Mazda opens new plant in Salamanca, Mexico

Mazda Motor Corp. chairman Takashi Yamanouchi opened the company's new small-car assembly plant in Mexico today, calling it the company's "most important global strategic base." The factory, which will produce up to 230,000 vehicles each year, is a cornerstone of the structural reform plan "upon which the very future of company hinges," Yamanouchi said in remarks prepared for the opening ceremony. "Mazda's Structural Reform Plan, upon which the very future of the company hinges, positions this plant as our most important global strategic base," Yamanouchi said of the factory, which is about three hours northwest of Mexico City in Guanajuato State.

What Car? True MPG reveals most fuel-efficient cars

We’ve known for a while that there’s a huge gulf between the official fuel economy figures for new cars and what drivers achieve in the real world. What Car? says that its True MPG tests provide a more realistic figure and over the past two years it has tested almost 400 cars. Now, it has revealed which 10 cars proved most efficient its True MPG tests, so if you’re hoping to spend less at the fuel pumps, these cars could be well worth a look.

Brooklands Centenary

By Jack Rix Motor Shows 12 June 2007 10:10 Brooklands Centenary Festival: the lowdown The world’s first purpose-built race track will celebrate 100 years of motorsport this weekend - 100 years to the day after opening its banked turns in 1907. A spectacular recreation of The Grand Opening Parade will see some of the track’s most famous racers taking to the old circuit for the first time in almost 50 years. And Brooklands' impossibly modern neighbour Mercedes-Benz World will embrace the past, too, displaying pre-war cars and motorcycles with Brooklands history.