1981 Mazda Rx-7 Gs Coupe 2-door 1.1l on 2040-cars

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We go Unplugged to celebrate Mazda Miata Month

Chances are good that you, loyal Autoblog reader, have long since chosen to follow us on Twitter and 'like' us on Facebook. (If you haven't, feel free to take a second and do so right now.) Anyway, if you're one of our social media posse, you might have already heard that we're smack dab in the middle of Miata Month. We've gotten Mazda to loan us a couple of MX-5 Miatas, allowing us to say a protracted, tear-filled goodbye to the current generation (NC) of the beloved roadster, just before it exits stage right and ushers in the next generation.
You'll see a few more Miata Month items here on Autoblog after we've said our final farewell, but we absolutely wanted to make sure we created some great video evidence of our month, as well. Right down below, then, in its unfiltered-audio splendor, is the Autoblog Unplugged version of the 2015 Mazda MX-5 Miata PRHT. Your author had a pretty great time wringing out the roadster for the creation of our short vid, and we really hope you dig listening along.

Subaru, Mazda profits dip; both blame exchange rates

While some larger automakers took a beating on Q4 earnings, some of Japan's smaller operations managed to keep their heads just above water despite currency issues and slumping sales industry-wide. Subaru, which capped off its 11th consecutive year of U.S. sales increases, reported a 42-percent drop in operating profit in the final quarter of 2019; Mazda, which operates on an even smaller scale, saw a 76-percent drop.  Per Automotive News, both companies faced challenges apart from navigating currency exchanges.  Subaru Subaru's 2019 was marred by warranty costs stemming from repairs on high-volume models, including the Impreza and Crosstrek. Despite the drop in profit, company revenues only slid 2.3 percent. The company also says that it has managed to curtail incentive spending, largely thanks to replacement models that needed less help moving out of showrooms.  America remained a bright spot, with 2019 sales volumes increasing by nearly 3 percent over 2018. Subaru is hoping that figure will increase to 4.0 percent in 2020. Subaru's wholesale deliveries also increased in western Europe, but dropped precipitously (28 percent) in the company's home market.  Mazda The smaller Mazda faced similar challenges, but its 2019 lacked some of Subaru's more dramatic bright spots. Worldwide shipments of new vehicles dropped by 8 percent, aiding a revenue decline of 5 percent. Mazda's vehicles remained profitable on a per-unit basis, but only just.  Mazda has been undergoing aggressive cost-cutting measures, but even those were no match for reduced volumes and unattractive currency exchange rates.  Despite these challenges, both companies are keeping their earnings outlooks unchanged. The fourth quarter of 2019 represented the third quarter in both companies' fiscal years, which will end in March.  Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2020 Subaru WRX STI S209 | POV Drive

Finalists for 2014 Green Car of the Year announced

The list of finalists for the 2014 Green Car of the Year has been announced, and in a genuinely bizarre twist, there's only one hybrid and no electric vehicles among the five contestants, despite the arrival of cars like the BMW i3 and Tesla Model S. Taking the place of the EVs are a pair of diesels, repping a technology that last won a Green Car of the Year award in 2009, when the Audi A3 TDI took the title. No diesel was in the running for last year's award.
Naturally, both of the diesel finalists are fielded by the Germans - with BMW's 328d and Audi's A6 TDI getting the nod. In the case of the 3 Series, BMW installed a 2.0-liter, turbodiesel, capable of delivering 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, while returning 45 miles per gallon on the highway. Audi and its larger, 3.0-liter, V6 turbodiesel produce quite a bit more grunt, with 240 hp and 428 lb-ft of grunt, but net a very impressive 38 mpg on the highway in the A6.
Finalists for this year's awards include two diesels, three gas-powered cars and a plug-in hybrid.