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Graffiti artist Banksy turns Mazda Protege into warfare commentary

British street artist Banksy, who currently resides in New York City for its high pedestrian traffic and plentiful hiding spots, recently took his stencils and spray cans to a truck trailer and an old Mazda to make a commentary about war, according to a video report by Newsy.
Part of the canvas, a late-1990s Mazda Protege, is a sub-$3,000 used car at best, but we're sure having Banksy's art sprayed onto it has greatly increased its value, as it did to a piece at a Former Packard plant in Detroit a few years ago. The same goes for the trailer, which looks like it would be right at home attached to a U-Haul rental truck.
The graffito, painted in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, was accompanied by a link to some disturbing audio from a controversial 2007 military video leaked by Wikileaks in 2010. Head on below to watch the video report, and be sure to visit Banksy's website if you want to see the painting with the audio (listener discretion advised).

Mazda reveals new 'Game Changers' advertising campaign

Looking to highlight its unique and sporty mindset, Mazda is getting ready to launch its biggest advertising campaign since "Zoom-Zoom" became its tagline in 2000. The new campaign, entitled "Game Changers," will begin in May, and rather than focusing on its sporty past - like it did with Zoom-Zoom early on - the new ads will look at recent advancements made in building its future, including Skyactiv technologies and its new diesel race program, both of which involve its excellent new Mazda6 sedan.
As a part of the ads, Mazda will showcase game changers from the sporting world, including Dick Fosbury who changed how competitors perform the high jump and Laird Hamilton, who redefined how surfers attacked big waves. It doesn't sound like Zoom-Zoom is going away, but "Game Changers" will definitely feature heavily in the Japanese automaker's marketing moving forward. A few examples of the new ad campaign are posted in our gallery, and the press release is available below.

Japan plans real-world diesel emissions test after companies fail

Japan's transport ministry plans to start real-world diesel emissions tests after an experiment found four models from Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi that produced more nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions than the nation's rules allow, according to The Japan Times. Regulators there usually only perform emissions checks in the lab. The VW diesel scandal has everyone double-checking their figures. Diesel versions of the Toyota Hiace van, Land Cruiser Prado, and Nissan X-Trail produced up to 10 times more NOx than allowed. The Mitsubishi Delica D:5 was up to five times over the limit, The Wall Street Journal reports. There was no evidence of defeat devices in the vehicles. Mazda performed well in the experiment, though. The CX-5 passed with nearly the same results on the road and in the lab. The Demio, better known as the Mazda2, did nearly as well with only slighter higher figures in the real world than in the controlled setting. The experimenters theorized the reason for the excessive emissions was that cold weather caused the engines' software to shut off the exhaust gas recirculation to prevent damage, according to the WSJ. However, this behavior also increased NOx production. Toyota, Nissan, and Mitsubishi don't have to worry about punishment from the transport ministry because this check was just an experiment. Their models already passed the mandated lab tests, which was the only requirement, according to The Japan Times. As governments begin greater real-world emissions tests, the results suggests diesels aren't very clean. A recent check in France found models from Ford, Renault, and Mercedes-Benz that didn't perform up to the standards. Regulators in India conducted similar evaluations and ordered VW to recall over 300,000 vehicles. Related Video: