose power, and the Malfunction Indicator Light would be triggered. The recall affects 143,004 2018 CX-5s, 81,236 2019 CX-5s, 18,295 2018 Mazda6s, 2,551 2019 Mazda6s, and 17,134 Mazda3s. Some cars from those model years received the improved software at the factory and won't be affected by the recall. Although the first report of a related issue was chronicled in January 31, 2018, no injuries tied to the problems have been reported. Mazda is expected to start its recall on or before August 26, 2019, and will reprogram the PCM with improved hydraulic valve adjustment control programming for free. Contact Mazda at 1-800-222-5500, reference No. 3719F, for more information.

2019 Mazda3 First Drive Review | Defining the term 'fun to drive'

Fun to drive. The phrase gets blasted from seemingly every car commercial, magazine ad, and influencer account – overused that it has lost all meaning. So when Mazda, a small firm that actually does make cars that are fun to drive, talks about their most compelling trait it gets lost in the cacophony of ad spends. However, we're here to tell you that yes, while it's difficult to quantify, some cars are objectively more fun to drive than others, and the all-new 2019 Mazda3 is — and this is a very technical term — a freakin' blast. At Mazda's behest, we took a 2019 sedan up Angeles Crest Highway just outside of L.A. With plenty of yellow signs, tight sequences of banked curves and elevation changes, it's the platonic ideal of those serpentine mountain roads you see in car commercials. The instant the Mazda3 reaches the windy roads, it glides in like an otter diving into the sea. Lively and graceful, it dances along a ribbon of asphalt more naturally than any compact sedan we've driven since the advent of drive-by-wire. The steering is not only direct and true, but possesses an extraordinary ability to maintain trajectory. From the moment you turn in, you never need to make adjustments to the steering wheel until the front tires are straight again. The car goes exactly where you intend, always. That's not hyperbole, but an amazing feat of engineering. In nearly every other vehicle, even those that purport to be sports cars, unless you're incredibly familiar with the machine and know the road like the back of your hand, minor mid-corner corrections are an inevitability. With the 3, you get it right on the first try. Now imagine you're on strip of canyon pavement with lots of short switchbacks in varying radii coming up fast, one right after another. The 3 links them all together with pure ease, and soon you're developing a rhythm through the curves. While other cars charge, the Mazda flows. The car's poise is particularly evident as momentum shifts from one direction to another, what Mazda chassis engineer Dave Coleman termed "transience." In most cars passengers are tossed around the cabin like mannequins, but the 3 cuts out the turbulence, its body engineered to move in a smooth undulation. At the midpoint of the transition, there's even a moment of weightlessness before the car tucks into the next turn and the seat seems to scoop you up and carry you onward.