The wait is finally over — nearly six-months after its official unveiling, Mazda has announced weight specifications for its latest MX-5 Miata sports car.
Mazda promised a light-weight sports car with the 2016 MX-5 and the company certainly delivered. When equipped with a manual transmission, the Miata will tip the scales at just 2,332 pounds. Checking the MX-5′s automatic gearbox option will push the car’s weight to a slightly more portly 2,381 pounds.

In comparison, the lightest version of the outgoing MX-5 was about 2,480 pounds, with the heaviest models checking in just above 2,600 pounds. The 2016 MX-5 isn’t quite as light as the 2,070 pound original, but it’s pretty darn close considering its modern safety and luxury features.

The 2016 MX-5 is down on power compared to the previous car (155 horsepower vs 167 horsepower ), but the new model actually boasts a better power-to-weight ratio thanks to its featherlight curb weight. That should translate to a 0-60 time in the low six-second range.

The 2016 Mazda MX-5 won’t hit dealer showrooms until this summer, but you can now drive the roadster virtually on Xbox One’s Forza Horizon 2.

Photos by Brian Williams.

The BBC has reportedly decided to cancel the rest of the current Top Gear season due to a recent scuffle between host Jeremy Clarkson and a producer.
Previous reports suggested the final three episodes in the show’s 22nd season, however BBC News now claims the network has finalized its decision to not air the episode related to Clarkson’s alleged confrontation and the remaining two scheduled segments.

One source claims Clarkson attempted to punch producer Oisin Tymon in a dispute over hot meals following a day of filming, but details surrounding the incident have not been officially detailed or confirmed by BBC.

The fiasco has infuriated many fans, leading to a “Bring Back Clarkson” petition at Change.org. The campaign has been signed by more than 770,000 supporters.

Despite the truncation of the current season, Top Gear is one of the BBC’s most popular shows and is not expected to be completely cancelled, even if the dispute leads to Clarkson’s resignation or ouster.

Honda is reportedly developing a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine for its next-generation Civic.
The company has switched to a 2.0-liter VTEC Turbo powerplant for the new range-topping Civic Type R, and forced induction has long been viewed as an inevitability for the basic variants.

The 1.5-liter four-cylinder mill will become the new standard for the base models, while naturally-aspirated options are expected live on for higher trim levels, according to Automotive News.

“Downsized turbocharging will be the base, even for the Civic,” said Honda’s R&D head, Yoshiharu Yamamoto. “The power is very good.”

The executive promises the small engine will provide power figures on par with naturally-aspirated 2.0- and 2.4-liter engines. For reference, the 2.4-liter straight-four in the current Civic Si delivers 205 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque.

The Japanese automaker is preparing to invest $340 million in it Anna, Ohio, plant to build turbocharged engines, with an estimated annual volume of 200,000 units for the North American market.

The redesigned Civic is expected to arrive in the not-too-distant future, though Honda has not yet announced full details.

Chrysler has released a few concept teaser sketches for the 49th Annual Easter Jeep Safari.
The company promises to reveal seven new concept vehicles at the Moab, Utah enthusiast jamboree, though most will likely be production models decked out with available Mopar accessories.

The Jeep Chief and Wrangler Red Rock Responder will be two of the highlight concepts at the event. The others have not yet been revealed.

The annual gathering invites Jeep owners and fans to spend a week in the iconic backcountry terrain, where they can take off on short or multi-day off-road expeditions on many miles of local trails. Trails are rated by difficulty, enabling drivers to test their skills in anything from rental vehicles to fully-customized rock crawlers.

The full lineup of Easter Jeep Safari concept vehicles will be detailed next week, while the event is scheduled to begin March 28.

General Motors’ $5 billion stock buyback plan has been met with criticism from some analysts and experts.
The company announced the move after an activist investor threatened to run for a seat on the board and push for a larger $8 billion buyback. The initiative may be great for GM investors in the near term, but University of Massachusetts economics professor William Lazonick argues that the investment threatens GM’s stability if the industry encounters another downturn.

“GM did $20.4 billion worth of buyback from 1986 through 2002,” Lazonick wrote in a story for the Harvard Business Review. “If it had saved that money and earned a modest 2.5% on it, the company would have had $35 billion on hand when the financial crisis and Great Recession hit and probably would not have had to file for bankruptcy protection.”

The bailout ultimately cost US taxpayers more than $9 billion in absorbed losses, combining a $11.2 billion loss attributed to GM and a $2.4 billion profit from its loan arm, Ally Financial.

Major automakers are currently enjoying global sales gains as demand continues to grow, but some analysts view changes in lending trends as the first small signs of potential trouble in the coming years. The average car loan term has grown steadily from 60 months in 2002 to 78 months in the current market, according to Edmunds.

Ally Financial recently began offering 84-month loans in many states, according to Automotive News. The extra-long term allows buyers to purchase more expensive vehicles, but potentially delays their next trip to the dealer.

“Going forward, GM will need all the financial resources it can muster to produce automobiles that buyers in diverse global markets want at prices that they are willing to pay,” Lazonick added.

Former GM chief Bob Lutz appears to agree, recently telling The Wall Street Journal that buybacks are a “harbinger of the next downturn” and nearly always a regretted decision.

Toyota has issued several recalls to fix two electrical problems in a handful of 2012-2015 models.
The smaller campaign is focused on the 2012-2014 Rav4 EV, which appears to have encountered trouble with its Tesla-sourced powertrain. An issue with the traction motor assembly can cause the vehicle to inadvertently shift into ‘neutral.’ A software update promises to correct the behavior, without requiring any new hardware installation.

“If the vehicle shifts to ‘neutral’, this will result in a complete loss of drive power, which can increase the risk of a crash,” the recall documents note.

The larger recall, affecting approximately 110,000 vehicles, is related to the electric power steering (EPS) system in the 2014-2015 Rav4 and 2015 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Highlander and Highlander Hybrid.

A manufacturing deficiency can potentially cause an EPS circuit board to fail while the vehicle is underway, causing loss of steering assistance and increasing the risk of a crash.

The company expects to begin mailing notices to owners in the near future.

Photo by Mark Elias.

Rolls-Royce has flatly rejected rumors that its upcoming SUV will be built upon a BMW-sourced platform.
The company is developing its own aluminum spaceframe for the new model, which will be outfitted with an aluminum body, chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes recently told Automotive News Europe.

Previous rumors suggested the luxury brand had penned a supply agreement with BMW to utilize the same platform that will underpin the upcoming X7 crossover, potentially borrowing the Blue Roundel’s 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8.

It is unclear if Mueller-Oetvoes’ comments also rule out the downsized BMW engine. A gigantic V12 powerplant — consistent with the rest of the lineup — is still viewed as a possibility, and the company could also be considering a plug-in hybrid edition.

“We are finalizing the design and will do the first test mules in the next months,” Mueller-Oetvoes added.

The as-yet-unnamed utility vehicle is expected to arrive on the market in 2018, competing amid an influx of expected high-end SUVs from Bentley, Aston Martin and Lamborghini.

General Motors has continued to ramp up promotion of the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu.
A short documentary video shows the sedan being put through durability trials at the company’s Milford Proving Ground in Michigan.

Engineers aim to calculate the effects of pothole damage over the course of 150,000 miles, replicating such conditions on three road courses littered with potholes of increasing severity. Prototype vehicles are then run through the course hundreds of times.

“Although most Malibu owners will never put their car through similar abuse, we test all new vehicles in extreme climates, inclement weather and on punishing road surfaces,” said Malibu validation engineer Dan Devine. “The 2016 Malibu is definitely up to these challenges.”

The next-generation Malibu was also brought to Yuma, Arizona for tests in extremely high temperatures, and also to Northern Canada to verify its resilience to cold. Wilder extremes are then created in a wind tunnel, exposing the preproduction vehicles to temperatures ranging from -40 to 140 degrees.

All of the tests are now commonplace in the auto industry, though the behind-the-scenes looks are typically used to promote trucks rather than sedans.

The 2016 Malibu is scheduled to make its formal debut next month in New York.

Audi has released more details about the Q1, promising to deliver the compact crossover by 2016.
A concept sketch has shown a profile consistent with two of the company’s other upcoming utility vehicles, the all-electric Q6 and range-topping Q8. Related to the Prologue concept, the design language carries a much more sculpted, streamline appearance than the conservatively-styled Q3, Q5 and Q7.

The Q1 is said to be built upon a shortened version of Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, shared with a wide range of models including the VW Golf and the Touran MPV.

The diminutive premium crossover is expected to be close to the A3 in terms of overall length and width, offered in front- or all-wheel-drive configurations with engines likely borrowed from the A3.

The Q1 may be revealed in a toned-down concept form sometime this year, before arriving on the market next year as Audi’s new entry-level crossover.

Nissan has released the fourth chapter in its ‘Truckumentary’ video series promoting the next-generation Titan.
The latest segment focuses on durability testing at the Nissan Technical Center North America near Detroit and the Arizona Test Center.

A pre-production Titan XD is shown plowing through deep water, jumping curbs, putting up with machine-automated abuse and undergoing other real-world and simulated test scenarios.

Nissan has heavily promoted its upcoming Titan, focusing on heavy-duty power and rugged construction. The refined pickup will arrive on the market shortly after the aluminized edition of the segment leader, the new Ford F-150, and the company is hoping Cummins’ new 5.0-liter V8 diesel will help it gain market share.

Keeping attention focused on the XD, Nissan has not yet revealed the gasoline-powered V6 and V8 packages.