Pma 6000m-s Audio Panel on 2040-parts.com

Mazda celebrates the Miata's 20th birthday

Hard to believe, but the Mazda Miata is 20 years old. And Mazda didn't let the birthday pass without a party. On July 17, parked in the inner courtyard of Mazda R&D in Irvine, Calif., were examples of every significant Miata and MX-5 Miata ever made.

Optima Sports pushes two new tire innovations

WITH VIDEO -- If John Scott has his way, every car on the road will be shod with tires featuring built-in camber. Scott is the owner of Wisconsin-based Optima Sports, a small automotive-engineering firm, and inventor of Camber Tires--tires with a constantly decreasing diameter. According to Scott, his tires offer multiple benefits, including enhanced handling, increased stability, reduced tread noise, improved fuel economy and better safety by reducing rollovers.

This could be your first autonomous vehicle

While Google's autonomous fleet of robot cars prowls Silicon Valley and gets all the press, the first, or one of the first, truly autonomous vehicles you may ride in could be something like this: The humble, people-moving Navia. Developed by a French company called Induct, the Navia is ringed with laser beams (not frickin' laser beams. Ed.) that help it navigate through city streets or college campuses without the aid of a track in the ground, a rail or even GPS (GPS is not accurate enough, Induct says).