For the Mazda3, I blame the stylists more than the need for the plate. They could have created a space for it other than in the middle of the grille like they did with the 6.

I drove an Escort with these. Something you learned quickly was to never open the door to look or reach out of the car, e.g., hitting a button for a gate. They would rap around your arm/neck and pull you out of the seat. The other thing it did was sometimes try to move the wrong direction. Instead of moving away, it…

I learned a long time ago that fault doesn't matter. When you get hit, you lose regardless who is to blame. I also learned that even if I am not at fault, I can often prevent the incident, anyway. That's the theory behind defensive driving.

I'm all for safety, but I recognize there is a limit to the benefits of regulation. There comes a point where the costs outweigh the benefits, and also a point where people become complacent and casual with safety. Pedestrian impact regulations & other impact requirements have led to terrible visibility out of cars,…

Pretty much every car enthusiast on the internet sounds like a hipster.

Per the NHTSA's estimates, it will add around $100 on ave to every new car. Also per their estimates, it won't save over 100 lives each year. Given their expectations for sales volumes, it works out to $18M per life saved.
How expensive is that? It seems excessive to me.

More people die each year falling out of bed than by being backed over. And drivers with the cameras don't even use them that often because that's just how lazy we are. Per the NHTSA's own figures, this rule will cost ~$18M/life saved. Personally, I'm sure there are better ways to spend that money to save lives.

No. Fallon isn't funny.

I agree. They may show some teaser renderings & maybe some details on the engine, but won't see the full car till this fall.

My 13 yr old stereo has never had lag issues, never need time to boot up/read files/pair to my phone. It has never crashed. I can identify every button without looking at it. It still looks good in my car, even 13 yrs later, and I doubt it will look bad after another 13.

You make a very critical point—do not replace a control unless that control makes the job simpler/easier.

Indeed. I also have gotten great mileage out of my Look-at-the-Map-before-You-Leave-So-You-Know-Where-You're-Going system.

I disagree.

I don't mind LEDs, but I'm tired of the eyebrows, and I hate seeing each dot of light.

Indeed, in nearly all cases, it's merely making the lines of the car look decent without adding much cost. My opinion changes when you really need to see out that space, but can't.
Generally, I treat complaints about DLO the same as hard plastics—an indicator that the reviewer has the wrong priorities.

I agree on the manual mode configuration, but there's a more glaring problem with the standard PRNDL layout. Law requires reverse and drive be separated, and that's great, but it is plain stupid to have toshift through reverse when you aren't going to back up. The solution is to have P and D in different directions.…

I prefer the solution that prevents cars and pedestrians from occupying the same space. No pedestrians crossing your path = no pedestrian collisions = no need for excessive safety features.

Duh, this is Lost IRL.

I think Mazda's take rate for manuals is well above the industry average. IIRC, about 15% of 3s are selected with a manual.

It's a concept. Look at the Minagi & Takeri concepts' interiors. There are a lot of parallels with this one's.