The 2014 Mazda3: Green Car of the Year Nominee

The redesigned 2014 Mazda3, complete with a full SKYACTIV platform and i-ELOOP technology (giving it an amazing 41 mpg), has been nominated for 2014 Green Car of the Year, presented this year at the 2013 LA Auto Show by Green Car Journal. 

Of course, we've known how well the new Mazda3 performs (and how good it looks performing well...), but what’s interesting about this nomination is that the contest is almost always filled with electric vehicles, and the Mazda3 is one of three gasoline-powered cars to be nominated this year.

Stop by Parks Mazda to take a look at the 2014 Mazda3 and test that mpg rating yourself!

Mazda Has Some Fun with an Old 626

OEM's like to have fun, too.  And everyone knows that Mazda knows how to do that (Zoom Zoom!...).  This time, Mazda took the humble 1991 Mazda 626 of Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris (even more humble than his loved car), and gave it the restoration it needed.  Now, it looks like it just came off the factory line.

Bentley, the name Alfred's trusty sidekick has taken on, went through a rigorous 275 hour restoration while Morris drove a loaner 2014 Mazda6 (lucky him!).  The effort seems to have been well worth it, with Mazda presenting the car back to him as if it were a brand new model, though some modern touches were added.

Obviously, you might be left scratching your head and wondering why anyone would go through the trouble, especially Mazda itself, to restore something so old and seemingly mundane compared to today's offerings.  Our best guess?  Every now and then you find people who get so attached to their car, no matter how old or how beaten up it may be, and those people will do anything to hold onto that feeling.  We think Mazda gets that, and saw that with Alfred Morris and his '91 626.  

Want to see the restoration unfold?  Autoblog has plenty of pictures detailing the fun project.

Fall Means Festivals, Food, and New Mazda Models!

 

 There's no denying that fall is a fun time.  The food, festivals, events, and weather just can't be beaten.  Of course, fall also means new Mazda models!  We'll get to that later.

We've searched the local sites a few times to find the best list of fall events and festivals going on in the Triad, and it looks like the VisitNC website has the most listed.  So, if you're ready to have some fall family fun, we recommend checking out that link!

Now, as for Parks Mazda, we love fall for a different reason: new models!  Even better is that most of the 2014 Mazda models have been completely redesigned, like the beautiful, fun 2014 Mazda3.  We highly recommend checking it out now too, with all these fun fall events going on now.

We hope all of you enjoy the fall and the great weather and events, and if your fall schedule shows you might be interested in a new Mazda, Parks Mazda will be happy to help any way we can!