1992 Mazda Miata Mx-5 Mx5 5 Speed Original 34,500 Miles on 2040-cars

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Mazda Miata celebrates 25 years of rocking our worlds

For its birthday it hasn't been profiled on 60 Minutes or been to Jay Leno's Garage, doesn't go on a retrospective tour of vintage racetracks or get a special Spyder Zagato edition. That doesn't mean we think any less of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the roadster with a simplicity that was as enjoyable as it was barely believable when it arrived in 1989. A quarter of a century and three generations later, the Miata remains the go-to roadster when you want easy, balanced and economical thrills.
It grew from a 116-horsepower speedster with a five-speed manual transmission and a curb weight of 2,116 pounds, to a 167-hp go-kart with a five-speed manual coming in at 2,480 pounds (in Sport guise). Along the way it's picked up hundreds of awards, including 14 nods on Car and Driver's "10Best" list, its most recent eight-year streak coming to an end last year, the Guinness Book of World Records title as "Best-Selling Two-Seater Sports Car" and innumerable trophies as weekend racer extraordinaire.
We'll see the fourth generation at next year's Chicago Auto Show, and we're certain to hear more about its 25-year milestone this year. Until that happens, enjoy the images above and the gallery and press release below.

Mazda's new Mexican plant capacity rises to 230,000

After the turmoil of last year, 2013 is getting off to a much better start for Mazda. The company has issued a release indicating that the forthcoming plant in Salamanca, Mexico has had its production capacity raised even though it isn't scheduled to go online until March 2014. The original plans called for a 140,000-unit capacity, 90,000 of that allotted for the Mazda2 and Mazda3, the remaining 50,000 for a small car Mazda would build for Toyota that would be based on the Mazda2. The new plans call for raising that by 90,000 units to a total of 230,000 units within two years, by the end of March 2016, and it looks like it will all go toward Mazda production to satisfy growing demand for Skyactiv vehciles. The Mexican plant's opening will be the return of Mazda manufacturing to North America, after Mazda6 production was moved back to Japan last year.
More good news for the company is that it projects 10 billion yen ($114 million) in net income for the financial year that will end in March. That would be a welcome turnaround from the 100-billion-yen loss in the previous financial year, part of a series of three annual losses in a four-year span.
You'll find the press release with the factory update below.

Teen Miata enthusiast and friend of Autoblog passes away

When Thomas' illness made it impossible for him to drive, he relied on friends to do it for him.
Attending the reveal of the 2016 MX-5 Miata and the subsequent 25th anniversary celebration at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca confirmed that the little roadster maintains broad appeal, one not limited to the elderly or a certain gender as detractors might have you believe. In fact, the assembled crowd was surprisingly youthful, particularly amongst the club racer set and tuners. But one young Miata owner and superfan unfortunately wasn't in attendance - Thomas Jost, 19, was busy fighting for his life in a Maryland hospital.