Too often, vehicles make you compromise. If it’s got power, it lacks agility. If it’s got agility, it lacks power. You have to choose what’s important to you.
Thankfully, a few vehicles are still out there which are able to remain uncompromised for the most part. One of those is the Mazda CX-9, a three-row SUV battling in an increasingly crowded segment that targets busy American families.
While there are only small changes for 2019 on the CX-9, whose current design was introduced in 2016, it doesn’t look or feel old and it remains relevant. Read on for a full report.
LOOKS
One thing Mazda had also done impressively is design their vehicles in a way that pleasantly surprises people, as the high-end look (especially inside) can take people by surprise.
The Signature trim level was on my test vehicle and it showed. Quality leather and other high-end materials could be found throughout the vehicle, and seating was comfortable on the level of a luxury ride.
Additional Info
- Vehicle 2019 Mazda CX-9
- Price as tested $47,385
- Best feature Best drive quality in segment, high-end design
- Rating 4 out of five stars
- Who will want this vehicle? Families who want a sportier experience from their SUV
Roger Penske was honored at the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway for being the first team owner to hold the championships in two American premier motorsports series in the same season.
As a nod to "The Captain", newly crowned 2019 NTT IndyCar Series champion, Josef Newgarden, turned a few laps on the Roval behind the wheel of the No. 2 Shell Pennzoil Team Penske Chevrolet.
Select quotes from Tim Cindric, President of Penske Racing and Josef Newgarden:
TIM CINDRIC: “It is hard to believe honestly sitting up here with both of these trophies and both of these guys. Then when you look at the fact we were able to put together The Captain’s 18th Indy 500 as well, it’s hard to believe honestly. At the start of the season, one of our big goals was for us as an organization was to start the season to where we could sit on the pole at the Indy 500 again. That was one of the big goals that we had. When we set out to do that, we hadn’t been on the pole since 2012 at Indy which is a long time for Roger (Penske). He was a little impatient with when the next one was going to come. We went to work with Shell Pennzoil on what it was going to take to differentiate us from the other competitors, and they did a great job at giving us the speed for the pole at Indy. In a lot of ways, when we look at the big trophies for the year, the big trophy for the pole at Indy is one of those. In the IndyCar Series to win all the big trophies, and all three of our guys winning races, and as an organization, we have nine out of 11 full-time drivers that have won races this year with a lot more work to do. Without a doubt a lot has been accomplished. We are going to run over 275 starts as an organization this year, and the one common thread throughout the entire organization including our V Power Super Cars in Australia is the motor oil brand and what goes into these cars. It is a testament to what they do for us as an organization. I can’t say enough about what Josef has done, and Joey (Logano) is still the Champ around here. We still have all three guys in contention here. That was a check in the box for the first championship of the year. There are four more sitting out there for us to try to get.”
Media
More than 60 years of racing heritage helped set the stage for the most important debut in Corvette’s racing history tonight, as Chevy’s first mid-engine GTLM race car - the Corvette C8.R - made its surprise debut alongside the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible at the Kennedy Space Center. The C8.R and Corvette Stingray represent a true technology transfer, taking lessons from the street straight to the track and vice versa.
The iconic Sprinter has scooped Van of the Year at The Motor Awards, which was shortlisted by the automotive journalists from across News UK’s titles, including The Sun, and then ultimately judged as the winner by the readers themselves.
The Sprinter took the Van of the Year honour at a ceremony in The News Building in London Bridge last night, where it was described as ‘the ‘Swiss Army knife of vans’.
Steve Bridge, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz Vans UK Ltd, commented: “To be shortlisted thanks to the motoring journalists is a huge honour, and then for Sprinter to actually receive the award because it had been voted for by the people that drive vans day-in, day-out, really is testament to the service this vehicle dutifully carries out for thousands of owners and operators, who consistently trust in us and our vehicles to keep their businesses moving. Thank you to everyone who voted for Sprinter as their Van of the Year.”
Like previous generations of the multi-award-winning Mercedes-Benz workhorse, the next Sprinter raises the bar in the large van segment. Since its launch in 1995, the Sprinter has defined and re-defined a whole segment numerous times. It has notched a succession of technological ‘firsts’ including the ESP stability system, Crosswind Assist, the Euro VI emissions standard, COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST, Blind Spot Assist and Lane Keeping Assist, and collected more than 80 industry awards.
For full pricing and specification, please visit www.mbvans.co.uk
— Press release courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, and StradVision, Inc., a vision processing technology solutions provider for autonomous vehicles with expertise in deep learning, have announced the joint development of a deep learning-based object recognition solution for smart cameras used in next-generation advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) applications and cameras for ADAS Level 2 and above.
To avoid hazards in urban areas, next-generation ADAS implementations require high-precision object recognition capable of detecting so-called vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as pedestrians and cyclists. At the same time, for mass-market mid-tier to entry-level vehicles, these systems must consume very low power. The new solution from Renesas and StradVision achieves both and is designed to accelerate the widespread adoption of ADAS.
“A leader in vision processing technology, StradVision has abundant experience developing ADAS implementations using Renesas’ R-Car SoCs, and with this collaboration, we are enabling production-ready solutions that enable safe and accurate mobility in the future,” said Naoki Yoshida, Vice President of Renesas’ Automotive Technical Customer Engagement Business Division. “This new joint deep learning-based solution optimized for R-Car SoCs will contribute to the widespread adoption of next-generation ADAS implementations and support the escalating vision sensor requirements expected to arrive in the next few years.”
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