2006 Mazda Miata Mx-5 Roadster on 2040-cars

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Honda may recall up to 1M vehicles for airbag issue, following Toyota's lead

It seems Toyota won't be the only one recalling the faulty Takata airbag inflators for long. Honda insiders in Japan claim that the company is getting close to announcing its own worldwide campaign that would begin before the end of June.
Unnamed sources close to Honda in Japan tell Automotive News that the company is pursuing an internal investigation into possibly affected models and is working with Takata to gather more information. They claim that it could involve even more than the 1.14 million cars worldwide that the automaker covered under the first recall for the problem in April 2013, including 561,000 vehicles in the US.
Toyota jumpstarted this process last week when it recalled over 2 million cars worldwide, including 844,277 in the US. Soon after, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a preliminary evaluation into the issue following six reported incidents, and started assembling data about potentially affected models from Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Chrysler. NHTSA also began investigating Takata itself.

2020 Mazda3 gets five-star overall rating from NHTSA

Mazda is adding another figurative piece of silverware for its heralded Mazda3, this time in the form of a five-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The designation applies to both the hatchback and four-door sedan, and front- or all-wheel-drive versions. Mazda’s entry-level compact, which underwent a dramatic redesign for 2019, notched five-star ratings across the board: frontal crash, side crash and rollover crash tests. The Mazda3 has also been named Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, with top scores on all crash tests and ease of use of the LATCH child-seat system, but an acceptable rating for its headlights as the only slight ding. Mazda opted to make its i-Activsense safety technology system standard on the 3 for 2020. It covers NHTSAÂ’s recommendations of having forward collision warning, lane departure warning, crash imminent braking and dynamic brake support, and it adds features like blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, automatic on-off LED headlights and rain-sensing windshield wipers. The fourth-generation car also got a stiffer body with a 10-fold increase in high-strength steel and a revamped suspension. Mazda sold 50,741 examples of the Mazda3 last year, which made it the automakerÂ’s No. 2 nameplate, though well behind the CX-5, which moved 154,545 units. Sales in January were off 45.7% from the prior year, when the new version wasnÂ’t yet on sale, suggesting that despite its distinctive looks and accolades from the motoring press, the Mazda3 is fighting an uphill battle against crossover-dom. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

2019 Subaru Ascent vs. 2018 Mazda CX-9: Driving two class leaders side-by-side

As the de facto replacement for the family sedan, we expect a lot out of modern crossovers. They need to excel at family-hauling duties while delivering reasonable performance and fuel economy. They have to offer all-wheel drive and the latest safety technology. They ought to be ruggedly handsome, and they can't be so prohibitively expensive that the families they are targeting can't afford them. It's a tall order, and some automakers have hit closer to the proverbial bullseye than others. By some stroke of luck, we managed to snag a 2018 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring as our chariot to take the four-hour drive from Seattle to McMinnville, Ore., where we got our first drive of the 2019 Subaru Ascent. As one of our favorite vehicles in this class, the CX-9 would serve as a good comparison to the Ascent. And, on paper, the similarities are abundant: Both come from automakers with a clear, go-your-own-way approach to vehicle engineering, are powered by turbocharged four-cylinder engines, and offer three rows of seating in a relatively compact package. Put simply, we expect the Ascent and CX-9 to be cross-shopped by a lot of new-car buyers looking for a new family car. What we found is that the CX-9 is the better choice for the buyer who values a sporty driving experience above all else, while the Ascent is probably better for families looking for a healthier dose of practicality. Either option will ably serve the suburban American family they are targeting, but the ways they go about that life of servitude are quite different. It's worth noting that pretty much every automaker in America is selling a vehicle in this class, which means there are a heck of a lot of vehicles from which to choose. For a few other options, check out this spec-sheet comparison here, and for anything else, be sure to visit the handy Autoblog compare tool. With that out of the way, let's break it down a bit more granularly. Styling: View 36 Photos Looks-wise, we prefer the Mazda. A crossover is going to be generally box-shaped, but that doesn't mean it has to be boring. The CX-9's bodywork flows gracefully from nose to tail, with just the right amount of flashiness in the form of headlights that take the form of cat-like eyes, a five-point grille surrounded in chrome, and gently arcing bodyside lines. It all works to form what we think is the most attractive midsize crossover overall. We don't hate the Subaru Ascent's looks, but it's definitely more boring than the CX-9.