Automotive Einstein

Sane little Mazda has quietly been producing one of the best sports cars of all time — the Miata — for more than two decades. Other than one bone-headed move to rename it (when some nitwit marketing exec decided to kill “Miata” in favor of “MX-5″) and one half-hearted attempt to make it fast (the turbocharged Mazdaspeed MX-5 Miata), there has been no insanity. No Miata GT3. No Miata GT-RS. No Miata Superleggera. No Miata R.

Photo Gallery: First Drive: Mazda MX-5 Super20 – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Drive: Mazda MX-5 Super20 – Automobile Magazine

Since its debut, the Mazda 3 has been one of the best choices for enthusiasts on a budget. The 2012 3 has lost some of the previous car’s character but it makes noticeable gains in refinement. In the cabin, the central console is still dominated by hard plastic, but its shiny finish has been toned down slightly and the new HVAC controls are easier to use by feel, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road. The overall design is also more cohesive and the look is more upscale, especially in the two-tone color scheme in this tester.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mazda 3i Grand Touring – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mazda 3i Grand Touring – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

Goldilocks wants a new compact crossover. As circumstances would have it, she’s in luck. She’s interested in a segment chock full of nice vehicles from just about every carmaker you can think of — from Kia to Range Rover and every manufacturer in between.

Photo Gallery: Comparison: Ford Escape vs. Honda CR-V vs. Mazda CX-5 – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Comparison: Ford Escape vs. Honda CR-V vs. Mazda CX-5 – Automobile Magazine

We knew we were adding a dash of flash to our Four Seasons fleet when we took delivery of a Range Rover Evoque, but we did not expect our newly arrived Mazda CX-5 to turn just as many heads as the posh Range Rover.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring – Four Season Update – May 2012 – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring – Four Season Update – May 2012 – Automobile Magazine

Crossovers have become the white bread of the automotive market both for their ubiquity — more than one out of every five vehicles sold last year — and for the fact that they’re more convenient than they are interesting or enjoyable.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring – Four Seasons Introduction – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring – Four Seasons Introduction – Automobile Magazine

The Mazda 2 is simple, understated, and slow. In other words, it is the epitome of a Mazda. This underpowered hatchback reminds me an awful lot of my first car, a Mazda Protege5. It’s slightly weak in the powertrain department (98 lb-ft of torque!), but compensating factors are the car’s exceptional handling and the engine’s unusual willingness to rev. The 2 is a momentum car — a car that rewards you for driving smoothly and invites you to carry your speed through turns with its utterly predictable handling and respectable body control. The only place where this Mazda doesn’t quite feel up to Zoom-Zoom standards is the steering. The 2′s tiller would inspire even more confidence with a bit more resistance to quick direction changes. That said, Mazda carries the subcompact class in driving dynamics. The Fiat 500 and Ford Fiesta come closest to offering a similar driving experience, but neither of those cars is as good as the Mazda in steering or shift feel.

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mazda2 Touring – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2012 Mazda2 Touring – Editors’ Notebook – Automobile Magazine

Where I live, the prices at the gas station all start with the number 4, and the alarmist local TV station is speculating that gasoline could reach $5 a gallon by this summer. All of that means demand for small cars should remain strong; but some small cars are likely to benefit more than others, as I expect that buyers will increasingly scrutinize EPA numbers, and those small cars that can post big digits will be the biggest winners.

Photo Gallery: Driven: 2012 Mazda3 – Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: Driven: 2012 Mazda3 – Automobile Magazine