By Jordan Zucker ’16, Feature Columnist

Hello ladies and gents! Welcome back to another school year at Newark Academy, and another year full of automotive extravaganza. This summer saw the release of the all-new Mazda Miata which is slated to go on sale sometime next year.  The new Miata may come packed with a 1.3L 3 cylinder turbocharged engine, and it is estimated that the car has lost around 300 pounds over the previous generation car.^[1]  The Miata is the best-selling roadster of all time, with over 900,000 of them being produced

since the introduction in 1989.  Mazda has introduced a few upgrades to the new Miata which makes it worth checking out: the interior has been completely redesigned with more premium materials, the car has gotten smaller and is more maneuverable, and the vehicle will include new safety features which will be able to silence every parent’s doubts.  The Miata is a great car for summer; I strongly recommend it for students looking to get into a small and sporty car that’s a total blast to drive with the top down.

With the fall in full swing and winter just around the corner, I recommend that students who will be driving in the snow purchase a set of winter tires.  While many of you have advanced AWD/4WD systems, a great deal are rendered almost completely useless when the tires meet snow; YouTube channel Auto Express tested snow tires vs. an AWD system and found that snow tires were more effective in driving the car safely around the course (see video).

While many people believe that AWD is a system that will guarantee total safety in inclement weather, this is simply not the case.  AWD systems can only monitor how power is sent through the wheels, and which wheel gets more power based on wheel slippage.  A tire that I can recommend is the Yokohama iceGuard iG51v.^[2]  Yokohama has been making tires since 1917, and has become an incredibly well regarded manufacturer not just for civilian use, but for racing as well.  The Yokohama G51v is the best winter tire that Yokohama currently produces, and is recommended specifically for crossovers and S.U.V.’s.  The tire has a four and a half star rating on PMCtire.com with over 268 reviews, making it one of the most well-reviewed tires on the website.  A set of Yokohama G51v’s retail for $556 on tirerack.com, but keep your eye out for a deal, and I’m sure you can snag them for a price closer to $500.^[3]

So why buy a separate set of snow tires?  Aren’t they incredibly cumbersome, and don’t they take up a lot of space?  While the answer to the second question is yes, having snow tires is imperative to driving safely and effectively in the winter time.  Many car enthusiasts insist that a tire upgrade is the first thing an owner does for his ride, simply because it improves the drivability of that car.  For SUV’s in the winter, a snow tire will vastly improve your driving experience, and will allow you to have much greater peace of mind while you’re on the road. As the leaves start to hit the ground, we look forward to some of the world’s greatest auto shows coming up in the fall and winter. With the next generation of cars just around the corner, I can’t wait to see what’s in stock for the next edition of the column. The next issue will undoubtedly feature the new Dodge Challenger Hellcat, featuring a 707hp supercharged V-8.  Have a great rest of the fall, and stick around for more from The Automotive Press.

^[1]http://www.motoring.com.au/news/convertible/mazda/mx-5/new-mazda-mx-5-more-secrets-revealed-46002

^[2]http://www.yokohamatire.com/tires/detail/iceguard_ig51v

^[3]http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=iceGUARD+iG51v&partnum=355TR8IG51V