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Range Rover Sport SVR, Mazda CX-3, this week's news | Autoblog Video Podcast #533

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. We'll talk about the latest news and discuss a couple of the cars we've had in the office, the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR and the Mazda CX-3. We also have a look behind the scenes of a video we shot in Iceland. And of course, we'll help choose a new vehicle for a listener in our "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #533 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown This week's news Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR Mazda CX-3 Iceland behind-the-scenes look Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Land Rover Mazda Crossover SUV mazda cx-3

Junkyard Gem: 1981 Mazda RX-7

The first-generation Mazda RX-7 was sold for the 1978 through 1985 model years, and for decades you'd see and hear these nimble little sports cars buzzing around American streets. Then, well, the apex seals went out, or owners tired of a 2,400-pound car that drank fuel like an Eldorado, or the floor pans were eaten by the Rust Monster... and then nearly all of them were gone. Enough of them remain, however, for a steady trickle to show up with depressing regularity in self-service wrecking yards. Here's a pretty solid '81 that I found in a Denver yard last month. The 12A Wankel engine in this car made 100 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque, which was very good for 1981 (considering that you could buy a new Camaro with a 115-horsepower V8 that year). The $9,385 RX-7 looked like an especially good value when compared to, say, the $11,299 Datsun 280ZX or the $8,997 Fiat 124 Sport Spider, being much lighter on its feet than the former and much quicker than the latter. View 12 Photos If you have ever considered getting one of these cars, move fast before all the restorable ones are gone! Auto News Mazda Automotive History mazda rx-7

Japanese automakers ramping production for renewed American sales

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan took quite the toll on the automotive industry in that nation. Not content to lean on that tragedy as excuse for slagging sales, the Japanese automakers are planning on a major production expansion in North America. The aim is to reclaim the market share lost from the Tsunami-based dip, and overcome a dollar/yen exchange rate that makes exporting to America unprofitable.
Following the Tsunami, Japanese automakers ramped up production in their North American facilities to compensate, but according to Automotive News, Nissan, Honda and others have all reported plans for still-further increased production in the year ahead. As part of this ramp-up, Mazda will open a facility in Salamnca, Mexico before March of 2014. Part of that increase in output is 50,000 units of a Toyota-badged compact car, which Mazda will produce.
Other Mexican production facilities opening include a Honda plant, which will open in Spring 2014 in Celaya, and a Nissan plant, set to open later this year in Aguascalientes. Nissan also said that it will need another plant in North America within the next five years. According to Nissan Boss Carlos Ghosn, the company aims to raise its stake in the US market from 8 percent to 10, and adding production will help achieve that goal. Even Mitsubishi is aiming to boost production at its Normal, Illinois plant. Production of the Outlander Sport is currently at 50,000, which Mitsubishi wants to raise to 70,000.