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Edmunds ranks the best used cars for 2013

When people ask us what car we would recommend for them, it's usually not easy to answer. To make a useful recommendation we must consider which of the numerous vehicle segments fits their needs best, and then choose one of the many vehicles offered in each segment. For some people, new cars don't meet their expectations of value, because they lose so much of it the moment they are purchased and driven off the dealer lot. For them, there's always the used-car market, where great deals can be found, but cars' histories of reliability and maintenance records - and perhaps that Certified Pre-Owned warranty - become ever-important factors playing into purchase choice.
To help out, Edmunds has done us the favor of assembling a list of the best used vehicles money can buy, covering model years 2006-2011, according to what it considers the most important criteria when shopping for used autos: reliability, safety, value and availability. That means unreliable, unsafe, super-expensive or limited-edition models don't appear on the list, but instead cars from each segment that are more likely to satisfy the general population.
There are some real goodies on the list, including but not limited to vehicles such as the capable Honda Fit, the cultish Honda Accord coupe (which can be had with a 240-horsepower V6 and a six-speed manual transmission some years), and the powerful Chevrolet Corvette. While Edmunds' choice of the Volvo C70 for best used convertible baffled us at first (not that it's a bad car), it redeemed itself by stating that the Mazda MX-5 still is an unofficial top choice if you don't require more than two seats.

Mazda and Clemson collaborate on Deep Orange 3 concept

There are school projects, and then there's the Mazda Deep Orange 3 Concept Car, a one-off built by Clemson University automotive engineering students and designed by Frederick Naaman from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Clemson students unveiled the chassis at the 2012 SEMA show in Las Vegas, although this is the first showing of the car fully clothed.
Sporting a unique hybrid powertrain that can automatically switch between front-, rear-, and all-wheel drive. A gas-powered engine handles the fronts, while the rears are powered by an electric motor and a battery pack. The Deep Orange 3 also has an unusual three-plus-three layout, making it a much cooler version of your parent's old Vista Cruiser. The exterior sheetmetal clearly follows Mazda's established design language, and looks like it could easily pass for a five-door version of the Shinari Concept. It really is a great looking vehicle.
The Deep Orange 3 was part of Clemson's graduate-level auto engineering program, and is a regular partnership between the east coast school and the Pasadena-based design college's students. Clemson, Art Center and Mazda will be showing the Deep Orange 3 at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI, from August 5 to August 8. Click through for a press release from Clemson University.

Mazda on sales upswing in Europe but won't build there

Auto sales in Europe have been a tricky proposition for some years, but Mazda has seen some success on the backs of the CX-5 and new Mazda6. According to a report form Automotive News Europe, though, that doesn't mean we should be looking for the Japanese manufacturer to set up production operations there.
Mazda's European CEO, Jeff Guyton, explained to AN that "Our intention is to have manufacturing scale. That gives you scale economy and quality through repeatability." In other words, a big honking plant in one part of the world is preferable to a half dozen small factories building the same vehicles.
European sales for Mazda are up 5.4 percent in the first half of 2013, with 74,000 units sold. That kicked the Zoom-Zoom brand's market share up from one to 1.2 percent. Small gains, but gains nonetheless. According to Guyton, Mazda would need to sell 200,000 units of just one model in Europe for local production to make sense. Mazda's best European year saw 320,000 units sold across the entire range.