Automotive

Mazda6 Gets New Amenities In Mid-Cycle Refresh

Mazda6 Gets New Amenities In Mid-Cycle Refresh

Mazda, the Hiroshima-based auto manufacturer of cars great-to-banal, has just released some half-year updates to its bread and butter 6-Series lineup. This, doing things halfway through a year, is rather rare now, but lots of car makers used to do it with regularity. Ford’s Mustang, for example, came out as a half-year introduction; the first Mustangs being neither 1964s or 1965s, but actually were sold as 1964-1/2 Mustangs.
So what does Mazda bring to the Mazda6 menu halfway through 2017? For a start, lots of leather.
Features Galore
Unlike the previous versions of the Mazda6, the 2017.5 now comes with leather seating surfaces along with other trim changes for both the entry level Sport and mid-trim Touring models. You also get Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert. The Mazda6 Sport comes with standard 17-inch alloy wheels, cloth seats, power windows, keyless entry, a backup camera, and an electronic parking brake (no more handbrake turns for you, young man).
The Mazda6 Touring, which is the mid-level trim for the range, comes with 19-inch wheels and “leatherette” seats. Touring models also come with Advanced Keyless Entry, dual-zone automatic climate control (nice!), rear HVAC vents, a 6-way power driver’s seat, and Smart City Brake Support (which is one of those low-speed automatic braking deals so you don’t look like a complete dork on hills and such). And there are automatic headlights and rain-sensing wipers if you’re one of those forgetful types.
Navigation and heated front seats are now standard, and yes, the Mazda6 Sport has the newly available leather seats. If you’d like to upgrade the Touring package even further, there’s an available Bose/Moonroof/Satellite Radio Package, which carries on that fine Mazda tradition of cramming disparate features into one package option.
Photo: Mazda North American Operations.

Touring Packages
You can also add to the “normal” Touring Package with the Touring Premium Package. You get all the Touring goodies plus LED daytime running lights, self-leveling LED headlights, the Adaptive Front-lighting system, an auto-dimming interior rearview mirror (because you’re lazy), a Homelink garage door opener, heated side mirrors, and an auto-dimming driver’s side mirror. The Touring Premium package comes with your choice of black or Parchment leather seats and an 8-way power driver’s chair with adjustable lumbar support.
Sitting at the very top of the 2017.5 Mazda6 range is the Mazda6 Grand Touring. On top of all the previously mentioned perks, the Grand Touring comes with an Active Driving Display heads-up unit, LED interior lamps, LED fog lights, an LED signature grille surround, driver’s memory seat, 6-way power passenger seat, a car alarm, steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters for your base-level racing instincts, dark-painted alloy wheels to be cool, and a rear lip spoiler (also for the cool factor). Finally, the Grand Touring includes Mazda Radar Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, High Beam Control, and Smart Brake Support.
If that’s not enough for you, tick the box for the GT Premium Package and you’ll get Mazda’s i-ELOOP regenerative braking technology, rear outboard heated seats, heated steering wheel, Nappa leather seats with contrast piping, bright finish metallic switches and handles, and a hand-stitched “chidori” steering wheel. There’s also tons of tech goodies strewn about, befitting a car of this new century.
Performance & Availability
Regardless of which trim level you pick, all 2017.5 Mazda6 cars come with the SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission or, in Sport and Touring models, a 6-speed automatic. That 6-speed automatic is standard for the Mazda6 Grand Touring. Other niceties include improved sound insulation, G-Vectoring Control, and an available Machine Gray Metallic paint.
The 2017.5 Mazda6 is in dealerships as you read this. Here’s a handy little chart showing the available packages, costs, and colors:
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias toward lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Mazda6 Sport 6-Speed Manual
$21,945
Mazda6 Sport 6-Speed Automatic
$22,995
Mazda6 Touring 6-Speed Manual
$24,195
Mazda6 Touring 6-Speed Automatic
$25,245
• Touring Bose/Moonroof/Satellite Package (Requires Automatic Transmission)
$1,325
• Touring Premium Package (Requires Touring Bose/Moonroof/Satellite Package)
$1,425
Mazda6 Grand Touring
$30,695
• GT Premium Package
$2,500
Premium Paint Colors
Machine Gray Metallic
$300
Soul Red Metallic
$300
Snowflake White Pearl Mica
$200
Photos & Source: Mazda North American Operations.

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Geely Holdings, Volvo Invest Heavily In Polestar

Geely Holdings, Volvo Invest Heavily In Polestar

Geely Holdings, parent of Volvo Cars, has announced a major investment in Polestar. The first production model was reveled in Shanghai as the announcement came. The $756 million dollar investment will bolster the early phases of Polestar’s product lineup and industrial footprint.
“The investment highlights the financial muscle and industrial and manufacturing expertise Polestar will have access to, and establishes the fully consolidated Volvo Cars subsidiary as a stand-alone electrified performance car company,” Geely Holdings and Volvo Cars said in a statement.
Central Station
The investment dollars will be put toward a new, state-of-the-art Polestar manufacturing hub in Chengdu, China. The investment and corresponding facility will be instrumental in shortening the time it takes to develop and launch Polestar vehicles. The intent is to gain both a time and technical advantage over competitions, especially as Polestar looks to innovate new technologies in both electrification and connectivity. Volvo Cars and Polestar say the investment allows them greater “synergies” when it comes to joint development and economies of scale.
Polestar Production Centre in China. Photo: Volvo Cars.
Forthcoming Models
The Polestar 1 is, uniquely enough, the first model scheduled for production in mid-2019. The pure electric coupe hybrid is promising 600 horsepower and class-leading range and efficiency. Much of the Polestar 1 (about half) is based on Volvo’s Scalable Product Architecture; the rest is entirely new technology developed by Polestar engineers working within Volvo’s R&D department.
Polestar 2, a smaller variant, will enter production after the Polestar 1 and serve as Volvo’s first fully-electric car. The Polestar 2 is the first of five fully electric Polestar and/or Volvo vehicles planned between 2019 and 2021. The move comes following Volvo’s announcement this summer that from 2019, every vehicle in their lineup will have an electric motor.
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Polestar 1 Gallery

Photos & Source: Volvo Cars.

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Letter From The UK: Classic Car Treasure Troves

Letter From The UK: Classic Car Treasure Troves

Like in many countries of the world, the British Sterling Pound currency is changing. Gone are our elegant paper bank notes, replaced now by seemingly indestructible plastic money that does not have that special “feel” only proper paper bank notes can have.
Goodbye Pound Coin
In general use, the British Pound is worth approximately $1.32. With the challenge of Brexit hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles, by the time we become the The Lonely Man of Europe in 2019, I suspect the Pound will be worth about 25 cents, that’s if you get anyone to buy it at all. (As a writer, I take Dollars by the way if anyone’s interested. Also Roubles, Yen, multiple other currencies, and livestock in lieu).
Now, a good few years ago, the old One Pound note was replaced by a small, insignificant round coin. This was a complete “gimme” to forgers who we learn have made and circulated some 47 million of the things. Mostly, we are none the wiser when spending.
The British Royal Mint slowly cottoned on to this forgery business and as of the 15th of October, the old gold-colored £1 coin (by the time you read this) will have ceased to be legal tender. It has been replaced by a slightly thinner and lighter twelve-sided coin with a security feature that makes this dodecagonal coin much harder to forge. This means any £1 coins from your last UK trip you have been saving for your next holiday visit to the rainy shores of Britain are now worthless.
Mystery of the Missing Coins
An interesting currency statistic has been thrown up by Mr. Edmund King, President of the Automobile Association, here in Britain. It appears up to £30 million in old One Pound coins might be lost down the cracks and crevices and secret places of our cars. That’s a lot of money to lose out on.
Even as I type, UK drivers are frantically executing one last comprehensive sweep of their cars, some with actual metal detectors. Feverish hands are groping through gloveboxes, cigarette ash trays, side door pockets, and on, under, and between the seats. The more foolhardy are poking into electric seat motors (always a rich seam of lost items) in the hope of discovering some of this golden treasure – before it’s too late.
Go through the glovebox, dig around the seats, and carefully search every nook and cranny of your car. You never know what long forgotten treasures lie within.

Classic Car Treasure
There are approximately thirty million cars on the road here and it is not unreasonable to suggest there might be a £1 coin in each of them. The older the car the richer the spoils one suspects. This is why a classic or vintage car might be a real treasure trove of cash or other goodies. Consider for a moment the sort of events that take place in cars. If you know where I’m going with this and are at all squeamish then look away now.
Imagine when your Mom and Pop where courting. I know it’s a difficult image to conjure up without feeling a bit icky but bear with me. They would cruise to the drive-in for a bit of serious necking and general rummaging where loose notes and coins could be easily liberated from pockets and purses during the match.
Why, there could be whole dollars still hidden away in those beloved classic vehicles and barn finds that turn up every day and who knows what else? Old pin-ups of Cheryl Tiegs under the seat squab, ancient and outdated prophylactics bought long ago more in hope than expectation, a rusting weapon, Tiddles, your Grandma’s missing cat, a plain brown envelope containing $10,000 in used notes mysteriously marked with the cryptic message “see that Jake gets this or else” and, no doubt, many other strange and wonderful things.
Now that the word is out that the contents of Britain’s cars are worth more than the vehicles themselves, I expect our homegrown car thieves will just take the cash in future, or whatever else might be under the seat.
Geoff Maxted is a motoring writer, photographer, and author of our Letter From The UK series. Follow his work on Twitter: @DriveWrite

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Chevy Designers Address Everyday Life With 2018 Equinox

Chevy Designers Address Everyday Life With 2018 Equinox

You know what? Some people are just pigs! I know gearheads so clean and neat they don’t want you eating near their car, let alone in it. But you’re not like that, are you? Or most of you. Most drivers, and by that I mean especially American drivers, use their cars as mobile offices, diners, beauty parlors, and daycare centers.
Chevrolet is way ahead of you. Rather than teach everyone some manners, they decided to go the other direction and start making interiors that are easier to clean and more stain resistant.
Market Research
Chevy did something a little dangerous: they started paying attention to people on “The Internet.” They did this with the best of intentions. The design team for Chevy’s 2018 Equinox noted (correctly) that people have a tendency to over-share stuff on social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, the whole lot of them is clogged with people showing you what they’re eating for lunch. That burrito the size of a Dachshund? Well that just dropped onto the dash, foot well, and/or front seats of their car immediately after that selfie.
Very smart of Chevy. They realized this goldmine of free, real-world user data could be leveraged into more usable interiors.
The design team working on the 2018 Equinox’s interior followed “real” people, including other designers and lifestyle influencers. They observed color and fabric trends and common consumer problems, like dark-wash denim staining other fabrics in the vehicle, such as the seats.
“By following real people and absorbing the little things in life that help or hinder them – such as photos posted of muddy paws, spilled drinks or stains on the seats – we learned more about how we could make the new Equinox easier to live with and enjoy every day,” said Mara Kapsis, Color and Trim Designer for the 2018 Equinox.
With the 2018 Equinox, Chevy designers pushed for a fashion-forward interior with materials that compliment everyday use. Photo: Chevrolet.
Fashion & Function
So, being the bright young spark she is, Kapsis made the 2018 Equinox interior from a durable, denim-like seat fabric that’s easy to clean but offers exceptional wear resistance. The interior team also came up with a new treatment that resists staining and scuffing for the available leather seats on the 2018 Equinox.
“The fabric is very durable, while the color and even the pattern help hide dirt and stains,” Kapsis added. “It’s also very easy to vacuum and clean, which saves owners time and helps keep the interior looking great year after year.”
Fashion forecasting was also taken into account. The design team needed to predict color trends about three years past the 2018 Equinox’s launch. In addition to having an interior that’s easy to live with, the 2018 Equinox has increased cargo space, the latest connectivity gadgetry, even more available safety features than before, and an all-new range of turbocharged engines, including the segment’s first diesel.
If all this piques your interest, or you’re just a suburban parent that’s this close to losing it about having to clean up that mess one more time, you’ll be interested to know the 2018 Equinox is on sale now and starts at $24,525.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias toward lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Photos & Source: Chevrolet.

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DB11 Volante: Aston Martin Makes A Pretty One

DB11 Volante: Aston Martin Makes A Pretty One

Oh you pretty thing . . . British design can be so frustrating. On the one hand, you have things like the Supermarine Spitfire and the Jaguar E Type and anything Sir Christopher Wren designed. On the other, you have stuff like the Ford Anglia and that MI6 Building.
The brand new Aston Martin DB11 Volante is definitely one of the former.
Shaken, Not Stirred
Aston Martin, purveyor of cars to likes of James Bond, refers to its convertibles as Volantes. And the car we are looking at here, the DB11 Volante, is indeed the drop-top version of last year’s DB11 Coupe. Unlike the Coupe, there is no V12 engine available in the Volante. Some will bemoan this loss, but I am not one of them. Although the V12 plant is very impressive, the engine found under the Volante’s hood provides for a lighter package, meaning the convert will be more nimble and responsive. Said plant is a new 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 that cranks out 503 ponies.
The mill sits within an all-new bonded aluminum structure the Volante shares with the DB11 Coupe, minus the roof and such. The DB11 Volante is lighter and more rigid than the model it replaces and offers a much broader envelope of abilities, greater levels of performance and handling, and all that typical British character, refinement, comfort, and interior space Aston Martin is known for.
Photo: Aston Martin The Americas.
Performance Tech
That small block V8 is hooked up to and integrated with a whole slew of computer controlled subsystems and powertrain elements to make the Volante a grand tourer with some serious performance abilities. For example, there are 3-stage powertrain and chassis modes that operate harmoniously with the 8-speed automatic transmission, the electric power steering, and the dynamic torque vectored limited-slip differential. Aston Martin says this allows the Volante’s driver to “tailor its behavior in a way that best suits the road, weather conditions or their mood.”
Or, as I would put it: “There’s enough drivetrain nannies, chassis tuning, and fail-safe gizmos that will prevent you from spinning this thing into a ditch and scarring up its pretty face.”
Sounds like a fair deal.
Styling & Design
The DB11 Volante has the same single-piece aluminium bonnet (that’s “hood” to those of us that speak American) found on the DB11 Coupe. It has the same “Curlicue” styling bit, which I quite like; wonderful integration with the wheel well and it helps with air extraction to boot. Other styling touches include wood or carbon fiber veneer panels on the seat backs, a tailored fabric top in a choice of Bordeaux red, black silver or grey silver, “light blade” taillights, and new forged alloy wheels. Aston Martin says the end result is “breathtakingly sleek and athletic” and I am not going to argue with them.
Photo: Aston Martin The Americas.

Topside Testing
That fabric roof sounds like it’s a cross between a Savile Row suit and the mainsails from the HMS Ark Royal. It’s an all-new, 8-layer cosset design so the occupants are snug and dry from the extremes of weather and wind; it folds up into a class-leading, stack height at the touch of a button. Hit that button and 14 seconds later, the roof is down. Hit the button again, and in 16 seconds the top is up. You can also raise or lower the roof remotely from the key while moving at speeds up to 31 mph.
And the cherry on top is you get a 20 percent increase in trunk volume compared to the previous model.
The roof can take a pounding too. They ran it through more than 100,000 test cycles in special weather chambers designed to simulate atrocious conditions; they compressed 10 years of use into one month of testing, and drove prototypes of the thing around Death Valley and the Arctic Circle.
Pricing & Availability
They sum it up like this: “Engineered to be the most advanced and complete open-top Aston Martin ever built. Styled to put its rivals in the shade and honed to achieve a fine balance of ride, handling, responsiveness, and refinement, the DB11 Volante is dedicated to delivering a new dimension of driving pleasure.”
Which all sounds like a serious throwdown to the likes of, let’s see, who is the competition here? Jaguar, naturally. Also various German drop-tops – big BMWs, Mercedes-Benz and the like. The Italians don’t make convertibles like this, or at least Ferrari doesn’t. And let’s face facts here, nothing the Americans, French or Japanese make are even in the same league.
And what league are we talking about? The league that will run you the cost of a suburban home to get into. The price for the Aston Martin DB11 Volante starts at $216,495. Which is, obviously, a lot of money. Does all that work for you? If it does, then get down to your Aston Martin dealer by the first quarter of 2018 because that’s when the DB11 Volante is scheduled to show up.
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias toward lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
Aston Martin DB11 Volante Gallery

Photos & Source: Aston Martin The Americas.

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New General Motors Platform Addresses Transportation Challenges

New General Motors Platform Addresses Transportation Challenges

General Motors is diving headlong into several high-tech futures simultaneously. Autonomous vehicles, fuel cells, logistics simplification, even natural disaster relief. What I notice here is GM putting all this on the back of a semi-old idea of theirs: The flexible fuel cell platform.
In 2002, GM had this show car, but the whole thing wasn’t about the car itself, but the de facto chassis it was riding on. They called it “the skateboard” because that’s what it resembled: A huge, lowered platform with wheels at all four corners.
Essential Foundations
The deck of the skateboard formed the unified chassis and the fuel cell workings. There were electric motors at each wheel, powered by the energy the fuel cell produced, and here’s the beautiful part: you could mount any number of different bodies on it. To a company like GM, who wants to make their products as efficiently as possible, this is still perceived as a stroke of genius.
The bottom line is this: You make the skateboard chassis that contains all the running gear. You make them by the millions, literally millions of them, and the unit costs drop like an anchor without a chain. Then you can attach whatever body you want to that running gear, and the vehicle will still “work.” You need to produce a bunch of minivans? No problem! Just lengthen the skateboard a little, and you’re all set. Want an electric Corvette? Simple, shorten the whole thing, “tune” the software for more performance, and you’ve got a new Corvette. Pickup trucks, family sedans, delivery vans, cop cars: No problem! They’re all the same underneath.
Photo: General Motors.
General Solutions
Like I said, GM has been fixated on this theoretical concept for a while, and when growing needs (green efficiency, autonomous vehicles etc.) are coupled to a slew of growing possibilities (increasing capabilities with computer processing power, miniaturization of sensor suites and such), GM has a perfect opportunity to combine all of them into one big package, and be all things to all buyers. This is, in my estimation, the Holy Grail for GM. Why, it’s even right there in their name: General Motors. “What we do, generally speaking, is get you and/or your stuff from point A to B.”
I have long felt GM has been wanting, for decades, to be to transportation what Xerox is to photostatic copying and Kleenex is to blowing your nose: The generic answer to everyone’s transportation needs. “Hand me a Kleenex, will ya?” “Xerox me some copies of this report, will ya?” “I got to get to the airport, call me up a GM, will ya?” To some degree, GM already has this with Cadillac. “Well, sir, I can assure you, this is the ‘Cadillac’ of vacuum cleaners.”
And the funny thing is, with GM’s latest swing they call SURUS, they might be able to achieve that with all their brands, not just Cadillac.
The SURUS commercial platform leverages over 50 years of research and development in fuel cell technology by GM. The scalable and adaptable technology enables land, sea, and air applications across commercial and military environments. Photo: General Motors.

Combined Approach
SURUS stands for Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, and GM aims to use the platform to solve some of the toughest transportation challenges brought up by natural disasters, global conflicts, and otherwise complex environments. The Detroit-based company showed off the flexible fuel cell electric platform with its autonomous capabilities at the fall meeting of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) recently.
This is very smart of GM. If they can make SURUS work in a military environment, then they should be able to adapt it into a platform for everyday use. If they can make it work in the middle of a desert, or the middle of a jungle, then it should work everywhere.
SURUS pulls together GM’s newest Hydrotec fuel cell system, autonomous capability, and various truck chassis components for high-performance, zero-emission power. The combination is meant to reduce logistical problems and lessen human exposure to harm. In other words, GM wants it to run for a long time, make little to no noise, withstand getting shot at, be able to take a beating, and drive on its own, with nobody getting hurt. Benefits include easy field configuration for a variety of uses, instantaneous high torque from the EV motors, “exportable power generation” so you can power stuff back at camp, water generation (the main “pollutant” from fuel cells is pure water), and quick refueling times.
A rendering of the SURUS platform as an ambulance to show the number of possible flexible fuel cell applications. Photo: General Motors.
Endless Possibilities
And that’s not just speculation on my part. GM states flat out “SURUS was designed to form a foundation for a family of commercial vehicle solutions that leverages a single propulsion system integrated into a common chassis.” While working on the military version, GM is also working on versions that are utility trucks, mobile and emergency backup power generation units, flexible cargo delivery systems (Hello UPS! Hello Amazon!), and commercial freight delivery vehicles. GM is also evaluating military configurations for SURUS and how the platform can be applied to light- and medium-duty trucks.
If General Motors can extrapolate this platform onto our roads, who is really going to notice? Us, the gearheads of this world. Sure, if you’re a minivan buyer or agonizing over which shade of beige to get for your Impala, a common drivetrain platform won’t mean much to you. But would you accept that same drivetrain on a new Corvette? I dunno, man . . . but then again, maybe this will allow The General more flexibility? Maybe they can crank out that mundane stuff for everyone else, and still keep Vettes and other factory hot rods powered by real internal combustion engines?
Performance exclusivity for us gearheads, predictable transportation for everyone else? Works for me!
Tony Borroz has spent his entire life racing antique and sports cars. He means well, even if he has a bias toward lighter, agile cars rather than big engine muscle cars or family sedans.
GM SURUS Platform Specifications
Four-wheel steering
Advanced suspension
Gen 2 fuel cell system
Autonomous capability
Lithium-ion battery system
GM truck chassis components
Two advanced electric drive units
State-of-the-art propulsion power electronics
Hydrogen storage system with over 400 miles of range
GM SURUS Platform Gallery

Photos & Source: General Motors.

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Honda Engine Production Hits 25 Million In Ohio

Honda Engine Production Hits 25 Million In Ohio

Associates at Honda’s Anna, Ohio engine plant celebrated a milestone this week as the facility produced its 25 millionth engine. Honda recently invested $47 million there to bolster engine production for the 2018 Accord. New are two direct-injected VTEC Turbo 4-cylinder engines and a 2.0 i-VTEC Atkinson Cycle engine for the Accord Hybrid.
“Building 25 million engines is not just a major production milestone, but symbolic of the passion and commitment invested by our associates, past and present, to satisfy 25 million customers,” said Paul Dentinger, Plant Manager, Anna Engine Plant.
Versatile Facility
The 25 millionth engine, produced on Line 4, was a 1.5-liter turbo that will be shipped to the Marysville Auto Plant, about 45 miles east of Anna. Anna Engine produces more than 1.18 million engines annually, making it Honda’s largest engine plant in the world. The 2.5 million square foot facility supplies engines and components for 14 Honda and Acura vehicles made across the globe. The plant also makes the turbo engine for the Civic Type-R, the most powerful production Honda in the United States. Further, in the spring of 2016, master technicians at the Anna plant starting building the hand-assembled twin turbo engine for the Acura NSX.
“We continue to invest in our plant and our people to build a new generation of Honda engine products for customers here and around the world,” Dentinger said.
The Anna Engine plant opened in 1985 and total investments there by Honda exceed $2.7 billion. At its current production rate, the Anna staff should reach another 25 million engines sometime in the year 2038.
Carl Anthony is Managing Editor of Automoblog and resides in Detroit, Michigan.
Photo & Source: Honda North America.

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What Makes Supercars Super: The Dream

What Makes Supercars Super: The Dream

Recently, we launched our new series What Makes Supercars Super. The first episode follows one Mike Berman, owner of the The Yellow Compass Group, a boutique Ferrari dealership. Automoblog Host Gino D’Orazio introduces us to Berman and takes us through his dealership.
We see a showroom full of classic and unique Ferrari cars and why each one is so memorable and iconic to both Berman and his customers.
Our second installment entitled The Dream builds from the themes of the first episode. From behind the wheel of his BMW, D’Orazio conveys a passion only the truest car enthusiasts will understand. The Dream shows us how supercars bring out our deepest emotions and often leave us speechless. We have set out to determine just what makes supercars super. Indeed, there are probably a thousand answers, but discovering each of them is part of the thrill.
Enjoy.

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2018 Mazda3 Hatchback Grand Touring Review

2018 Mazda3 Hatchback Grand Touring Review

If you want a stylish, fun-to-drive, fuel-efficient car with utility, you might think you need to buy a small, sub-compact city commuter. But it’s all available in the Mazda3 hatchback. Mazda is producing some fun entries and this one competes well with popular rivals like the Volkswagen Golf, Honda Civic, and Ford Focus.
This week we drove the 2018 Mazda3 5-Door Grand Touring, which is the top trim.
What’s New For 2018
The Mazda 3 remains mostly unchanged for 2018, with a shuffling of some features and option packages. Our Grand Touring tester had LED headlights as standard equipment.
Features & Options
Our 2018 Mazda3 5-Door Grand Touring ($24,945) came standard with LED exterior lights (headlights, foglights, taillights), a sunroof, digital speedometer, an upgraded display in the instrument panel, leather upholstery, a nine-speaker Bose system, and satellite radio.
The Premium Equipment package ($1,600) added adaptive headlights, automatic high beams, a heated steering wheel, paddle shifters, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, navigation, lane departure warning and intervention, adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with braking for higher speeds, and a traffic sign reader. The Appearance Package ($1,750) added a rear spoiler, front air dam, rear bumper skirt, and side sill extensions.
Total MSRP including destination: $29,770.

Interior Highlights
When we stepped inside the Mazda3, we thought the cockpit was truly driver-focused. Everything is centered on driving enjoyment, with all the controls arranged symmetrically around the driver. The heads-up display is available to make it easier to have fun driving this sporty hatch. The electronic emergency brake is another small thing some might not notice, but it provides room for the gear shifter to be optimally placed.
The leather-trimmed front seats are supportive, comfortable, and among the best in the class; we think they’re near-luxury level. Mazda has some of the best interiors for this price point of any automaker. The quality of materials is top notch and the fit and finish is excellent for a vehicle under $30,000.
In the back, there’s 35.8 inches of rear legroom, so taller passengers will feel cramped. It’s fine for short rides, but not long road trips. When it comes to cargo space, the hatch is among the best. The 5-Door Grand Touring offers 20.2 cubic feet behind the rear seat. With the seats folded flat, it offers up an abundant 47.1 cubic feet of cargo space, moving it into small SUV territory.

Engine & Fuel Mileage Specs
The Grand Touring comes powered by a 2.5-liter engine, producing 184 horsepower and 185 lb-ft. of torque. It’s mated to a six-speed automatic with Sport Mode and paddle shifters. It’s a front-drive configuration and gets an EPA-estimated 26/35 city/highway and 30 combined mpg.
Driving Dynamics
The first thing we noticed after getting behind the wheel was the heads-up display. It’s one of the best features for any driver so you can keep your eyes on the road. We like it because we push our testers to the limit. The 2.5-liter had ample power for most driving situations, and small hatch buyers will like the four-cylinder with the automatic because of the excellent fuel mileage.
The 6-speed Sport Mode automatic is ideal for enthusiasts because it offers steering wheel paddles, and it shifts with the decisiveness of a dual-clutch transmission. Mazda says “Driving Matters” and this car is a good example of what they transfer to the driver. We found the Mazda3 handles the tightest curves and mountain roads like more expensive German sedans. The ride can be a bit busier than most compact cars and somewhat stiff because the suspension is tuned for sport over comfort.
But that’s why you would buy this car: for the driving enjoyment.
Conclusion
The 2018 Mazda3 5-Door Grand Touring is one of the best hatchbacks for the money. It not only ramps up the fun-to-drive meter, but it offers functionality, sporty styling, a top-notch cabin, excellent fuel economy, and safety. If it were offered with all-wheel drive it would be even better.
Denis Flierl has invested over 25 years in the automotive industry in a variety of roles. Follow his work on Twitter: @CarReviewGuy
2018 Mazda3 5-Door Hatchback Gallery

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2018 Mazda3 5-Door official site.
Photos: Mazda North American Operations.

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