Tag Archives: mazda

Idaho

Smoke ’em if you got ’em: First ever (legal) Drift Car event, at the Mall!

Video

The Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck, Idaho, hosted three SCCA autocross events this year, and for an encore hosted an Inaugural Drift Car event.

Work began on the evening of 04OCT2024, establishing the area of the parking lot that would be used.  Formula Drift-Rudy Hansen, Apex Idaho, Pocatello Car Club, and a host of others, helped make the inaugural smoke show possible.

The cleanest that part of the parking lot has been in decades!

They were still prepping the parking lot the next morning.

Waiting in the wings, 05OCT2024:

Plenty of seating, at a safe distance.

Warming up (teasing) the spectators who were straggling in:

Too bad they didn’t drift this patriotic van.

The pros show you how:

It’s amazing how cars sliding around light poles can hold people’s attention for several hours. One more time:

The event ran most of the day.  For a fee you could view the action from danger-close in the ‘restricted area’, and for another fee you could take a ride (of your life).  Going by the size of the spectator crowd (which was bigger than any of the SCCA autocross events) I suspect (hope) they’ll be a Second Annual Drift Car Show, in 2025.

At the Mall: Early Halloween, Trunk or Treat

Idaho

Pine Ridge Mall-Inaugural indoor Winter/New Year Car Show: North Wing!

Video

Due to some instigation (possibly by a secret society of conspiratorial automotive Sith Lords posing as Jedi Masters), the Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck, Idaho, held its inaugural indoor Winter/New Year automobile show.

It was the weekend of January 13th & 14th, 2024.

NORTH WING:

How all those cars got into the mall, video by me:

Pine Ridge Mall-Center Court: INAUGURAL INDOOR WINTER/NEW YEAR CAR SHOW!

Idaho

Pine Ridge Mall-Center Court: Inaugural indoor Winter/New Year Car Show!

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Due to some instigation (possibly by a secret society of conspiratorial automotive enthusiasts), the Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck, Idaho, held its inaugural indoor Winter/New Year automobile show.  It was the weekend of January 13th & 14th, 2024.

One of the possible conspirators, practicing his Jedi Mind Tricks on some mall-goers!

I worked for the original owner of the Pine Ridge Mall during the few years before it was sold to the second owner, an evil global corporation based in Chicago, and we used to have car and RV displays during the warmer months of the year.  But, the evil second owner killed everything off!  The Pine Ridge Mall is on its third owner, supposedly a family company based in Saint Louis, Missouri, which specializes in bringing back depressed malls. The third owners have been working hard to slowly bring in new businesses, and they gave their blessings on this inaugural Winter/New Year indoor auto-show (with a possibility for more car shows!).

CENTER COURT:

Pine Ridge Mall: THE CAR SHOW INSTIGATOR! AND HIS STEED, THE MIDNIGHT CORVETTE!

Idaho, Technology

Ford V8 powered Mazda RX-7!

Video

A second generation Mazda RX-7 drove by me during the 21OCT2023 automotive show/USMC-Reserve’s Toys-4-Tots drive/Trunk or Treat in the Old Town area of Pocatello, but it didn’t sound like a rotary motored Mazda, it sounded ‘sick’!  Pics and videos by me:

This is how RX-7s should have been powered!

21OCT2023: 1955 CHEVY ‘TAXI’, AGAIN!

Business/Economics, Technology

Mazda’s new 65+ MPG Diesel, but don’t expect to see it in the anti-Diesel car United States!

13 June 2014 (13:17 UTC-07 Tango)/14 Sha’ban 1435/23 Khordad 1393/16 Geng Wu 4712

Mazda claims it has a new 1.5 liter turbo diesel engine that got an impressive 28+ Kilometers Per Liter (about 65+ Miles Per U.S. Gallon) in their test car!  And Mazda says it will be the cleanest burning diesel engine available worldwide in 2015, claiming no NOx system is required!

Well, worldwide doesn’t mean anti-diesel car United States.   In fact the state of California is making it near impossible to even sell new diesel cars, due to their asinine and ever tightening state EPA rules.

Mazda says their main market for their new diesel powered cars will be the diesel loving European Union, as well as any other country that loves saving money and the environment.  Did you known that diesel exhaust soot can be captured (Diesel Particulate Filter) and then used as fertilizer for your plants?  It’s carbon!

The tiny new Mazda diesel engine reportedly produces 77 kW (105 hp) and 250 Nm (184 ft lb) of torque.  It will be available in the 2015 Mazda 2.  Look out Volkswagen!

clean burning Diesel powered CX-5 Crossover, better MPG than Hybrid SUVs

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Desperate Mazda to sell out to Fiat, look out that Alfa Romeo might actually be a Miata from Japan!

23 May 2012, after losing it’s former supporter, Ford, Mazda is now desperate for help from a bigger car maker.  In steps Fiat.

Fiat already owns most Italian brands, like Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Mazarati, and they’re majority owner of Chrysler.

NHK reporting that a deal between Mazda and Fiat would see the two seat Mazda roadster (known as Miata in the U.S.) being equipped with a Fiat engine and sold as an Alfa Romeo.

Mazda and Fiat would work together to produce more fuel efficient engines, and Fiat could incorporate Mazda technology into its Fiat 500 mini car.

Back in March, Mazda reported their fourth straight year of huge losses!

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Mazda in trouble, needs $2.87 billion cash!

After announcing some very fuel efficient vehicles (which will not be sold in the U.S. for some reason), Mazda has announced that it needs at least $2.87 billion cash! (early reports from Japan said $1 billion)

For the year 2011, Mazda’s said it expected an annual net loss of about $1 billion (to be officially reported at the end of March).  It would make four years in a row that Mazda has lost big money!

To raise the billions of dollars Mazda needs, they’re issuing more stocks. Officials want to get $2.87 billion for the new stocks, but hope stock prices stay high enough that they would get at least $1.25 billion.  Also, Mazda plans to borrow more than $870 million, on top of the cash raised by stock issues!

Mazda needs the money to increase production, and build a new factory in Mexico.  The majority of Mazda’s new cars will be sold in South America, Australia and Asia, not in the United States.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Mazda builds clean burning Diesel powered CX-5 Crossover, better MPG than Hybrid SUVs. Don’t expect it for sale in NAZI environmentalist U.S.A.

Mazda has introduced a new clean burning diesel powered Crossover Utility Vehicle.  It’s powered by a 2.2 liter diesel, and gets 46 miles per gallon on the highway.  That’s better than current hybrid SUVs.

The new Mazda diesel CUV is smaller than most SUVs. It’s based on the Minagi concept crossover, and is also known as the CX-5.

Don’t look for it in the United States though, Mazda plans on selling it in Japan and Europe only (due to the unfriendly attitude towards diesel powered cars under U.S. emission laws, and the stigma many people in the U.S. still have about diesels).

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Nissan to build new factory, make 1 million cars, but not in or for the U.S. Honda & Mazda to follow suit

Nissan announced they will spend $2 billion to build yet another factory, in Mexico.  They already have two factories in Mexico.  With three factories they hope to push out one million cars every year.  But guess what?  Those cars are not for sale in the United States.

Nissan is selling the cars in the newly created CELAC (new united South America).  The United States is no longer the worlds car selling market, South America is!

Nissan is already pushing out one million cars per year in Japan and China (again cars not for sale in the U.S.).  Honda and Mazda also announced plans to increase production for the CELAC market.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Global Economic War: Russians have the money. Mazda, Renault, Nissan, VW, GM and Fiat make their move

“Russia is Mazda’s second largest market in Europe and sales are rapidly increasing. Mazda sold approximately 28,000 units during the period from January through September 2011, a year on year increase of approximately 77%!”-Mazda Motors statement

Mazda announced they’ve made an U.S.$80 million joint venture deal with Russian car maker Sollers.  By next autumn they will begin production of Mazda cars in the far eastern city of Vladivostok.

Mazda is not the only foreign car maker to make moves on the Russian car market: Renault-Nissan, General Motors, Izuzu, SsangYong, Fiat and Volkswagen have all started production in Russian factories.