Mazda

Mazda isn't going to build a coupe version of its iconic MX-5 Miata roadster, so please stop asking. What it will do is try to dip back into the nearly 50/50 split it had on the previous-generation Miata between soft-top and power-retractable hardtop models by way of the Mazda MX-5 Miata RF. Those two letters stand for 'retractable fastback,' and signal to buyers that this unique take on open-air motoring is as close to a fixed-roof Miata as you'll find in the automaker's current showroom.

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Mazda finds itself in a tricky spot. The CX-5 is due for a refresh; however, it's also the best-selling car in the company's US line-up. Sales in 2016, in fact, accounted for a quarter of all Mazda purchases in the US. Get it wrong, and the 2017 CX-5 could end up doing more harm than good.

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If the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF aims to introduce some hard-top practicality to the iconic little roadster, does it run the risk of losing what makes a Miata, well, a Miata? That should've been the question we asked when the Japanese company unveiled the RF at the New York Auto Show a year ago: instead, we were too busy being wowed by its innovative retractable roof and achingly pretty design. Fast forward to today, with the first of the MX-5 RF Launch Edition cars reaching the initial 1,000 buyers and the regular versions landing in Mazda dealerships, it's time to get behind the wheel and ask the tough questions.

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Mazda has priced up the new 2017 CX-5, replacing its best-selling model with a revamped version that boosts spec and refinement. The new CX-5 kicks off at $24,045 (plus $940 destination), Mazda confirmed today. Three trim levels will be offered, as well as a selection of options packages and a choice of front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

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Hot on the heels of its mid-year 2016.5 refresh, the Mazda CX-5 compact SUV has been given a more comprehensive redesign for the 2017 model year. Most of the changes will be familiar to anyone who has been keeping pace with the development of other members of the Mazda line-up - notably the Mazda3 - so it's instructive to think of the new CX-5 as more of an accumulation of the best of what the brand has to offer, rather than a significant step away from the familiar.

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The 2016.5 Mazda CX-5 - yes, that half-model year is not a typo - just keeps on winning. Who would have thought that in the space of less than a decade, a company whose previous SUV efforts were limited to rebadged versions of the Ford Explorer and Ford Escape would be fielding such an enticing array of people movers? And that a compact hauler like the CX-5 would be leading the charge?

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Mazda has priced up the Miata RF, the hardtop convertible version of its MX-5 roadster, which the automaker unveiled unexpectedly back in March. Surprise star of the New York Auto Show, the slick fastback does away with its sibling's fabric roof and puts in its place a multi-section hard roof that unfolds and unfurls in a pleasingly origami style.

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The 2016 Ford Focus RS stands at the pinnacle of the American hot hatch landscape, a turbocharged high performance marvel that brings with it a history of dominance in the European market. Of course, with Subaru no longer producing a hatchback version of its venerable STI and Mazda long having put the Mazdaspeed3 out to pasture, there's really only one other boy-racer compact hatch around with the specs to tackle the RS head-on: the Volkswagen Golf R.

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Small crossovers and SUVs are among the most popular automobiles on the market, and it's really no surprise. Practical and versatile, with enough storage space and passenger room to go above and beyond the day-to-day needs of most families, yet without the stodgy image of a minivan, sport-utility vehicles and their closely-related crossover cousins continue to do big business for almost every brand.

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Mazda is recalling 190,102 CX-7 SUVs due to possible loss of steering resulting from a ball joint issue. The affected vehicles fall between the 2007 and 2012 model years; Mazda plans to fix the recalled vehicles in a staggered manner starting with the 2007 and 2008 model year cars, as well as 2009 to 2011 model year cars located in certain states (those with salty winter roads, namely).

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Fiat's long-awaited new roadster, the 2017 124 Spider, is set to go on sale this summer, and the Italian manufacturer has finally released the US pricing details. While the 124 Spider was co-developed with Mazda as the MX-5 Miata, the two cars don't have a lot in common, with the Fiat offering a 1.4-liter turbocharged option, as well as featuring a fairly different body design. There is one thing that's the same between the two sibling, however, and that's being incredibly affordable.

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Mazda's fourth-generation MX-5 Miata might be the lightweight droptop for purists, but it's the Miata RF that will satisfy the mass market hunting biggest bang-for-buck. The slick fastback style and mechanized roof give the classic roadster a brand new twist, not to mention a degree of Porsche Targa-esque theater, that's likely to appeal to drivers who might want luxury coupe looks but on a much tighter budget.

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