Mazda MX-5 2016 News

Best-ever pedestrian ANCAP safety score for Mazda's smallest sports car, but lack of curtain air bags and autonomous emergency braking noted.

Turbocharged version of the 'Mazda MX-5' due in Australia by the end of the year.

The world’s biggest selling sports-car has taken out the auto industry’s top prize, as hybrids and luxury models take a back seat.

New Mazda MX-5 RF unveiled at New York show ahead of late 2016 showroom arrival.

Flares have never gone out of fashion in Japan and the annual Tokyo Auto Salon shows why.

Here's a recap of the year's stars, with impressive arrivals and value added to staples.

There are more than 300 individual nameplates in Australia today. From Abarth to Volvo, the badges sit on vehicles from 46 brands building electric cars, tiny runabouts, hulking SUVs and utes.The gold rush is not over by a long shot, with Chinese brands starting to get very serious about Australia and certain to push the number nearer to 50 in 2016.LDV has arrived via importer Ateco Automotive with a people-mover and delivery van. Haval is making big promises for BMW-style SUVs next year. A brand with British history but Chinese owners will have three new models next year: the MG 3, MG 6 and MG CS.Some brands have been in Australia, often for a long time, and are looking for a fresh start.Fiat is planning a renewed push, starting with the just-landed, family-focused 500X. Next year, it will have the 124 Spider, which it has cloned from the new Mazda MX-5. Having failed in recent years with the Panda and Punto, Fiat believes it can create some excitement with a new generation of cars."The last thing the Australian market needs is another nameplate or brand. I cannot turn up and pretend you need me," says Fiat chief marketing officer Olivier Francois.He is behind some creative work for Fiat Chrysler that features superstars including Pharrell Williams, J-Lo, Eminem and even Clint Eastwood, who starred in a Superbowl commercial.For Australia, he is banking on Fiat's Italian heritage and design, combined with better pricing and quality from Fiat Chrysler — an operation that is starting to get traction here.He is pushing — like the Chinese brands — a change in perception and says: "Think Fiat only builds small cars? Wrong."

Kia's family seven-seater stands out, setting a precedent in a singular field.

This year's line-up is a dream team of pace machines, heavy-hitters and all-rounders.

They would have learned everything they need to know at the world's most successful new car show, the Goodwood Festival of Speed.Goodwood has been running for many years, but more recently it's morphed from a garden party at the stately home of the Earl of March into a genuine motor show which draws every major maker in the UK - and beyond.So what began as a chance for the owners of historic racing cars to exercise their old-timers is now a major event that draws more than 200,000 people each June on the same weekend as the Glastonbury music festival.Some fantastic retired racers still sprint up the Earl's driveway but it's the modern stuff which is drawing the big crowds and the big brands.Goodwood is an event and a destination, proving that cars are still more than just appliances for a lot of peopleMercedes-Benz uses the weekend to unveil its facelifted A45 AMG and new C63 S, Aston Martin rips the covers off its $2.5 million Vulcan and launches it up the hill, and Peugeot shows its 308 GTI for the first time. Mazda, which is the star brand at the show and has its Le Mans winning rotary 787B doing noisy demonstration runs, has its all-new MX-5 in action.There is also a moving motor show where ordinary fans can take a passenger ride and a supercar cavalcade including all of the world's most desirable cars, right up to the 400km/h Ferrari FXX K.And that's the real key to the Festival of Speed. The cars move and there is lots of interactivity for visitors, from off-road driving events to racing car simulators and even kiddie slides.Did I mention Ken 'Gymkhana' Block in the outrageous Ford Mustang that starred in his most-recent internet video hit?Old-school motor shows are just giant showrooms, but Goodwood is an event and a destination, proving that cars are still more than just appliances for a lot of people. If it can work in Britain then the same formula should be just as tasty in Australia.