2009 Mazda Cx-9 Touring on 2040-cars

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2017 Fiat 124 Spider priced below most Miatas

The Fiat 124 Spider and Mazda MX-5 Miata might be siblings, but all that means is the rivalry between the two cars will be unusually intense. Pricing for the reborn 124 has been released and is added proof of that fact – aside from the very base trim, the turbocharged Italian is cheaper than its Zoom-Zoomy brother. Fiat's base model, the 124 Spider Classica, starts at $25,990. The MX-5 Sport isn't much cheaper, at $25,735. Both cars get 16-inch alloy wheels, black cloth seats, LED taillights, but the Mazda will throw in LED headlights. It's also interesting to note that the two cars have differing destination charges – $995 for the Fiat and $820 for the Mazda. Move up to the mid-range Fiat, and you'll start to see the "Italian" car eke out a pricing advantage. The Lusso, Italian for luxury, rings up at $28,490 compared to the MX-5 Grand Touring's $30,885. Yes, we're comparing the middle-tier 124 to the range-topping Mazda, because the mid-range, enthusiast-oriented Club is more analogous to the 124's Abarth model. The Lusso matches the MX-5 GT with 17-inch alloys, heated leather seats, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with navigation, and dual-zone automatic climate control. The Mazda does come with a bevy of safety features as standard – blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beam control – which look to be optional on the Fiat, so take that into consideration if you're thinking about buying one of the two. We enthusiasts are most interested in the matchup between the 124 Spider Abarth and the MX-5 Club. The scorpion-badged 124 starts at $29,190 and the Club at $29,420. You'll get more power – 10 additional ponies according to FCA – as well as all the performance goodies from the Club. There are Bilstein-tuned shocks, a mechanical limited-slip diff, and a front strut bar, plus a very imposing exhaust note. Recaro seats will be an optional extra, as will Brembo brakes (the MX-5 bundles them with BBS wheels). Finally, there's the 124 Spider Prima Edizione Lusso. The limited-edition wears Azzurro Italia (translation: pretty blue) paint and rings in at $35,995, which gets you a bunch of swag on top of the normal Lusso stuff. Oh, and if you choose the automatic transmission, you'll be punished with a $1,350 charge, regardless of which Fiata you go for. That's less than the premium Mazda charges for an automatic on an MX-5 Club or GT, but more than the $1,480 extra it charges for a two-pedal Sport.

Mazda halts Mazda3 sales for fuel tank problem

Mazda is issuing a stop sale and recall on 14,406 examples of the 2015-2016 Mazda3 in the US with build dates between May 21, 2015, and August 24, 2015, due to a possible fuel leak. There are no reports or accidents or injuries from this problem. According to the company, a defective fuel shut-off valve can allow gasoline to move from the tank and fill the charcoal emissions canister. If it gets too full, there can be a leak, which obviously carries the risk of a possible fire. The engine might stall, as well. Affected owners will be notified to bring their Mazda3 in "as soon as possible." Dealers will inspect the vehicles, and if a problem is found, the fuel tank and charcoal emissions canister will be replaced. During the downtime, customers will get a free rental or loaner car, as well. Those who are particularly concerned can also call Mazda roadside assistance to have their vehicle delivered for the check and possible repair. Related Video: Mazda Issues Stop Sale and Stop Delivery for Mazda3 Fuel Tank Recall WASHINGTON, DC (October 2, 2015) – Mazda Motor Corporation will conduct a Safety and Emission Recall Campaign for certain 2015-2016 Mazda3 vehicles (built from May 21, 2015 through August 24, 2015), which could have a safety-related problem. A defect in the fuel shut-off valve may allow fuel to flow from the fuel tank into the charcoal emissions canister. With this condition, the check engine light may illuminate, and if the fuel exceeds the canister capacity, fuel leakage could occur, increasing the risk of a fire and/or engine stalling. Approximately 14,270 vehicles in the U.S. and 136 vehicles in Puerto Rico are affected. Owners of subject vehicles will be notified by mail in early October. They will be informed to bring their vehicle to the nearest Mazda dealer as soon as possible. Dealers will inspect the fuel tank to determine if the defect exists on the vehicle. If the defect exists, the dealer will replace the fuel tank and charcoal canister at no cost to the customer. A rental or loaner vehicle will be provided at no cost to the owner, until the vehicle is repaired for this concern. If there are no concerns, the vehicle will be returned to the customer. Should a customer not want to drive the vehicle to the dealership, they may contact Mazda's 24-hour Roadside Assistance service at 800-866-1998 and have the vehicle picked up and delivered to the dealership. There have been no reports of accidents or injury related to this issue.

Mazda's new turbo four fits in both the 6 and the 3

Despite the size differences, the Mazda CX-9 shares a lot with its smaller car-based siblings, the Mazda6 and Mazda3. That could allow Mazda to slot its full-sizer's new 2.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine under the hood of its smaller offerings. Pardon us while we do a happy dance. "[The 2.5-liter turbo] fits in a lot of our cars, and where we're actually going to put it is another question," Mazda North America vehicle development engineer Dave Coleman told Australia's Car Advice. Coleman specified that the turbocharged engine will fit in all the same applications that can accommodate the company's 2.5-liter gas and diesel engines. "Basically, that big space we used for the bundle of snakes exhaust manifold, the turbo is in that space too. They're all packaged to occupy the same space. It's exactly the same clearance as the exhaust manifold of the other engines." This kind of logic – if Engine A is the same size as Engine B, then both should fit in Car C – is what's lead us to imagine a turbocharged Mazda6 since the new engine was announced. In short, it's great news. Mazda's 2.5-liter turbo is a hell of an engine in the CX-9, and it's hard to imagine it'd be worse in a lighter vehicle. But just because it works from an engineering standpoint doesn't mean it's going to happen. At least, not soon. "It fits. I'm not a product planner so I don't get to make that call," Coleman told Car Advice. "It's up to the product planners to decide what they're going to put it in." The most obvious application for a turbocharged engine in the 3 or 6 is as a reborn Mazdaspeed model. But don't get too excited – Coleman said Mazda hasn't even gotten as far as building an engineering prototype with this engine. We're still firmly at the theoretical stage. And that's bad news, because it gels with what we've been reporting – that Mazda will wait a generation for future Mazdaspeed models. We just stopped doing our happy dance. Related Video: