2014 Mazda Skyactiv Prototype looks ready for Daytona

 

With less than two weeks before the Mazda Skyactiv Prototype makes its race debut at the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona, the Japanese Zoom-Zoom brand brought its diesel-powered racer to the floor of the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.

The red prototype marks Mazda's return to prototype racing, and will campaign the inaugural Tudor United SportsCar Championship using a 2.2-liter, SkyActiv-D diesel engine. With 451 horsepower on tap and 580 pound-feet of torque, the racer should stand up well against a field of gas-powered competitors.

Should the Skyactiv win Daytona, it'll be a coup for Mazda. The racer is running an engine with over 50 percent of its parts drawn from the oft-delayed production Skyactiv-D. Head up top for our full gallery of images of the new Skyactiv Prototype. The 2014 Rolex 24 will be run from January 25 to 26.

By Brandon Turkus
Courtesy of http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/17/2014-mazda-skyactiv-prototype-detroit-2014/

Buick has best sales year ever, delivers over 1M cars globally

By Jeffrey N. Ross

If there are any lingering doubts why General Motors held onto Buick while killing Pontiac, Hummer andSaturn, one only has to look at the sales numbers from 2013 for the real answer. Thanks largely to strong sales in China, Buick set a global sales record last year by selling more than one million vehicles.

The lion's share of Buick sales came from China, which sold more than 809,000 units – about four times more Buicks than were sold in North America as a whole. In the US, the Buick Encore proved to be a big hit as the automaker spent the summer trying to keep up with demand of the subcompact crossover. Likewise, China-only models like the GL8 minivan and Excelle sedan (same as the US-spec Verano) were strong sellers in that market.

Helping crest the million-sales mark, Buick more than doubled its sales in Mexico with 2,319 units. Scroll down for the full press release.

Courtesy of 
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/01/08/buick-best-sales-year-ever/

How To: Adjust Your Mirrors to Avoid Blind Spots

By Tony Quiroga

For the past few years, various carmakers have been offering blind-spot detection systems for their cars’ side mirrors. Often complex, these systems employ cameras or radar to scan the adjoining lanes for vehicles that may have disappeared from view.

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995 suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots. The paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This can be disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car’s blind spots. This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.

The only problem is getting used to the SAE-recommended mirror positions. The cabin’s rearview mirror is used to keep an eye on what is coming up from behind, while the outside mirrors reflect the area outside the view of the inside rearview mirror.

Those who have switched to the SAE’s approach swear by it, however, some drivers can’t adjust to not using the outside mirrors to see directly behind the car and miss being able to see their own car in the side mirrors. To them we say, “Have fun filling out those accident reports."

 

 Courtesy of http://www.caranddriver.com/features/how-to-adjust-your-mirrors-to-avoid-blind-spots

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