2003 Mazda Speed Protege 5spd! New Tires! Turbo! Maintained Very Well! on 2040-cars

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2014 Mazda3 configurator zoom-zooms to life

The 2014 Mazda3 is probably going to be on a lot of shopping lists, thanks to its striking good looks, clean interior treatment, fuel economy and driving character. If it happens to be on your personal list of new cars to test, you'll be happy to see that the configurator for Mazda's newest product has officially gone online.
In terms of build-your-own web items, configuring a 3 isn't much of a departure from the rest of the Mazda range. Most of the work comes from choosing one of the three trim levels - Sport, Touring and Grand Touring - and selecting either the 155-horsepower, 2.0-liter, Skyactiv four-cylinder or its larger sibling, the 184-horsepower, 2.5-liter, Skyactiv four. From there, a simple range of color and interior finishes are available, before a slim list of packages, options and accessories. Really, Mazda's made it easy to get through this build process.
Click on over to the configurator and take a look at the options, colors and prices for Mazda's newest five-door hatchback.

2014 Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Wagon

This was sort of a quirky surprise drive opportunity. I've been over here in Italy for a while now, and Mazda Italia contacted me seemingly out of the blue to drive test some version of the Mazda6 with a diesel engine. Supremo. The Mazda6 is a sexy everyday beast and I have been digging their SkyActiv-D engines for a while now. Very spirited units.
My contact phones me the day of, and says he can come by with the car, and then we'll head off to some sort of special spot for dynamics testing and technical conversation. Nice deal, say I.
My guy Ernesto pulls up outside of the house and - lo and behold - it's a dang Mazda6 station wagon with the very most recent 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D motor good for 148 horsepower and healthy 280 pound-feet of torque. The wee four-banger with 14.0:1 compression ratio hauls this 3,260-pound wagon around with the best of them. A decent 0-to-60-mph time of 8.7 seconds, too.

Feds investigating Mazda CX-9 over suspension problems

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation into the 2007-2008 Mazda CX-9 because the lower ball joint in the front suspension can potentially separate while driving. An estimated 54,000 examples of the crossover might be affected. The investigation was prompted by six complaints of this happening on the road. Because the complaints are coming more rapidly as of late, NHTSA thinks the issue could be getting worse. The problem also appears to be more prevalent in states that use salt on their roads in the winter. None of the failures caused any injuries, and all but one happened at 20 miles per hour or slower. NHTSA's preliminary evaluations "assess the scope, frequency, and safety consequence" of a potential problem and can sometimes lead to recalls. Related Video: INVESTIGATION Subject : Front Suspension Ball Joint Separation Date Investigation Opened: JUN 09, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: PE15022 Component(s): SUSPENSION All Products Associated with this Investigation close Vehicle Make Model Model Year(s) MAZDA CX-9 2007-2008 Details Manufacturer: Mazda Motor Corp. SUMMARY: The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has received six (6) complaints (VOQs) alleging incidents of front suspension LBJ separation in MY 2007 through 2008 Mazda CX-9 vehicles. The reports appear to show an increasing trend. One of the separations allegedly occurred at 40 mph and the other 5 incidents occurred at speeds between 0 and 20 mph. The first VOQ was received in October 2013, followed by 2 reports in late 2014 and 3 reports in the first 5 months of 2015. Four of the VOQs are from states using high volumes of road salts (?salt states?) which, for purposes of this investigation, include: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The other VOQs were from northern Virginia, which borders the ?salt state? region, and South Carolina. ODI also identified EWR field report data related to the alleged defect in the subject vehicles. A preliminary investigation is being opened to assess the scope, frequency, and safety consequence of the alleged defect. The six VOQs associated with this investigation are: 10717510, 10714469, 10695142, 10668978, 10640541, and 10546535.