2003 Mazda Protege5 Base Hatchback 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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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).

Kiwi seniors accidentally lock themselves in Mazda3 for 13 hours, nearly die

It's an over-played trope that senior citizens are bad with technology. Its regular use as a comedic device, though, overshadows a more dire circumstance that comes when elderly citizens are paired with gizmos and gadgets they don't fully understand. A couple from New Zealand spent the night in their new, smart-key-equipped Mazda3 after thinking they'd locked themselves in, in what The Otago Daily Times called "a series of 'Murphy's Law' events." The two thought the car wouldn't function without the key fob, which had accidentally been left outside of the car, along with the owner's manual. That, along with the combination of stress, darkness and a lack of overall information about the car nearly killed Mollieanne and Brian Smith. After thinking they'd become trapped, the Smiths, 65 and 68, respectively, tried honking the horn to alert neighbors – it was Guy Fawkes Night, so the sound was drowned out by fireworks – and even took the Mazda's jack to a window in their attempt to escape. When they were discovered and freed 13 hours later, Mrs. Smith was unconscious and Mr. Smith was having trouble breathing, with emergency crews telling the couple another half hour in the car would have killed them. Mr. Smith later told The Otago Daily Times he was "very methodical," but couldn't figure out how to unlock the car. "Once I found out how simple it was to unlock it I kicked myself that I did not find the way out," the 68-year-old told The Times. "I had this mind-set that I did not have the transponder [so I could not get out]." Mazda New Zealand pointed out that is not the case. "It's not a design flaw with the car," Mazda New Zealand General Manager Glenn Harris told The Times. "What we have said to the [dealership] network is, with new technologies, don't forget to show customers how to use them in their entirety [and] how to override them. There is always a manual process to override them." Featured Gallery 2014 Mazda3 Hatchback View 9 Photos News Source: Otago Daily TimesImage Credit: Mazda Auto News Mazda Safety Hatchback Economy Cars mazda mazda3

Ever wonder how to really pronounce Japanese automaker names?

People tend to get very set in their ways when it comes to the pronunciation of words. Just look at the endless debates over whether or not to say the final 'e' in Porsche (which you should in terms of correct German enunciation). Or the argument about whether to follow the British convention and give the 'u' in Jaguar a special delivery or to say the 'ua' diphthong as more of a 'w' sound, as usually happens in the US.
This short video doesn't answer either of those automotive questions, but it does allow a native Japanese speaker to demonstrate the accepted pronunciations for several, major automakers from the country. One benefit is that it clears up the occasional debate over whether Nissan should be said with a long or short 'i' sound. Also, listen closely to how the female host says Mazda as Matsuda, the way it's actually said in the language. Even if this doesn't change the way you enunciate these brands, at least now you know the accurate way in Japanese.