Test Drive: 2011 Mazdaspeed3

By Kevin Harrison

It costs about $30 million to go to space. Seriously, if you have the dough you can be one of the few people on Earth to ever leave it. Seeing the moon, the stars and even looking back at your home planet would be thrilling to say the least. But then there’s that price tag. Even billionaires, I suspect, would have a hard time swallowing that bill.

So, what can we do for cheap thrills? Well I recently went to see a movie where the real draw was cheap ticket prices that evening. But considering how uncomfortable the chairs were, the schizophrenic audio and the movie itself being about as interesting as a gnat, the thrill part of equation was severely lacking. Cheap yes, thrilling no.

So where is the balance between value and thrills? Mazda thinks they have it nailed down in the form of the new Mazdaspeed3. They’ve been at it since the inception of the Mazda Protege MP3 back in 2001. Have they perfected the recipe?

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Civic Regains Canadian Sales Crown

Honda must be happy about this.

After experiencing a sales slump and some tough criticism on new products it must be comforting to know that their most recognizable model, the Civic, is still quite popular with Canadians. It was the best selling car in Canada last month.

It must also be even more comforting to know that, despite being a five year old design, it is beating the newly redesigned Hyundai elantra (which was the best selling car in Canada for the month of January and February) and Mazda3. In fact another stablemate in the compact segment is starting to regain in sales – the Toyota Corolla. It was the second best selling car while Chevrolet’s new Cruze took third place with the Elantra and Mazda3 taking 4th and 5th spots respectively.

Despite all those being compact cars, don’t think for a second that Canadians are off huge pick-ups. The Ford F-150 is still the best selling vehicle in Canada overall. The GMC Sierra is 6th overall and the Chevy Silverado is 9th overall.

[Auto North]

Car Driven’s 2011 Car of the Year Nominees Are…

For the first time ever, Car Driven will be announcing its Car of the Year (COTY). Mostly because this is the first year for this blog, but also because unfortunately I don’t have the means to test every new vehicle myself this year. But that never stopped me from making my own pics for AJAC’s COTY awards last year, so why not?

So with much thought and deliberation I’ve narrowed down the nominees to five cars overall. Every new 2011 vehicle, no matter what the segment, is considered. However to keep things simple, I’ve opted to not separate them by categories this year. That means the new Honda Odyssey was technically considered alongside the Ferrari 458 Italia. Since both are obviously very different vehicles made for very different purposes, I decided to choose all nominees based on how well each vehicle is suited for Canadians. That means everything from performance, price, quality, safety, fit & finish were considered. However to keep it fair, each of those criterion are relative to the vehicle segment. So for example the Ferrari 458 Italia is compared against other supercars. And the Honda Odyssey against other minivans. The vehicle that presents a clear, absolute best case for itself wins.

I’ll probably do categories next year, but for now we’ll go with this. And I’m working a lot harder to try to test all the new vehicles for next year to make a more informed decision, press vehicles are pretty hard to get your hands on (in the meantime, check out all the vehicles I’ve tested so far). And to keep it simple, I’ve narrowed it down to 5 vehicles.

Find out what they are after the jump.

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Ford To Reduce Stake in Mazda

Ford has announced today that it plans to reduce it’s 11% stake in Mazda to 3.5% effective November 19th aka tomorrow.

It’s an interesting move. On the one hand, in this economy, downsizing is probably the safest way to go. GM was forced to do it and Ford has done so by getting selling of Land Rover, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Volvo and killing off Mercury. Mazda is really the only brand it has any stake in now (besides Lincoln).

On the other hand, Mazda is on a roll and has been for the past few years. Keeping a higher stake in a brand that is surely to continue to do well in the future may not be a bad idea. Perhaps that’s why Ford decided not to sell the entire stake. 3.5% in the grand scheme of things, is still pretty significant afterall. As a result, Ford says the two companies will continue to share ideas and technologies.

[Mazda, Ford Photo Credit: Autoblog]

Top Gear Filming In Israel

There’s no doubt that Top gear is the best show on earth, and one of the reasons it’s so good is the challenge segments. This is where Clarkson, Hammond and May choose a car (under specific guidlines) and all go through a series of challenges to find out who bought the best vehicle.

Usually the challenge take place outside of the blokes’ home country of Great Britain, and usually it’s somewhere you wouldn’t quite expect. Case in point, the boys were spotted in Israel in what appears to be some sort of roadster challenge.

Richard chose a Fiat Barchetta, James took the wheel of a BMW Z3 while  Jeremy went with a Mazda MX-5. Jeremy’s car was even decked out with a hookah! I’m sure it was only used for legal substances.

What’s also interesting is the convoy apparently apparently went through the Isreal/Jordan border, which typically is for foot traffic only. Israeli officialy must be huge fans of the show to let them through, especially in unusual cars.

There is still no date set for the new season of Top Gear, but you can expect it sometime in late November.

[Autoblog]

O Rly? Mazda Toying With Diesel For Next Generation Mazdaspeed3

The Mazdaspeed3 is one of the few pocket rockets that actually deliver on the performance end. The Honda Civic Si and Chevrolet Cobalt SS might try their damndest, but they really don’t measure up to the Mazdaspeed3 or the GTI.

As good as the Mazdaspeed3 is, it’s not without its faults. For instance, the turbo lag is almost as bad as the turbo lag in the Saab Viggen. And on top of that, it’s trying a little too hard to seem boy racer-ish, doesn’t it?

Well it seems that Mazda is going to give the new Speed3 quite a big change that will probably address neither of those problems. Well done, Mazda.

Anyway, according the VP of product development of Mazda USA Robert Davis, the next generation Speed3 could get a diesel in its engine bay. Say whaaaaaat?

Actually it’s not a bad idea. Since diesels are inherently torque-y there will likely be minimal or no loss of performance and the Speed3 would get excellent mileage to boot. In fact, I wonder why it’s taken other manufacturers (besides the Europeans) so long to figure this out. Mazda is undoubtedly concerned about the new CAFE standard and needs to do something about its sporty lineup. That’s why the RX8 is getting the axe next year. Don’t worry, the RX8 will return in 2013 with a new efficient engine.

[Car and Driver photo credit: edmunds.com]

FAIL: Not-So-Safe Safety Car

The picture says it all.

FAIL.

[Edmunds]

This Is the Only Reason to Ever Opt For An Automatic

Those who know me well, and those of you who frequent this blog, know that I am an avid manual transmission fan and an avid automatic transmission hater.

After seeing this commercial for the new Mazda2 however, I will concede that there is one reason to opt for an automatic transmission.

Check it out above.

[veryfunnyads.com]

Mazda3 Was Best Selling Car in Canada in April

Mazda’s 3 took top selling car honours in Canada last month.

The Honda Civic usually beats its competitors by a fair margin, but it seems as though Canadians are feeling that the Civic is a bit long in the tooth as Volkswagen was able to unseed the Civic back in February.

But don’t expect the new tougher competition to force Honda into redesigning its Civic. Even though Honda rigorously completely redesigns almost every model on a strict five year schedule, the Civic will be missing its redesign by a year or so. Honda claims new efficiency standards are to blame for the delay, but clearly it’s because the competition is churning out some decent product, and Mazda besting Toyota is the perfect example.

The Golf, the Corolla, upcoming Focus and Cruze aren’t going to wait around for you to reclaim the top spot, Honda.

Umm… Mazda2 Yozora Limited Edition Is A Bit Unfortunate

So…does Mazda hate Canada or something? What did we do to deserve this?!

You are looking at a Canada-only option for the otherwise sweet Mazda2.  Why the hell are there so many 2′s for decals? In case you forget what you’re driving? In fact, why is there even decals to begin with?

In addition to the ridiculous decals, the Yozora Edition will get you 16 inch silver and black eight spoke alloys, a ‘unique’ Yozora spoiler, and Yozora badging…everywhere. Even the floor mats.

So why is this Canadian only? Well because Mazda is also going to throw in 15 inch steel wheels with winter tires should you decide on the Yozora package. Where else rocks steelies 6 months of the year!

Thankfully, the Yozora edition Mazda2 is limited to only 500 units.

Canadian Black Book Announces Best Retained Value Winners

If you want to get the most back from your car when selling it after four years, Canadian Black book has made it a bit easier for you to decide what to buy in the first place.

They have compiled a list of cars that best retain their value from MSRP four years later into 17 categories.

Find out who got the honours after the jump.

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World Car of the Year 2010: Top Ten Entries Revealed

What is the best car in the world? It’s all relative and subjective and thus, impossible to determine. But that doesn’t stop automotive journalists from trying.

52 automotive journalists representing each continent in the world (except Antarctica – Penguins can’t legally drive yet) have gotten together and submitted their top ten choices for World Car of the Year in two categories: Car of the Year and Performance Car of the Year. There will then be three finalists chosen for both categories.

Find out what car made the top ten and what our pics are for the finalists after the jump!

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