Who: Members of the Automotive and Motorsports Press, MAZDASPEED enthusiasts, current, retired & future Mazda racers

What: 2010 MAZDA3 –World Challenge Touring Car Spec Product Walkaround. Join us for a soda, snacks, and high quality bench racing.

Where: Tri-Point Motorsports 21345 Deering Court Canoga Park, CA 91304

When: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

Why: To check out what will be Zoom-Zooming World Challenge in 2010. Tri-Point Motorsports is now taking orders for customer cars.

How: RSVP to nicolen@tripointengineering.com

Skate ramps notwithstanding, I came away pretty impressed with this little car. Actually, it didn’t feel little. It felt just about right. Continue reading after the jump!

First of all, for me, the 148 hp produced by the little four banger is the proper amount of hp for a FWD car of this size and weight. Any more hp and I’d want AWD or RWD. The only time the Mazda felt gutless was attempting to pass going uphill on the freeway at 70+ mph. Otherwise the Mazda had plenty of scoot.

The car felt very well balanced and handled nicely, with great steering feel. There was not a whole lot of torque steer and it had a good turning radius for its size. It’s fairly sporty but without an overly harsh ride. First rate ergonomics, no nasty blind spots, comfy seats. Basically it’s a well-proportioned and thoroughly practical and liveable car.

The only weakness is that a fair amount of tire and road noise makes it into the cabin. So I just turned up the Bose stereo. The brakes were also a bit graby and non-linear, but that might have been my particular test car.

It seems to me that the Mazda3 is a car you get if you want to buy an import, but don’t want a Corolla or Civic, and don’t want to chance the reliability of a Jetta. It doesn’t have AWD like the Impreza, but it also delivers better gas mileage. The car also has a fair amount of personality and style (I prefer the previous design, though, without the goofy smiley face). I’d probably go with the hatch, but that’s me.

Here’s a look at the new Mazda3 sedan, which has broken cover before it’s official reveal at the LA Auto Show. Seems like a nice, sporty little package, though I’m not wild about the front bumper and grill. Tons more pics and details at Jalopnik.

If you want a hot hatch and have $23K burning a hole in your pocket, there are two obvious choices: the MAZDASPEED3 and the GTI. With the Mazda you get that whole Japanese reliability thing and four doors. With the GTI you get "German engineering" (what does that mean, exactly?), a choice of two or four doors, and the optional DSG tranny. Now, this isn’t an even match in terms of hp–the Mazda has a big advantage there (263 vs the VW’s 200) but hey, horsepower isn’t everything, is it? The last time we pitted a VW against a Mazda, it was the Polo vs. the Mazda2, and the Mazda won. To be on the safe side I usually run these match-ups by Sean, especially ones involving imports. This one had him stumped, so I’m feeling pretty good about it (then again, Sean owns a GTI, so maybe he wasn’t the right guy to ask this time). So, which would you choose, the wild child or the hopped up Rabbit?

While checking out the cars at the Tuner Jam portion of SBN, I noticed a hot little Mazda 3 with a CarDomain sticker in the rear window. Turns out the car is part of a "little" show car group that’s no stranger to the pages of CarDomain, the International AllStars. A red-on-black color theme is featured both inside and out with a carbon hood and black wheels on red paint that perfectly compliment the black interior with red accents. A 6.5" LCD is molded into center of the dash, and the hatch was filled with Eclipse amps and subs trimmed in glossy red fiberglass. Here’s a teaser shot for now. Want to see rest? Stay tuned for the SBN coverage later this week!

It’s not every day that you come across a Vermeer painted on the back of a Mazda3. Most kids just scrawl "wash me" or draw smiley faces when they see a car covered with dirt or grime. Scott Wade has taken it to the next level with his dirty car art. Click through to his website for an impressive gallery.

Shopping for a car is always fun–especially when it’s someone else’s money. My brother has the itch for a new car, and considering that both of his current cars have more than 100,000 miles on them I just can’t blame him. He was down for Thanksgiving, and we spent a good amount of time surfing the ads online.

The original list included the Lexus IS300, E46-chassis BMW and Acura TSX. It then kind of morphed into a race between a new Civic sedan or the Mazda3 once we realized that the two later cars actually have more interior space. The fact the Mazda3 comes in a wagon is also appealing, since it could serve as a small truck. (By the way, I once drove one all over Hawaii and dug the heck out of it–even on winding roads.) Either way, he’s keeping his Miata, so he’ll still have something sporty to drive. Any other cars he should check out?

Stephanie left a comment in the blog to let us know that she had installed new EBC dimpled/slotted rotors on her Mazda3 this weekend. So we clicked through to her ride page and saw this shot of her car parked alongside her boyfriend’s Mazda3 hatch. Cool stuff! Stephanie claims she has just a few more mods before she’s "done." Um, yeah…