2006 Suzuki Ltz400 Ltz 400 Quadsport Rear Brake Pedal on 2040-parts.com

2014 Mazda 3 five-door revealed

Mazda has gained a fair amount of traction with its fuel-efficient Skyactiv technology, which was first fully implemented in production on the CX-5 compact crossover, followed by the 2014 Mazda 6 midsize sedan. However, unlike the CX-5 and 6, the Mazda 3, the company's best-selling vehicle, only enjoyed a mild Skyactiv makeover for the 2012 model year with the 2.0-liter Skyactiv engine and transmissions being made available on the second-generation model. This meant the 3 would have to wait until an all-new generation debuted to enjoy the entire suite of Skyactiv equipment, including the lighter-weight chassis, body and suspension.

News watch December 2012: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Monday 31 December 2012• Despite reports earlier this month that shareholders valued Mercedes-Benz at half that of its luxury rival BMW, Mercedes CEO Dieter Zetsche has remained bullish about his ambitious targets for the carmaker's growth. 'I am confident that we will be ahead of our rivals by 2020 at the latest,' he told German newspaper Boersen-Zeitung in an interview.

Design Contest: Renault Design competition 'Imagine Espace in 2024'

The competition to 'Imagine Espace in 2024' has been won by Romain Gauvin, a fifth-year student at Strate Coll?ge in Paris. Renault Design organized the competition to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Espace, inviting entries from students at its partner design schools in France (Strate Coll?ge) and Germany (Pforzheim University). "My intention was to design a car that travels on the ground yet feels like it is soaring through the sky, like flying a hang-glider", explains Romain Gauvin.