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Mixed sales results, but automaker stocks rise on need for cars in Houston

DETROIT — The Big Three Detroit automakers on Friday reported better-than-expected August sales and issued optimistic outlooks for demand as residents of the Houston area replace flood-damaged cars and trucks after Hurricane Harvey, sending their stocks higher. General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler posted mixed August U.S. sales, with GM up 7.5 percent and Ford and Fiat Chrysler down. Japanese automaker Toyota improved sales by nearly 7 percent, while Honda fell 2.4 percent. Still, analysts focused on the potential for Detroit automakers to cut inventories and stabilize used vehicle prices as residents of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, are forced to replace tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of vehicles after the devastation from Hurricane Harvey. Mark LaNeve, Ford's U.S. sales chief, told analysts on Friday that following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 "we saw a very dramatic snapback" in demand. That said, Ford sales fell 2.1 percent in August. It sold 209,897 vehicles in the United States, compared with 214,482 a year earlier. Sales were down 1.9 percent in the Ford division and off 5.8 percent at Lincoln. Demand was down for cars, crossovers and SUVs. It was not clear how many vehicles in the Houston area will be scrapped, LaNeve said, saying he had seen estimates ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 to 1 million. Ford's Houston dealers may have lost fewer than 5,000 vehicles in inventory, he said. Ford is the No. 1 automaker in the Houston market, with 18 percent share, according to IHS Markit. The company plans to ship used vehicles to Houston dealers and has "every indication we would have to add some production" of new vehicles to meet demand, LaNeve said. Investor concerns about inventories of unsold vehicles and falling used car prices have weighed on Detroit automakers' shares most of this year. Now, automakers can anticipate a jolt of demand from a big market that is a stronghold for Detroit brand trucks and SUVs. "It's got to be a positive for the industry," LaNeve said. Investors appeared to agree. GM shares rose as much as 3.3 percent to their highest since early March. Ford increased 2.8 percent at $11.34, and Fiat Chrysler's U.S.-traded shares were up 5.2 percent $15.91, hitting their highest in more than five years. GM reported a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. auto sales in August, helped by robust sales of crossovers across its four brands.

2021 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo is official, with automatic transmission only

The Mazda3 Turbo is here, and while it’s no Mazdaspeed, this is still a happy day for enthusiasts. Its full, official name is the 2021 Mazda3 2.5 Turbo, which begins to describe it perfectly. Just as was expected, Mazda has taken its 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder off its shelf and plopped it into the compact 3. When run on 93 octane fuel, Mazda claims 250 horsepower and 320 pound-feet of torque. You can still run it on 87 octane, but the numbers drop to 227 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. Mazda says this engine has a specific calibration for the Mazda3 “to deliver the unique driving dynamics expected by our most passionate drivers.” The engine delivers a stout low-end shove in its other applications, so perhaps Mazda has found a way to make it more excitable in the upper rev ranges. WeÂ’ll see about that when we drive it. The Turbo is also paired exclusively with all-wheel drive and the six-speed automatic transmission. It is sad to see the six-speed manual being left in the dust here, but Mazda has decided to not offer it as an option. The all-wheel drive system operates the same as the one in the naturally aspirated version, which should hopefully be good enough to mitigate torque steer and understeer. Mazda hasnÂ’t quoted any official acceleration times for the Turbo yet, but we expect it could chop about a second off the carÂ’s 0-60 mph time. Something in the low 6-second range seems plausible. There are no changes to the chassis, suspension or brakes for this model; Mazda says "the current Mazda3, as well as all our vehicles, are always designed and tuned to be focused on dynamic driving. We are confident that the turbo engine will help to refine the already exciting driving experience without the need to add more than is necessary." It does come in a base trim (similar to a base hatchback in content), but even that trim is relatively well-equipped. A Premium Plus Package is available that raises the bar. This package includes leather seats, navigation, HomeLink, Traffic Jam Assist (provides steering inputs below 40 mph to stay in lane), 360-degree camera, rear automatic emergency braking, rear cross-traffic braking and parking sensors in front and back.  Unfortunately, the new driver assistance features we listed above are exclusive to the Turbo and wonÂ’t be available on other Mazda3 models this year.

Mazda previews 2016 Miata Global MX-5 Cup racer

At this point, we all know that the Mazda MX-5 Miata is a highly capable racing platform. Mazda even claims that the car is the most road-raced model in the world. Fittingly, then, the Japanese brand is making a huge announcement about the future of motorsport for its next-generation convertible. The MX-5 Cup is going worldwide in 2016 as the MX-5 Global Cup, and all of the racers are getting behind the wheel of the upcoming fourth-gen Miata, similar to the gorgeous redhead pictured above.
"It has long been our goal to see Mazda fans around the world competing in identical MX-5s, and the launch of the 2016 MX-5 Miata is the perfect time to make this goal a reality," said Masahiro Moro, Managing Executive Officer in charge of Global Sales, Marketing and Customer Service for Mazda in the company's announcement.
The racing version makes its grand debut at this year's SEMA show, although at the moment it's really more of a concept. Mazda confirms that the racer uses the 2.0-liter SkyActiv four-cylinder, but the other important parts like tires, suspension and safety equipment are not yet determined. The cars "will be sold ready to race from a single supplier," according to automaker's announcement for the series.