Almost a quarter-century ago, Chrysler rocked the automotive scene by putting a two-box body on the K-car platform, calling it a minivan and inventing the soccer mom. Unfortunately, the intervening years haven’t been kind to the concept; the mini minivan is no more. In fact, the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan is almost two feet longer than the full-sized 1984 Dodge Ram van. If you’re looking for a three-row people mover that won’t max out your garage, you can always go the CUV route– if you’re into poseurmobiles. Or you can consider the Mazda5 or Kia Rondo. But do these reborn minivans carry the torch, or has the genre’s flame fizzled-out?
The Mazda5 Grand Touring and the Rondo EX adhere to the original formula. Both are built on passenger car platforms and share drivetrains with economy cars. Both are within a couple of inches of the size of the original Chrysler minivan. Both have three rows of seats; like the original Caravoyagers, the third row is optional on the Rondo. And like those early minvans, you can have a flat cargo floor if you desire. But that’s where the similarities between them end.

Mazda and Kia took decidedly divergent design directions. The Mazda5 looks like the love child of a Mazda3 and the space shuttle. The family DNA shows in the grille that precedes a steeply sloping hood and windshield. While the more traditionally minivannish of the two, it shows some style with a beltline that swoops upward from the obligatory swept-back headlights, past the dual sliding doors and toward the rear– where you’re greeted by two huge silver… things… mounted next to the rear window. These pods contain the LED taillights and backup lights. They’re easy to see, but look oh-so-last-decade. Read more »

“Wow! Is that the new electric sports car?”

That’s what the excited young driver of a big Ford F-150 with a biodiesel sticker ran up to ask just after I’d parked the latest version of Mazda’s RX-8 sports car, the R3.

The fashionably scruffy passer-by obviously hadn’t seen the chromed exhaust pipes or heard the engine, and I’ll never know if he was referring to the two-seat Tesla Roadster or the upcoming Fisker Karma sedan, but the interaction serves to show that even five years after its introduction, the rotary-powered RX-8 is still turning heads, and it’s still rare enough on the street for those who don’t keep up with the enthusiast press to think it’s the latest and greatest.

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Mazda has officially confirmed that the 2009 MX-5 / Miata facelift, the first photo of which hit the net on Wednesday, will make its global debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. The Japanese automaker hasn’t released any details whatsoever, so for now, all we know is that the 2009 Miata / MX-5 gets a new face that is distinguished by the trapezoidal grille, the new fog light inserts, the restyled front bumper with a splitter and the more angular shaped headlights. Additionaly, the facelifted version features new alloy wheel designs and more sculptured side-skirts. While we’ll have to wait to see the car up close for our final take, we reckon that the styling tweaks manage to give Mazda’s highly successful rear-wheel-drive roadster a sharper look.

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Despite having the ability to snatch the 2.3-liter gasoline-electric hybrid from FoMoCo’s arsenal – the same engine found in the Mazda Tribute Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid and 2009 Fusion – Mazda has decided to keep the new Mazda6 hybrid-free for the time being. Jay Amestoy, veep of public and governmental affairs for Mazda, told InsideLine that the automaker is content that the new 6 can hold its own against the competition, despite the high cost of fuel. “Our real-world MPG numbers will be strong, and we think the fuel economy is pretty good the way it is.”

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