If you thought Mazda's RX-7 replacement was dead, think again. A source based in Hiroshima confirms that the company is testing an RX-7 prototype and that one mule is powered by a bi-fuel rotary which can run on either gas or diesel. Mazda's evaluation department has reportedly invited several external drivers and racers to test the mules, while the design team has sought feedback on ideas from potential buyers at top secret customer clinics.

For the past couple of years, we've been sharing everything we've uncovered about the next-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata. We've told you that in 2013, Mazda plans to return to the car's original 1989 roots by making it lighter, more fuel-efficient, and cleaner. We've also shown you a couple of artist's impressions of the new model.

Kodo Red: Mazda's New Design, Tech In-Depth

Mazda gave itself a tough act to follow. The original Mazda 3 that launched in 2004 was an exceptional small car that delivered good fuel economy without sacrificing driving dynamics. That first-generation 3 didn’t skimp on refinement or interior quality, either. Rich plastics, unique design, and a luxurious array of optional equipment made the 3 a luxury sport sedan in a class full of mundane transportation devices. Now with the launch of the next-generation 3, would Mazda keep these attributes for its replacement?
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Small cars no longer have to be cheap cars and, as the excellent Honda Fit and other top sellers in the increasingly competitive small-car segment are proving, even affordable small cars don’t have to be cheap any more. From the look of it, the Mazda 2 adds “genuinely attractive” to the list of newly discovered small-car attributes. We’ll get to see for ourselves when it goes on sale in the U.S. in July.

Around the world, automakers are grappling with the changes necessary to meet escalating fuel-economy regulations. To this end, Mazda is launching a new family of four-cylinder engines—fours power the vast majority of Mazda’s cars—called Sky-G (gasoline) and Sky-D (diesel). We drove both in prototypes of the next-gen Mazda 6 and, thankfully, either engine can be paired with the latest version of Mazda’s snick-snick six-speed manual.

Let’s not beat around the bush here: Morgan has many of the qualities you’d expect to find in a good, old-fashioned cult. Seen from a safe distance, the English sports-car manufacturer seems deliberately eccentric—it still regards lumber as an appropriate material for use in a vehicle’s body—with its followers tending to demonstrate the sort of glassy-eyed devotion you’d expect from the freshly mind-laundered.

California's Highway 198 is a true test of any enthusiast car. It's got a little bit of everything — significant elevation gain, differing surfaces, jumps and a big enough variety of turns to satisfy any driving geek. We drove Highway 198 in the 2007 Mazdaspeed 3, a car that brings the road to life in an entirely new way.

The call of the third-row seat is pretty strong. Strong enough for a long list of crossover SUVs to have sprouted tiny, tacked-on, kids-only third rows that eat up any hope of carrying decent cargo. Minivans seat seven of course, but bottom out your cool factor faster than a Members Only jacket. So what's a guy to do?

You might have thought, as we did, that the world's most perfect, tidy, eminently usable folding soft top didn't need to be replaced by a power-operated folding hardtop. Particularly in a simple, elemental car like the Mazda MX-5 Miata, the inevitable added weight and complexity could dull its reflexes and blur its focus.