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Mazda introduces gray-themed Carbon Edition because black is overdone

Automakers have rolled out a parade of blacked-out special editions lately, from Nightshade Toyotas to Midnight Edition Chevrolets to Black Edition Ram pickups. Mazda is taking a different — but not too different — path with its just-announced Carbon Edition models. These special versions of the 2021 Mazda6, Mazda CX-5, and Mazda CX-9 feature an exclusive Polymetal Gray exterior hue with blacked-out trim and a black metallic finish for the wheels (hey, you knew it had to be somewhere). Inside, the gray exterior is contrasted with a red leather interior — which actually sounds kinda cool. There are more black accents in the cabin, continuing the theme. Mazda has not yet released details of the 2021 lineups for these three models, so we don't exactly know where the Carbon Edition stands within the trim hierarchy. Mazda did say that all Carbon Editions will have Bose premium audio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and adaptive cruise control. Nor do we have pricing, which should be announced with the rest of the 2021-model-year info for these vehicles. If Polymetal Gray just isn't dark enough for these admittedly dark times, rest assured that all three of these Mazdas also are available in Jet Black Mica, for those who can't resist the urge to paint it black. Related Video:

1993 Mazda RX-7 Retro Review | A '90s hero turns 25

Boom times build interesting cars. In the late 1980s, Japan was flush with capital, and automakers spent like the party was never going to end. Suddenly building the third-generation RX-7 — the world's most advanced twin-turbo rotary sports car — seemed like the most natural thing a small car company hailing from Hiroshima could do. On this side of the Pacific, however, there was no context for the sudden influx of unusually tricked-out Japanese hardware flooding American dealerships. And none of the Japanese sports cars of the era was more unusual than the FD-generation Mazda RX-7, imported from 1993 to 1995 (and continuing on in Japan until 2002). Although the island nation's economy was headed on a downward spiral by the end of 1990, Mazda was in no position to pull back and walk away from the development dollars that had already been spent on its latest RX-7. As a result, Americans were able to briefly bask in the glow of one of the most unique engineering experiments ever unleashed on unsuspecting buyers. For its time, the Mazda RX-7 was a spaceship. With fluid lines that screamed "exotic," it joined the NSX in showing that supercars didn't have to have European blue blood running in their cooling systems to elegantly snag eyeballs. The twin-rotor, 1.3-liter 13B-REW situated behind the RX-7's front axle revved all the way to 8,000 rpm on its quest to produce 255 horsepower and 217 pound-feet of torque, with a pair of sequential turbos handing boost duties back and forth around the 4,500 rpm mark. A five-speed manual gearbox was standard with the FD (a four-speed automatic was optional), as was a curb weight in the neighborhood of 2,800 pounds — nearly 500 lbs less than the contemporary Toyota Supra. Significant figures for the era, to be sure. While they might pale in comparison to the average sports car today, slide into the RX-7's cockpit and drive the car, rather than just crunch the numbers. You'll quickly discover what can be accomplished when the company that engineered the Miata pulls a full John Hammond and "spares no expense" developing a world-beating sports car platform. The 1993 Mazda RX-7 I've been loaned from Mazda's classic collection is an R1 car, which means tighter suspension tuning, a few cosmetic upgrades, and a Competition Yellow paint job.

Mazda CX-5 Luggage Test | How much cargo space?

We're already seen how Mazda's largest crossover, the CX-9, does at stuffing luggage inside its cargo hold. Now it's time for the next rung down the Mazda ladder. The Mazda CX-5 has 30.9 cubic-feet of space behind its raised back seat, which on paper, is considerably less than its top competition. The Hyundai Tucson leads the way with 38.7 cubic-feet, the Honda CR-V (39.2) and Toyota RAV4 (37.5) are basically the same, and the Subaru Forester has between 33 and 35 depending on options. However, the CX-5 does have more than the Chevrolet Equinox (29.9), Jeep Compass (27.2) and Ford Escape when its sliding back seat is in its aft-most position (33.5 when all the way forward).  Basically, this compact Mazda's cargo area is midpack, which makes it a good choice for my first luggage test of the segment. Let's see how much of the luggage in my garage fits inside. As a refresher, I use two mid-size roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D).  I started by keeping the cargo cover in place to see how much fits underneath it. The answer is the four largest bags. The two smaller ones did not. OK, now let's remove the cargo cover, which is an unusual design. Rather than a roller-type cartridge that you manually pull into place or a rigid hatchback-like unit that rises up when the liftgate goes up, the CX-5 basically combines the two. The forward bit is attached to the liftgate and unspools when opened.  To detach it, you need to unfasten these plastic clamps and then remove the cartridge reel much as you would a normal cargo cover. OK, and now here's how much the CX-5 can fit with the cargo cover removed.  All of it! That above configuration is just the first thing I came up with, but there's likely additional Tetris formations to be found. Note that the tailgate does close here but the middle cases' wheels are awfully close to the window.  I'm not going to stop there, though. I went ahead and rummaged through my garage to see what it would take to fill'er up. There you go: one duffle bag and one gym bag stuffed into the spaces. You could probably fit a grocery bag right in front there, too.