Mazda 3 five-door (2008): the first photos

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 25 November 2008 09:43 Mazda has issued five photographs of its new 3 hatchback ahead of its debut at next week's Bologna motor show. The five-door, announced today, follows hot on the heels of the Mazda 3 four-door saloon unveiled at last week's 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show.Few firm details have been released today, but Mazda claims the engines will be more efficient, the kerbweight lighter and 'the world's first catalyst to be constructed using single nanotechnology.' Apparently this cat uses significantly fewer rare materials such as platinum and palladium than regular filters.The new 3 will have a new range-topping 2.2-litre turbodiesel, developing 183bhp or 148bhp. Both are EU5 compliant and are cleaner and more powerful than the current 2.0 TD.

GM to modify Chevrolet Volts to guard against battery fire

General Motors will add a structural reinforcement and devices to prevent overfilling of the battery cooling system in the Chevrolet Volt hybrid sedan to prevent the possibility of a fire after a side crash. The changes come seven months after a Volt caught fire three weeks after being crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The government agency in November opened a defect investigation into the Volt because of the battery fire.

One Lap of the Web: Remembering Ayrton Senna

-- Hard to believe it's been 20 years since the passing of Formula One legend Ayrton Senna, but one Jalopnik reader remembers the bloody weekend in San Marino vividly. A dream vacation in Europe cumulating in the ill-fated Grand Prix: Alan Dahl saw Senna's wrecked car coming into the pits, but like the rest of the crowd, he wouldn't find out Senna's fate until he left the track. "For years afterwards I felt guilty that, not knowing that the tragedy had happened," he said, "that I had fun at the race." -- The excellent 8W, a site of racing driver stories, recounts the last 96 hours of Senna's life.