2011 Mazda Mx-5 Miata Grand Touring Convertible 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Are you the 2016 Mazda Miata?

Tech nerds are spoiled. Every year, there's a new iPhone that arrives following months and months of breathless speculation and rumormongering. We car folk have a more difficult life, because vehicles with the iPhone's cult-like devotion and following, while plentiful, only receive hefty updates after several years. Case in point, the Mazda MX-5.
There's a new one coming, and much like the iPhone 6, it'll arrive in just a few weeks. So, in lockstep with the tech folk, we're anxiously biding our time and waiting with baited breath for the expected debut date of September 3. Also, like Apple fanboys, we're clamoring over any hint or teaser as to what the next-gen Miata will bring, which is why we're showing you the above image.
That is, allegedly, the new MX-5 hiding under the sheet. Auto Motor und Sport has the image, which according to World Car Fans was released by Mazda. Of course, we've reached out to the Zoom-Zoom brand for verification of its authenticity, and will be sure to update as soon as we hear back.

Mazda ad showing Facebook updates while driving criticized by Senate committee [w/video]

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-WV, held an all-day summit on Thursday to discuss the dangers of using modern technology while driving, during which an ad that Mazda aired during the Super Bowl was used as an example of the worrisome future towards which we're headed. While seemingly innocuous at first glance, the ad, which can be seen below, shows a brief glimpse of a driver using the Mazda Connect infotainment system in a Mazda3 to check/update his Facebook page while driving down the road.
Officials from major communications companies like Samsung, Google and Apple attended the summit, as well as representatives from automakers including General Motors and Toyota. A representative from Mazda was not present despite the company's own currently available technology being used as the poster child for the issues being discussed.
According to Automotive News, Senator Rockefeller warned the automaker and communication execs on hand that he will propose legislation to regulate the use of technology while driving if they don't work together to implement their own standards more quickly. Michael Robinson, GM's vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs, argued that his company has had distracted driving guidelines in place for 15 years since the advent of its OnStar system, noting that the technology in question has also helped the automaker save lives through automatic crash detection and calls to 911.

Mazda's next-gen SkyActiv engines will drop spark plugs in favor of high compression

Homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI, is the black art of internal combustion engines that aims to produce diesel-like fuel efficiency for the cost of gasoline. Although some of its competitors have developed and subsequently given up on the tech, Mazda confirmed that the next-generation of SkyActiv engines will employ HCCI technology, improving fuel economy by 30 percent and at the same time reducing exhaust emissions. According to Nikkei, a new SkyActiv family of engines is set to debut under the hood of the next-gen Mazda3 sometime in 2018 before making its way into other vehicles. In simple terms, an engine that uses HCCI burns the air/fuel mix using pressure instead of with spark plugs, just like a diesel. At 14:1, Mazda's gasoline engines already have some of the highest compression ratios out there, but a move to HCCI means cranking up the compression to 18:1. While the tech sounds relatively straightforward, using HCCI means dealing with a number of side issues. It's one of those "on paper" ideas that compounds problems when put into practice. Heat, revs, and fuel must all be carefully managed as gasoline doesn't burn the same way as diesel. Mazda is mum on details, but the automaker seems confident that the issues have been sorted. If the new engines do indeed make it to market with HCCI, Mazda will have out-engineered GM, Daimler, and Hyundai, all of which have tried and failed to develop HCCI engines in a cost-effective package. With the market moving towards electrification, it's interesting to see Mazda still focusing so heavily on traditional internal combustion gasoline engines. It's an indication of where they see the market heading for the next few years. Although the automaker has been hesitant to move forward with hybrid and electric powertrains, Nikkei also reports that Mazda will begin mass production of EVs in 2019. Related Video: