Mazda strips even more weight from the Miata for SEMA

By Stephen Edelstein November 3, 2015

In today’s world of bloated, content-laden cars, Mazda’s lightweight 2016 MX-5 Miata is something of a revelation. Mazda managed to keep the Miata true to its roots in its most recent redesign, and the carmaker took the weight-saving program even further with a pair of 2015 SEMA concepts.

Mazda says its MX-5 Spyder and MX-5 Speedster recall classic small sports cars from an era where windshields were considered a luxury, and all you needed to do to turn your ride into a race car was paint some numbers on it.

The MX-5 Spyder features a tent-like “bikini top” that appears similar to the one used on the first-generation Porsche Boxster Spyder. It’s probably not very easy to assemble in a hurry, but convenience adds weight. The Spyder wears Mercury Silver paint with a carbon-fiber body kit, grille intake, and tonneau cover, plus special 17-inch alloy wheels.

Aside from the canvas top, driving the MX-5 Spyder could be at least somewhat similar to the experience in a stock Miata. That’s likely not the case with the MX-5 Speedster, which features even more radical modifications. These start with the windshield, which is hacked off and replaced with a low-profile deflector. There are also twin humps behind the headrests, just as on classic, open-topped racers.

The Speedster rides on adjustable suspension that lowers it 30 millimeters compared to a stock Miata, with lightweight 16-inch alloy wheels. There’s also a center-mount exhaust system, and carbon-fiber doors. Keeping the lightweight theme going, the interior is trimmed in Alcantara and carbon fiber. Mazda says the weight shedding cut more than 250 pounds, bringing the Speedster’s weight down to 2,080 pounds.

Mazda didn’t discuss production plans for either car. While they’re a bit impractical, the two Miata concepts aren’t so outlandish that it’s impossible to imagine someone putting one in their garage. With its Boxster Spyder and 911 Speedster limited editions, Porsche has shown that people are willing to pay more for less. Ditto Jaguar and its retro F-Type Project 7.

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Stephen Edelstein

Contributing Editor

Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…

Cars

Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say

Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

Cars

Scout Traveler SUV vs. Rivian R1S: modern electric SUVs compared

Scout Motors Traveler SUV in a forest

Scout Motors has made a big comeback, now under the guidance of Volkswagen Group. Not only is the Scout brand being reinvigorated but it has already announced two new models in the form of the Scout Terra truck and the Scout Traveler SUV. The Scout Traveler SUV in particular is an interesting vehicle, but it has an uphill battle ahead of it thanks to competition from the likes of Rivian.

The Rivian R1S is often considered to be the best electric SUV out there right now, and while it's not cheap, it offers an excellent set of tech features, a long range, and more. So how does the Scout Traveler SUV compare with the R1S? We put the two vehicles head to head to find out.
Design
The exterior designs of the Scout Traveler and the Rivian R1S are similar in many ways, though there are some major differences. Both vehicles offer a relatively blocky shape characteristic of a traditional SUV. The Traveler is a little more traditional than the Rivian in that it has a spare tire on the back, which is both practical and gives it a rugged vibe.

Cars

Waymo, Nexar present AI-based study to protect ‘vulnerable’ road users

waymo data vulnerable road users ml still 1 ea18c3

Robotaxi operator Waymo says its partnership with Nexar, a machine-learning tech firm dedicated to improving road safety, has yielded the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S., which will help inform the driving of its own automated vehicles.

As part of its latest research with Nexar, Waymo has reconstructed hundreds of crashes involving what it calls ‘vulnerable road users’ (VRUs), such as pedestrians walking through crosswalks, biyclists in city streets, or high-speed motorcycle riders on highways.