Reprieve! End of Mazda RX-8 pushed back by extra 1,000 units

And now for some good news from Mazda: it is doubling the run of its limited edition RX-8 Spirit R, adding 1,000 more units to production due to demand. Announced late last year, this Japan-only model celebrates the end of the RX-8's nine-year existence. The final Wankel-engined four-door is scheduled to roll off the line in June.

The Spirit R doesn't skimp on the extra trim bits inside and out, with larger brakes clamped by red calipers, piano-black transmission tunnel trim, Recaro Sprint R bucket seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel and an enhanced traction control system among the bonus features.

Both automatic and manual transmissions are offered, but takers have gone decisively for the row-your-own cogswapper, making up 66 percent of orders. Compared to the automatic, they receive larger 19-inch wheels on lower profile tires, a "hard suspension," alloy pedals and aero bits. Hit the jump for the press release with more details.

 

Mazda Extends Production of Special Edition RX-8 SPIRIT R
- An extra 1,000 RX-8s are on their way due to popular demand -

HIROSHIMA, Japan-Mazda Motor Corporation has decided to extend production of the Mazda RX-8 SPIRIT R by 1,000 units. Mazda initially intended to make 1,000 units of the special edition four-door, four-seat rotary engine sports car, but will extend production due to a large number of orders. Sales of the RX-8 SPIRIT R, the final special edition model, were launched in November of 2011.

Mazda has received orders for the special edition RX-8 SPIRIT R from a variety of customers of all ages including sports car fans and rotary engine enthusiasts. The 6-speed manual transmission version is proving most popular, constituting 66% of orders. It features aero parts and Bilstein dampers as well as RECARO bucket seats and 19-inch bronze-painted forged aluminum wheels. Orders are almost equally divided between the three available body colors, Aluminum Metallic, Sparkling Black Mica, and Crystal White Pearl Mica.

Mazda commenced sales of the RX-8 in April 2003, and as of the end of March 2012, has produced 192,094 units (figure includes those intended for overseas sale). Mazda plans to end production of the RX-8 in June 2012.

Main features of the limited Mazda RX-8 SPIRIT R series (disclosed on October 7, 2011):

Special equipment for RX-8 SPIRIT R

For both manual and automatic transmission models
- Exclusive ornament
- Front headlights, front fog lights and rear combination lights (with black bezels)
- Front and rear brake calipers (red)
- Larger brake rotors
- Transmission tunnel trim (piano-black)
- Curtain and front side SRS airbag system
- Driving Stability Control and Traction Control System
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel (black with red stitching)
- Leather-wrapped parking brake lever (with red stitching)
- Center console box with front seat armrest (synthetic leather with red stitching)
- Rear console box with a lid (with synthetic leather)

Exclusive to the 6-speed manual transmission model
- Bucket seats from RECARO (red and black leather* and fabric)
- Hard suspension (with Bilstein dampers)
- 225/40R19 89W tires and 19-inch forged aluminum wheels (bronze)
- Aero parts
- Aluminum pedal set
- Leather-wrapped shift knob (black with red stitching)

Exclusive to the 6-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission model
- Black leather seats (with red stitching)* and 8-way power seat with memory function
- Sports suspension
- 225/45R18 91W tires and 18-inch alloy wheels (gun metallic)
- Heated front seats
- Leather-wrapped shift knob (black)

 

Courtesy of AutoBlog.com

Bunco Night! Come support the Creative Solutions Autism Team and Good News Bears.

You know what's cool? Dice games. You know what's even cooler than that? Breaking world records. What's even better than that? Helping people in need!

This Friday, May 11th, come out to The Barn at 3131 Pacific Ave. Ken Harvey Auto Group will be sponsering Bunco Night! With live music, appetizers, a wine bar, prizes and so much more, you can't lose! Space is very limited so please reserve now. You must be 21 or older to attend, so leave the kiddos at home for this one! The event will be hosted by DJ Faith Alpher of KKIQ. If you have any desire to help those in need, break world records, or play some Bunco, this is your event! Visit Castal.org to register, or call Annette at 925-784-1537 for more information.

Two new 5-star reviews on Google Maps! Thanks Bruce and Jessica.

I drove off the Tracy Mazda parking lot in my new 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback with a huge smile! I am so in love with the car and very pleased with the service I received. Alfonso was wonderful! He took the time to go over everything with me and even synced my phone with my blue tooth before I drove off! If you are looking to buy a new Mazda or used car I would definitely recommend talking to Alfonso first, he will take the time to make sure you are just as happy as I was when I left!

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GeekDad Family Car Review: Mazda 5

My wife and I recently undertook that most dreaded of tasks, buying a new car. Her old wheels, a wheezing, green (where it wasn’t rusted) minivan had served us well for a decade, but its days were numbered. Things have changed a bit since we bought that vehicle and we went into this round with some very clearly defined requirements. When all was said and done, we came away with a Mazda 5. I thought I’d share our experience with it so far, since many of you are right in its target demographic and tends to get overlooked in its odd position somewhere between minivan and wagon.

Shopping for a car is both easier and more complicated than it used to be. There is a lot more information out there than ever, thanks to the web — which puts the buyer in a stronger position than ever. The downside is that so much information can be a little overwhelming. There are plenty of really useful car buying guides online , and what we started out with on this exercise was a list of requirements. Among them:

• Seating for a family of five. Real seating (suitable for long drives).
• Safety. My family will be in this thing. Enough said.
• Fuel economy. While it would be used as a family hauler on occasion, its primary purpose is daily commutes. While $4/gallon gas appears to be causing freakouts in the US, here in Canada, I’ve been paying $5 a gallon all year and that’s before the annual summer price spike.
• Compact enough for urban driving and parking; flexible enough to hold everyone when needed.
• Reasonably priced (ideally under $30k).

We went through the usual list of suspects: all of the minivans, the wagons and some crossovers. Everything we tried out represented a compromise of one key requirement or another. We test drove a Mazda 5 and kept coming back to it. As a vehicle for a family of five, it hit all of our key requirements pretty much spot on.

The 5 uses three rows of two seats, for a seating capacity of six. The middle row slides back and forth, to adjust leg room within the various rows and to ease access to the back row. Unlike many third rows that are crammed in afterthoughts, this one is actually useful; at six feet and two hundred and (mumble mumble) pounds, I can sit back there. I wouldn’t want to be in the third row for an all day road trip, mind you, but it’s comfortable enough for short hops. The Grand Touring model we went with includes a flip down tray that adds a nice degree of separation between the two middle row seats, which is ideal for minimizing fights during long hauls; a plexiglass divider would have been better, but you can’t have everything. Minivan-like sliding rear doors make loading kids in much easier than other 3-row vehicles while eliminating the threat of banging doors off neighboring cars in tight parking spaces. None of the seats are removable, but they all individually fold flat. We keep one of the rear seats down at all times for additional storage space, while folding both rear seats opens enough space to transport the dogs. Speaking of storage space, there isn’t a whole lot in here (not like a minivan), especially if all seats are in use. Mazda has, however, utilized any spare space available to create small areas to stash electronics and the like — in the extra deep glove compartment (seriously, it feels like you’re reaching through to the engine compartment), and under seats.

Safety features include ABS brakes, dynamic stability control, traction control, a tire pressure monitoring system, three point seat belts at all positions, whiplash-reducing front seat headrests and a whack of airbags, including side impact curtains. We really would have liked all wheel drive to deal with the snowy weather here in the Great White North (a Subaru made the short list), but were unable to find a vehicle that offered this feature but still met our requirements list. I have a 7-seater SUV with four-wheel drive, so we decided to invest in rims with a good set of ice tires for the Mazda, and if it gets really hairy in the winter, we have the Pathfinder as a fallback. The crash test results, safety features and other insurance-related variables were significant enough that the difference between insurance coverage on the Mazda 5 and the ten-year-old vehicle it replaced was negligible. That was a pleasant surprise from my insurance broker.

Fuel economy is decent (rated 21 city/28 highway). There are vehicles that can do much better, but driving five people and gear in most of them is miserable — or they’re priced above what we had budgeted. What really set this car apart from the minivan we left behind is how much fun it is to drive. It’s only a 4-cylinder engine, but it’s peppy, even with all the kids in the car. If you’re so inclined, it’s even available with a six speed manual transmission; good luck finding that option in a minivan. It has a smaller footprint than a minivan, it’s lower to the ground and Mazda’s tuned it to drive more like a car than a hauler. The GT version we ordered also came with lots of toys — heated front seats, Bluetooth hands-free phone and stereo integration, leather seats (easy to wipe off), a sunroof and Sirius satellite radio, among others — while still coming in on budget. If you’re looking for a built-in navigation system, this isn’t the vehicle for you, however. It’s not even an option. We travel everywhere loaded down with GPS-equipped iPhones and iPads, so we weren’t even considering navigation systems.

Wired’s Autotopia gave the vehicle a detailed review in February. The primary complaints were that some larger vehicles like Honda’s Odyssey can get comparable mileage (true, but in a much larger, bulkier form factor and starting at around $10k more than the Mazda 5), the lack of a navigation system and sliding doors that aren’t powered. Personally, I’ve tended to avoid powered doors (one less thing to go wrong) and these things take minimal effort to open and close. The Mazda 5 isn’t perfect — all wheel drive would have been nice, there are only two power outlets (one front and one back) and if all six seats are used there’s only room for a few grocery bags in the back — but as a multipurpose, safe, economical and even fun to drive family vehicle, it does the job quite well.

 

Courtesy of Wired.com

Disconnecting and reconnecting your battery

If you're going to do any work on your car involving the electrical system, disconnect the battery first. To do this, loosen the connector for the negative/ground terminal first, and wiggle the terminal cap off. Use a wire-tie or similar to tie the cable back out of the way. If you need to take the battery out, you can now take off the positive connector.
Why negative then positive? If you disconnect the positive side of the battery first, the negative side is still connected to the entire car. If you drop a tool and it lands on the positive battery terminal and touches anything else on the car, you'll have an electrical short. By disconnecting the negative first, you're cutting off the return path for the current. Now, if a tool drops on to either of the battery terminals, it doesn't matter if it touches part of the chassis or not - there's no continuous path for the electrical current.
Reconnecting your battery. Connect the positive terminal first, and the negative second - the reverse of removal, and for the same reasons. When you slip the negative connector on, there will be a spark as it gets close and makes contact with the negative battery terminal. Don't be afraid of this - it's nothing to worry about. Make sure the terminal caps are done up nice and tight.

Courtesy of Carbibles.com

Thanks for the 5-star review, Stephanie!

"We just purchased a Certified Pre-Owned 2009 Mazda 6 from Tracy Mazda yesterday. We came all the way from Chico for this car, and we couldn't be happier. As for Tracy Mazda's sales team: Alfonso is fantastic! He put no pressure on us, and he bent over backwards to show us other options we were considering. I came in with pre-arranged financing, but the finance manager at Tracy Mazda was able to get us an incredible interest rate. I also had my two kids (4 and 6) there for probably 3 hours, and they were able to play in the playroom, and with video games. I highly recommend Tracy Mazda." -Stephanie