Mazda has something new, a 2 stroke, 15 to 1 compression, supercharged engine

 
operating as a compression-ignition (like a diesel) under low loads, and spark ignition during high loads. If that last part sounds familiar, it's because Mazda employs it on its Skyactiv-X engine

https://www.motortrend.com/news/mazda-patents-supercharged-two-stroke-compression-ignition-engine

good looking old Mazda

 

this is brilliant.... a guy with a stick shift used Miata turned his car, invented a new side hustle... teaching people to drive stick, with his car. Realistically, he invented a company: Manual Driving Academy. And he's looking to franchise (like Uber)

Today, he’s the CEO of Manual Driving Academy—an in-person program that is teaching a new generation of drivers how to row their own all over the country. And he’s looking for more drivers who might want to make a buck doing the same.

And once he’d gotten the hang of it, he was eager to share his newfound enthusiasm with friends and family. Raza enjoyed the process so much that he got the itch to expand it into a business. He approached the individual who would later become his partner with a simple pitch: Let’s teach folks how to drive stick for money as a side hustle. Just like that, Manual Driving Academy was born.

the Manual Driving Academy doesn’t exist—not physically. Instead, it contracts with local instructors who provide their own vehicles (other people around the country that want to earn some side hustle money)

Courses come in three flavors, in ascending order of price: The Basics, The Standard, and The Works. The price for each is fixed, and instructors should expect to earn between $50 and $60 per hour.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/he-turned-his-miata-into-a-side-hustle-by-teaching-enthusiasts-to-drive-stick-hell-pay-you-to-do-the-same

Mazda 626 owners can upfit their cars real fast with this cute little badge ... (I'm a fan of Lilo and Stitch)

 https://thkbuy.com/product/stitch-car-name-badge/

RHD four door Mazda Bongo Dually spotted at Lowes in Indiana... thank you Jim S!

 What an unusual beast! Dualie Mazda? Crew cab! 

First to the Finish, a new six-episode original series on Prime Video, that chronicles the 2024 season of the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship series on Prime Video

https://www.mazdausa.com/discover/introducing-the-first-to-the-finish-mx-5-cup-docuseries

surprising result of a class action lawsuit that alleged that Mazda replaced faulty parts with ones that were equally defective.

four plaintiffs whose infotainment systems would lag, reboot, and completely shut down while driving made a class action lawsuit. 

Mazda has settled, and those four plaintiffs have received a combined $11,500, while the lawyers representing them got a whopping $1.9 million.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/mazda-settles-lawsuit-lawyers-get-1-9m-while-plaintiffs-split-11500-and-a-sandwich

tidy little unit, the Autozam AZ-1, which I believe began as a Suzuki concept car in the mid-1980s

Facing competition from Honda's Beat and Suzuki's Cappuccino, the AZ-1 was the most advanced and expensive of the three, featuring a tube frame chassis with aluminum honeycomb bulkheads dressed in fiberglass body panels. 

With a diminutive curb weight of just 1,587 pounds, its mid-mounted 63 horsepower three-cylinder turbo engine provided just enough punch for a delightful, tire-screeching driving experience.

 However, its price tag, approximately $12,000, made the AZ-1 a hard sell over the slightly more expensive, but nearly twice as powerful MX-5. 

Compounded by a severe economic recession in Japan prior to its launch, Mazda sold fewer than 4,500 examples over a two-year period. 

 Keith Martin, editor of Sports Car Market in early 2018, purchased one and said of his time with the car, "During its time with SCM, it became everyone's favorite car, both for its striking gullwing doors and its high fun-factor as a driver."

Mazda CX 5, smart advertising commercial... that says exactly the right things, with only the one word the company wants you to remember, and a very good storyline in the video. Hats off to the marketing company!

 

about a decade ago, there was only one remarkable long term new car power train warranty, Hyundai's 10 year 100k mile, but now I learned Mazda went to 7 years, 100k miles

 Electric vehicles typically get 8 years, but that's not relevant to the majority of people. 

https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/advice/which-automaker-has-the-best-warranty

Nascar is partnering with the Mazda MX-5 Cup series, there will be Miatas on Martinsville!

the Mazda MX-5 Cup series’ sanctioning body announced that the championship will partner with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour at the latter’s season finale for a doubleheader on October 26. 

Both series will race the half-mile Martinsville Speedway, with Modifieds taking the track for 200 laps and Mazdas for 100 of their own. It’ll mark the first time open-top cars have raced at the track since the 1950s

https://www.thedrive.com/news/mazda-mx-5-cup-cars-are-finally-racing-on-a-nascar-oval

Finally a stock car race in Nascar! Why is that important? Because a Mazda is relatively affordable for blue collar workers, and a Nascar full race car? Ain't ever going to be. Hasn't been for 40 years

you know how in March and April, I post Happy 413 Day, and 327, 318, all the engine sizes? And it's a good thing? Well, it's 626 day, and there ain't much that's ever been interesting about a 626, except that this one was almost on the Peking to Paris rally

“When the 1982 rally event was canceled, Martin pushed it back into his dealership,” explained the owner. “It just kind of sat there for a while, then the dealership changed hands in the mid- to late-80s… I think that’s when it finally left the dealership.”

In November 1981, MotorSport reported that the event had been delayed from its initial intended start in June 1982, citing that the Soviet Union was not onboard with allowing competitors to pass through.

It’s a shame, too, because there were some guys who intended to race the last ever Checker cab while running the taxi meter the whole way. Whoever guessed the fare at the end would win a prize.

https://www.theautopian.com/this-forgotten-mazda-rally-car-belonged-to-an-automotive-legend-and-could-be-yours-for-just-9500/

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/460668129/?fbclid=IwAR12sQuqZkOYVHv3CkHMPxXAzS79BObVqpy47XwIxK7e8bAhVacaeImmaRc

left in the exclusion zone after the Fukushima disaster because they're radiation soaked

https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-fukushima-exclusion-zone-is-becoming-a-fossil-bed-of-lost-jdm-cars

https://youtu.be/UJUvStUdY3E

According to the Seattle Times, some Mazda owners radios in Seattle have been stuck on an NPR station.

The glitch has also managed to disable the infotainment’s Bluetooth, navigation, clock, and vehicle stats.

 According to Mazda North American Operations, the only solution to the problem is to replace its CMU (Connectivity Master Unit) unit which would end up costing the customers $1,500. Currently, replacement CMUs are not available.

https://www.powernationtv.com/post/radio-glitch-forces-seattle-drivers-to-listen-to-npr-against-their-will

someone chose a cool 69 Barracuda with extra cool slotted mags for a cute catchy new song's music video

 

notice she has the respect and consideration to not wear her heels while her feet are on the hood. I dig that!

 

https://www.vogue.co.uk/miss-vogue/article/dua-lipa-tiktok-levitating-music-video

https://twitter.com/DUALIPA/status/1404547741242494976/photo/1

I learned there is also an animated version of the song, sans rapper guy, with a Mazda Cosmo

that is a hell of a coincidence that she has three videos for a song and they all have a pre 1970 cool car

Marc points out that it's this car, and he's right! 

is this a reference to Forrest Gump?

This is Mazda's 100th anniversary, and it's going to have special anniversary editions to mark the occassion

http://www.autonews.fr/actualite/en-rouge-et-blanc-des-mazda-100eme-anniversaire-assorties-89541

Wow, that's a strange way to use a Miata

https://www.reddit.com/r/Justrolledintotheshop/comments/ej7xb6/just_rolled_out_of_the_shop_or_coming_from_harbor/

How good are the weather seals on your car? Just asking for a local arachnid

http://darkdraggon.tumblr.com/post/184028380305/jupiter2-big-spider-catches-a-ride-follow

Ken's Factory has built a hot rod Mazda powered by a Harley

https://www.facebook.com/kensfactoryproducts/posts/2495207917218816