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  Since the Mazda Miata appeared on the market in 1989, it's been delivering grins for casual drivers and enthusiasts alike across the world. Based on the classic    Lotus Elan , Mazda refined the rear-wheel-drive roadster format to create the perfect affordable small sports car. The first two generations are still sought after as examples of an ideal driver's car, but the third-generation MX-5  (internally designated NC by Mazda and losing the Miata name in the US) met with mixed reviews from the motoring press and got a luke-warm reception from Miata fans. It's time to take another look with the benefit of hindsight and because the prices of USED MX-5  are so good right now. The main complaint handed to the NC MX-5 was that it wasn't as pure as the previous generation. It was seen as both a heavier and softer version that came as a contrast to the uncompromising approach Mazda previously took in terms of minimalism and lightness. Mazda made the NC la...

  DEARBORN, Mich., April 18, 2018  – Once considered lost forever, the original 1968 Ford Mustang GT from the Warner Bros. movie “Bullitt” is headed for Washington, D.C. The iconic car is on display at the National Mall in celebration of Mustang’s 54th birthday and the 50th anniversary of “Bullitt.” As one of the most recognized cars in movie history, Ford recently surprised the automotive world by  unveiling the original Mustang  from “Bullitt” at the 2018 North American International Auto Show. The car was driven personally by Steve McQueen in the movie, including its unforgettable chase scene on the streets of San Francisco. The car’s whereabouts had been a mystery for decades. It was one of two duplicate Mustang GTs used in the movie. After filming, the cars went their separate ways. The hero vehicle driven by McQueen in the movie was sold by Warner Bros. to a private buyer, and the other – used in many of the jumps during the famous chase scene – was sent to a s...

  Power outputs from its 3.0-litre straight-six vary depending on the spec of M4 we’re talking. The base car produces 424bhp, while a Competition Package ups this to 444bhp, the hardcore CS possesses 454bhp and the even harder cored, ultra-rare M4 GTS (two seats, rollcage, £120k price) boasts the full 500PS, or 493bhp in good old-fashioned measures. The differences between the four of them run far deeper than some engine tuning, though. The base M4 – particularly early on its life – was known for being a spiky, occasionally spiteful little bugger, a car that threw its turbocharged torque at the rear axle with far less tact than any M3 ever did. Perhaps our curmudgeonly complaints upon the car’s rebadging were justified; it’d lost its sparkle. This verdict got a lot easier as the M4 aged and improved its manners. In the early days, the car’s score could fluctuate depending on how many times it’d tried to maim you on the way into work. Now, this is simply a great performance car that...

  The fundamental nature of hot-rodding has always been a reworking of old parts into something newer and faster. Hot-rodding as a philosophy of building vehicles has existed since before World War I. The earliest efforts of the pioneers who created the automobile strongly resemble hot-rodding, but because they weren't working from used, mass-produced parts, they don't quite  t the mold. Only when the moving assembly line permitted Ford to crank out Model T's in previously unheard-of numbers and at prices so low it brought motoring to the masses, did the major ingredient of hot-rodding come to be. Once those affordable new Fords became cheap used cars, the stage was set for the first era of hot-rodding. The Speedster Era  Speedsters likely first emerged in the Midwest, where racing on old horse tracks had become a popular pastime. The line between the earliest speedsters and a stripped-down race car would simply have been a matter of lights and license plates. Drivers of F...

  Getting pregnant is all about timing. You want to make sure the conditions are right for egg and sperm to meet. Your menstrual cycle can give you clues about when your body is ready to start the process. The first step is to learn the days when you're most fertile. Most women have a 28-day menstrual cycle. That means you have about 6 days each month when you can get pregnant. That includes the day that one of your ovaries releases an egg, called ovulation, and the 5 days before. Having sex within that window is key. You can’t get pregnant without ovulation, and tracking your monthly periods is one way to get familiar with your body’s fertility. To figure it out, you'll need to chart your menstrual cycle and record how long it lasts. Day 1 is the first day of your period. Since the length of your cycle can vary slightly from month to month, it's best to keep track for a few months. Once you have an average, subtract 18 days from the length of your shortest cycle. This is t...

  Your immune system is the basis of your health. Most of the time, it works for you by fighting off infection and helping fix injury. Although sometimes your immune system works against you, causing or influencing chronic diseases like allergies and arthritis. Sex hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, seem to affect the immune system and its function. There is evidence to suggest that premenopausal people’s bodies react differently to illnesses and infections over the course of their menstrual cycle due, at least in part, to fluctuations in sex hormones. Understanding how your immune system functions can help you appreciate and anticipate your healthy days and less-healthy days. Your immune system can be roughly broken into three categories: Innate immunity : This includes secretion of mucus and some types of immune cells. Inflammation : When your body is exposed to foreign substances, such as bacteria, or are injured, your immune system will stage an inflamm...

  T his year signifies the 30th anniversary of Mazda's iconic sports car, and what better way to celebrate that milestone than to highlight all the things that make it unique.  Now, here are 10 things you didn’t know about the ND Mazda MX-5 roadster: 1.  The front wings have been designed to replicate the look of the original pop-up headlight design, at least from the driver’s seat, so that you can see the front of the car. 2.  From an “ant’s eye” view, the front of the car smiles at you. 3.  The original  Mazda MX-5  concept used a 1.6-litre engine from the compact Mazda 323, a gearbox from the mid-sized 626 and the diff from an RX-7 sports coupe. 4.   The side indicator is the one part shared on the first three MX-5 generations: all NA, NB and NC models used it. The new ND shares nothing with its forebears other than “maybe a few bolts”. 5.  The MX-5 is the only Skyactiv car in the Mazda range not to feature stop-start technology, and you s...

  This is big. It’s the BMW M4 and after six years on sale, it feels like a staple of the performance car world. But rewind back to 2014 and the people were not happy. The BMW M3, one of  the  benchmarks in car world, one by which every sports saloon and coupe was measured against, had gone saloon only. The two-door M3 had been renamed M4 – in line with the new BMW 4 Series range – somewhat tangling the roots that led all the way back to the Mighty E30 M3 homologation special. That wasn’t all. For the first time, the M3 (and its newly branded M4 sibling) were turbocharged. Now, to the untrained eye this is no biggie. ‘Turbo’ is a synonym for ‘faster’, after all, and just about everything else wearing an M badge already had turbos six years ago. Even the glorious little 1 Series M Coupe that was destined for the hall of fame in which it now sits. But this felt different. Not least because the M3 coupe superseded by this M4 had a whopping great naturally aspirated...

  This is the most unusual issue of HOT ROD you've ever seen, as it only has one story outside of the monthly editorial departments, and we've pushed aside several of those to save as many pages as possible for this singular tale. It's the story of hot rodding itself. It's far from the complete story, we admit, but is a remarkable living history as told by 144 surviving cars featured in HOT ROD magazine from 1948 through the '90s. These special cars and about 130 newer ones gathered at the HOT ROD Homecoming in March 2013 at the Fairplex in Pomona, California, to celebrate the 65th anniversary of HRM. It was the world's largest collection of historic feature vehicles, and many were not the hero cars that have been vaunted over the past half-dozen decades—instead, the show was thick with small-town rides, hot rods that haven't been in public in many years, cars that have been used regularly, some that had been freshly restored, and others that were barn finds...

  How Stimulus Control Therapy Works for Sleep Problems The goal of stimuli control is to train your mind and body that going to bed means going to sleep. This training process is done through learned association. People with insomaniaand difficulty falling asleep can begin to associate bedtime with frustration, dread, and even fear. Because they have likely passed many hours lying awake and tossing and turning in bed, going to sleep develops a negative association for them over time. This can become a negative cycle as well, when worry about  sleep deprivation  leads to more difficulty falling asleep. Stimulus Control Breaks the Negative Cycle Clinicians and cognitive-behavioral therapists recommend that you do not spend too much time in bed struggling to get to sleep. Instead, they advise practicing  stimulus control  to prevent or break this negative cycle associated with bedtime. This technique is part of a larger behavior modification method designed t...

  Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake up. Insomnia can sap not only your energy level and mood but also your health, work performance and quality of life. How much sleep is enough varies from person to person, but most adults need seven to eight hours a night. At some point, many adults experience short-term (acute) insomnia, which lasts for days or weeks. It's usually the result of stress or a traumatic event. But some people have long-term (chronic) insomnia that lasts for a month or more. Insomnia may be the primary problem, or it may be associated with other medical conditions or medications. You don't have to put up with sleepless nights. Simple changes in your daily habits can of Insomnia symptoms may include: Difficulty falling asleep at night Waking up during the night Waking up too early Not feeling we...

  But what exactly is behavioral activation? As a treatment for depression and other mood disorders, behavioral activation is based on the theory that, as individuals become depressed, they tend to engage in increasing avoidance and isolation, which serves to maintain or worsen their symptoms. The goal of treatment, therefore, is to work with depressed individuals to gradually decrease their avoidance and isolation and increase their engagement in activities that have been shown to improve mood. Many times, this includes activities that they enjoyed before becoming depressed, activities related to their values or even everyday items that get pushed aside such as: Exercising  Going out to dinner  Improving relationships with their family members  Working toward specific work-related goals  Learning new skills and activities  Showering regularly  Completing household chores It is also important to examine sleep routines and eating habits and work to...

  What are the benefits of mindfulness? Mindfulness improves well-being.  Increasing your capacity for mindfulness supports many attitudes that contribute to a satisfying life. Being mindful makes it easier to savor the pleasures in life as they occur, helps you become fully engaged in activities, and creates a greater capacity to deal with adverse events. By focusing on the here and now, many people who practice mindfulness find that they are less likely to get caught up in worries about the future or regrets over the past, are less preoccupied with concerns about success and self-esteem, and are better able to form deep connections with others. Mindfulness improves physical health.  If greater well-being isn’t enough of an incentive, scientists have discovered that mindfulness techniques help improve physical health in a number of ways. Mindfulness can: help relieve stress, treat heart disease, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, , improve sleep, and alleviate ga...

  Using the concept of thinking errors Thinking errors  can affect mood and behaviour, as has been shown in the ‘Hot-cross bun’ and ‘Five areas’ approaches. The different types of cognitive distortion or thinking error have been discussed and we will now look at how performers in particular may use these thinking practices in maladaptive ways. • Misfocus : Because of mental filters and discounting the positives, the performer may attend only to the negative thoughts • Self-fulfilment : Jumping to conclusions, such as mind reading and fortune telling, and hence performing in the way the  mindset  expects you to perform • Perpetuation of thinking : Overgeneralization and ‘magnification and minimization’, where thoughts are repeatedly gone over, and through emotional reasoning you resort from feelings to actual statements ‘I feel stupid’ becomes ‘I am stupid’ • Playing not to lose : Where the individual allows their thinking to influence their behaviour to take the easi...