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'Ringbanana' Miata is improbable 9-minute Nurburgring car

The combination of being inexpensive, capable, reliable, and friendly to all skill levels makes the Mazda Miata one of the world's most popular platforms for motorsports, but the roadsters aren't exactly rocketships. What would it take to lap a ratty, first-gen example around the Nurburgring Nordschleife in less than nine minutes? We're not exactly sure, but the Ringbanana team intends to discover the answer. The project is the type of thing that gets dreamed up after a few too many pilsners: buy the cheapest running Miata available and put as little money necessary into the roadster to make it capable around the 'Ring. As the Best-Motoring-inspired intro explains, the Mazda is largely stock other than some Fulda performance tires, possibly aftermarket springs, and a stripped interior. The video above shows the baseline test, and the convertible manages a 9:21.8 circuit, which doesn't seem too bad as a start. The video below goes into far more detail about the project's genesis and its goal. Plus, the two hosts are quite entertaining when replying to the comments from the original clip. We wish them the best of luck and look forward to following along on Facebook to see what it takes to get the Ringbanana below nine minutes. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Recharge Wrap-up: BlaBlaCar raises $100M, NASA launches CO2 satellite

BlaBlaCar, a ridesharing startup in Europe, has raised $100 million in a funding round led by Index Ventures. After recently growing to 12 countries and 8 million users, BlaBlaCar plans to us the funding for even more aggressive growth throughout Europe. The ridesharing service pairs drivers and passengers, allowing passengers to catch rides between cities while allowing drivers to save money on fuel on road trips. Drivers are not allowed to make a profit, and are only allowed to charge enough to break even after BlaBlaCar takes its percentage, to keep costs low for everyone involved. BlaBlaCar doesn't currently have plans to break into the US. Read more at The New York Times or at Gigaom. NASA has launched its Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 into space to keep track of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. After being delayed on Tuesday, the Delta II rocket equipped with an instrument to measure CO2 launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 5:56 am on Wednesday. It is ultimately headed for a polar orbit to watch how CO2 levels rise and fall throughout the seasons, in part to try to figure out if the land and oceans will continue to be able to absorb half of carbon emissions. The mission will last two years, and should give further insight into climate change. Learn more in the video below, at NASA or at New York Times. Mazda is likely to release a plug-in version of its Mazda2 hatchback with a rotary range extender, reports Australian site Motoring. The electrified Mazda2, and any other future Mazda EVs and hybrids, will likely be limited to markets with government subsidies for such vehicles (which doesn't include Australia) says Mazda Australia Managing Director Martin Benders. "As the best possible fuel economy at an affordable price hybrid doesn't make sense, because the fuel economy gain isn't that great unless half of all sales are hybrid, which won't happen without big tax breaks like in the Netherlands," said Benders. That doesn't rule out the US, though. A prototype version of the range-extended Mazda2 featured a 0.33-liter rotary engine to provide power to the lithium-ion battery pack when depleted. A 2.6-gallon gas tank essentially doubled the electric Mazda2's driving range to 250 miles. Read more at Motoring. Zap plans on selling 1,000 Urbee EVs per month to SunRa for distribution in China.

2016 Mazda CX-5 keeps it simple

Take a long, hard look, folks. This is the refreshed 2016 Mazda CX-5, which makes its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show today. And if you're thinking, "Say, that looks just like the old one," you really aren't alone. The visible updates certainly aren't major - Mazda has instead focused on giving the already-good CX-5 some thoughtful upgrades to make it a more attractive package than ever.
Outside, there are some slight changes to the styling, including new LED light signatures at the front and rear, as well as redesigned foglamp housings. Uplevel models also ride on attractive new 19-inch alloy wheels, with a dark finish.
Under the hood, it's all the same. Mazda's Skyactiv 2.0- and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines carry over, with 155 and 184 horsepower, respectively. Front-wheel-drive, 2.5-liter models get a small bump in fuel economy, too - the CUV is now rated at 26 miles per gallon city and 33 mpg highway, up from 25/32. Models equipped with the automatic transmission now benefit from different drive modes, as well.