Tag: Event

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Visit the New CorkSport!

In the last few months we’ve done a lot of work here at CorkSport. After discontinuing our maintenance service department in June, we rearranged our shop to focus on R&D, Peformance Installations & Fabrication. We also updated our shipping department and warehouse space to streamline the packaging and shipping process. And finally, we built out some additional office space to accommodate future additions to our workforce.

In the process, we updated the layout of our showroom (including knocking out a door into our new offices). We’re proud of our products as well as the new showroom. Take a look:

Walk In Discount!

To celebrate our new showroom, we’ll be offering a 5% discount on all CorkSport products that are ordered and picked up at our location here in Vancouver, WA. As many of our products are configurable, we generally package to ship -so the only stipulation of this discount is that configurable products should be called-in in advance to allow us to build them out (30 minutes or so is all we need). Call us at 360-260-2675 to queue up your order. Offer ends April 15th!

We look forward to meeting with you and seeing your cars. Remember to tell us about your product ideas and the parts you’re looking for that aren’t on the market yet when you visit.

– Jason

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Portland Auto Show AKA Derrick checks out the Mazda 2

I went to the Portland Auto Show a few weekends ago to see the new cars for the upcoming year, I know we’ve talked about it already but I really wanted to talk about it. Ok, ok you got me, I really just want another opportunity to talk about / drool over the Mazda 2. Mazda brought a standard model green version to the show. They had it on a fancy display pedestal surrounded with one of those black rope separators you use to keep people in line at the bank.

My first thought after seeing the car in person is “small”. Seeing it in pictures and looking at one in person gives you a better scale of a vehicle size. If you haven’t seen a Mazda 2 in person it is bigger than a 88-92 Ford Festiva but smaller than a 90-94 323 hatchback.

On the outside the cars lines look better than pictures have shown. I walked around the car checking it out from all angles and I couldn’t find a spot that look off or I would want to change right off the bat. The wheels they used on the Mazda 2 are a good looking 8 spoke wheel.

One thing I did not see was the cool looking tail lights that can bee seen on the Japanese models. You can see the LED pattern in the tail light housing below. If they are not an option for North America we will be importing the lights.

I wasn’t allowed to hop in the car but I was able to get a good look at the inside. It is roomy for a small car. The inside of the car says Mazda 3. The trim, and design of the interior will make any Mazda 3 owners feel right at home. I had a chance to ride in a 2008 model tuned by AutoExe in Tokyo several years ago. The interior looks really close to the earlier models not sold in North America. Mazda says the interiors for the North America models will be upgraded and have a better feel. I am thinking this will be quality of materials more than styling.

Last but not least Mazda was giving away cool cans of Mazda 2 energy drink! They told me it tastes like Red Bull but I and going to save this souvenir.


Can -O-Zoom

While I was at the show I checked out the Ford Fiesta to see how close it was to the 2 since they share the same platform. The fit and finish of the Ford left something to be desired. From the exterior to the interior styling you can see where Mazda had put in little touches to make the car look or perform better. Even the exhaust on the Mazda 2 looked better constructed than the Fiesta.

After my trip to the auto show I can say I still want a Mazda 2 and I can’t wait to get one.

– Derrick

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Friday Night at Taco7

On Friday the 29th I drove up to the Taco7 meeting in Federal Way, Washington to hang out with fellow rotary nuts for the evening. There was a good range of rotary power represented at the meeting despite the cold weather and rain. Unfortunately I was not able to bring any rotary power myself so I drove the CorkSport 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 instead, which worked out better for a customer who was getting his CorkSport header, racepipe, and cat back exhaust delivered. One of the cool things I saw at the event was a set of 1st gen RX-7 Re-Amemiya mirrors wit the built in air guide. It was the first time I had ever seen a set, and I’ve seen a lot of rare parts! There were several good looking RX-8s at the meet as well, including the one below which had the AutoExe brace sets installed. I love the way those braces look.

It was great getting to hang out with a bunch of rotary fans, if you own a rotary powered vehicle, you should come to the next Taco7 meet!

– Derrick

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90 Years Young

90 years is quite a time span in human lives. The average life span is 67 years in the world today. Mazda (Toyo Kogyo) will be celebrating 90 years in 2010. We can thank Jujiro Matsuda for getting the company going in 1920 which led to the manufacturer of the cars we all love to drive. So for the 90 anniversary what is Mazda up to? I myself was hoping for something crazy to show up but it looks like there is just going to be a few special edition models available in Japan.

There will be a special “Gunmetal Blue Mica” version of the Mazda 3 (Axela in Japan) equipped with the 2.0 DI engine and I-Stop is available.

So far there are no plans for the 90th Anniversary Mazda 3 to make it to North America but that could change if we protest enough.

Mazda also has plans for a 90th Anniversary version of the Biante. A Biante is a compact minivan in the Japanese market. It will be available with the same 2.0 DI engine and I-Stop as well. I have not been a fan of the Biante styling myself but for its size you can haul 6 people comfortably and some cargo. Think of it as a different looking Mazda 3.

Who knows maybe Mazda will surprise us this year with a new rotary powered machine for the 90th anniversary. So far it has been quiet from my contacts in Japan but you never know. Mazda could be keeping a surprise on the down low.

– Derrick

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Mazda Racing Around the World

I enjoy reading up on how Mazdas are being raced around the planet and seeing how teams use their tools (in this case Mazdas) to race it out with the other manufacturers. There are plenty or examples out there but I want to show just a few from overseas.

Starting off in Australia, the Bathurst 12 hour race is set to take place on Feb 12-14th. In Class C performance hatches and sedans there will be a pair of Mazda MPS 3 (Mazdaspeed 3 to us in North America) being raced by Osborne Motorsport. Hopefully there will be no off course adventures like in the past where Len Cave rolled his car 9 times. The good part is Len walked away from the wreck, the bad part the car was a write off.

New Zealand’s GTRNZ race series had a win by Brian Gray in the GT2 class recently He is running a “made it myself” RX-7 which features a 26B 4 rotor, 6 speed Holinger gearbox and a winter quick change rear diff. If you have never heard a 4 rotor, it is an incredible sound; it really reminds me of a Formula 1 engine at higher RPM. Picture credit goes to Dave Ayers below.

On the Japanese front, Knightsports placed 2nd in a battle during the Macao Grand Prix in the Road Sport Challenge. It was a great race and it came down to Tanigawa in his RX-8 and Sun Tan in a Mitsubishi Evolution at the end. You can see the video from the race here. The end of the race came down to less than a half a second between the two drivers. If Tanigawa had another lap I think he could have passed Sun for the win.

So what are you waiting for? Get your Mazda out there and join in the fun! Even a local autocross event or a high performance driving school or event can provide you with a chance to see what your Mazda can really do.

– Derrick