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Next-gen Mazda MX-5 Miata mule spied 'Ring testing

Fans of simple, lightweight motoring, rejoice - we now have images of the next-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata undergoing testing at der Nürburgring Nordschleife. Now, to be fair, this isn't some lightly camouflaged example that will give us a great peak of what the next Miata, which will also become the next Alfa Romeo Spider, will look like. This is a mule, with the new bits hidden under a current Miata's body. That doesn't mean there aren't a few scraps of valuable information here, though.
According to our flock of camera-toting spies at the Nürburgring, the next Miata is likely to grow a bit, as new models are wont to do. In particular, it will be longer and wider, and the wheelbase is likely going to be stretched, based on the shape of the wheel wells and doors. Both of those factors will add more space in the cabin.
Those are the big indications provided by these photos, but while the MX-5 might be growing, it's a safe bet based on these images that it, and the (likely pricier) Alfa, will retain the classic, long-hood, short-deck styling that so typifies rear-drive roadsters.

Mazda's Hofu plant builds its ten-millionth car

Ten million is a lot no matter which way you cut it, and no matter what you're talking about: Ten million dollars, ten million miles, ten million people... certainly ten million cars. And that's the milestone that Mazda's Hofu plant in Yamaguchi prefecture of Japan has just achieved.
The Hofu facility has been in operation since 1982, and was supplemented with a second plant on the same site ten years later. Hofu reached a million units built in 1986 and five million in 2002. But with production now at 482,100 units per year, it took less than twelve years to double that previous milestone.
The magic ten-millionth car was a new Mazda6 (known locally as the Atenza), which is built at Hofu Plant No. 2, while Hofu Plant No. 1 gears up for the new Mazda3 (aka Axela). Scroll down below for a related press release.

Next Mazdaspeed3 could look this good

Mazda showed off its brand-new 2014 Mazda3 at an event in New York City earlier this week, and we have to say, at first blush, we're pretty impressed. It looks fantastic - like a smaller, hatch'd version of the already sleek Mazda6 sedan that went on sale earlier this year. And with a 200-pound weight reduction, efficient Skyactiv gasoline engines underhood and Mazda's usual focus on driving dynamics above all, we're willing to bet that the new Three will be a pretty decent steer.
Of course, being enthusiasts, we're already setting our sights on the next-generation Mazdaspeed3, rendered here by artist Theo Chin. To our eyes, it's not a very imaginative transformation, but is likely a spot-on rendering for what the next car will look like. And it's really, really hot.
While Mazda hasn't exactly confirmed that the new Speed3 will be coming, sources within the automaker have indicated that a third-generation version of the MS3 is under development. Thing is, the Japanese automaker wants to give the standard Mazda3 some time to grow in the market, so we might not see the new Speed3 until something like 2016, with a possible diesel version to arrive before then.