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Hatchbacks Mazda3 MazdaSpeed3: Styling Impressions
548 messages, Last post on Aug 08, 2007 at 5:21 PM
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Replying to: audia8q (Aug 26, 2006 5:52 am) But wasn't the Mazdaprotege a short-lived (i.e. 2 year) phenomenon? Going turbo is a bit of a risky if exciting strategy. It'll be interesting to see how the marketplace adjusts to the crazy gas prices and the contradictory strategies of auto-manufacturers. Unlike Mazda, Honda/Toyota/Lexus (HoTLe) see hybrids as their answer for not only the eco-folks but also the performance crowd. Isn't F1 also moving towards hybrids? Moreover, by hybridizing their fleet won't HoTLe effectively lower the cost of development and capture a larger segment of the market? In any case all the best to you, Rich, and your dealership!
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Replying to: audia8q (Aug 26, 2006 5:52 am) The glimmer is shining a little brighter today if I can turn agreement on the phone into reality. There that and also the little matter of a trade on MS6. Next stop Carmax for an appraisal. |
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Replying to: autonomous (Aug 28, 2006 9:10 am) All the MazdaSpeed cars are short lived... Going turbo is a bit of a risky if exciting strategy. It'll be interesting to see how the marketplace adjusts to the crazy gas prices and the contradictory strategies of auto-manufacturers It seems alot of mfg are heading that way. Even Honda/Acura is getting into the 4 cyl turbo game with the new RDX. The speed cars are a specialty type cars....the driving force to buy isnt MPG. The jury is still out on hybrids...I suspect its a temp technology that will be replaced by some newer technology that lives up to expectations a little better. Oddly enough it appears that the Prius is the only hybrid that is getting any major play. Honda has cut production of their hybrids and Ford has tremendous incentives on their hybrids....I guess unless you have a strong eco interest folks arent ready to overpay to get a few extra miles per gallon.
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Replying to: audia8q (Aug 28, 2006 12:21 pm) Off-topic but I can't resist.... I don't think it's just a matter of having a strong eco interest. Hybrid owners (and particularly Prius owners) also want EVERYONE ELSE TO KNOW that they have a stong eco interest. Hence, the Prius is more popular because it isn't simply a different engine option in an otherwise 'normal' ICE vehicle, but is instead a vehicle that is offered as a hybrid ONLY. When you glance at it, you KNOW it's a hybrid. It sells the best because their owner's receive RECOGNITION for saving the planet. Afterall, what good is being eco-friendly if you have to do it incognito? Sometimes I think that Prius owners have replaced smog with smug.....and I say this as an individual who has a parent with a Prius... 
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Replying to: audia8q (Aug 28, 2006 12:21 pm) I could not agree more. A while back I did a comparo on the Mazda3 i automatic Vs. Honda Civic Hybrid. My results were you would drive 60K+ miles worth of gas before ever reaching the INITIAL cost of the Civic Hybrid at the day's current gas prices ($2.50/gal) Sorry for continuing off topic... |
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Replying to: audia8q (Aug 28, 2006 12:21 pm) Considering that: - the leading auto-manufacturer in the world is actively developing hybrids; - the price of gas topped $3.00 and is expected to continue rising with experts predicting $100/gallon shortly; - the alternatives (e.g. bio-fuels) are unsustainable or distant (e.g. hydrogen power); - the President himself (someone who knows something about oil production) says we're addicted to oil; I think hybrids are a conservative approach to handling our future needs. Many auto-manufacturers appear not to be making the necessary investments for the future. Remember when ABS and airbags were considered unnecesary or optional. Now, most auto-manufacturers recognize their importance and plug them into their vehicle design. Hybrids are no longer experimental nor would they be considered costly if they were incentivized. Granted the Mazdaspeed3 is an amazing vehicle but is it looking forward? Maybe expecting much from a middle rung auto-manufacturer like Mazda is unfair, but they've provided some wonderful vehicles in the past. Imagine a Wankel-hybrid or a Mazdaspeed that delivers 50 mpg as well as 200+ mph.
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Replying to: autonomous (Aug 29, 2006 8:20 am) How forward thinking should they be for a car that will only be around a year or so??? I think hybrids are a conservative approach to handling our future needs. Your thinking only represents a small fraction of the population...until alot more people feel the sameway this isnt going very far. Let's revisit this debate in a few years. until then, the jury will still be out and the debate will continue. Many auto-manufacturers appear not to be making the necessary investments for the future. I agree, but history is littered with mfg's making huge investments in ideas and theories that didn't work out as planned....many mfg don't have the cash to develop ideas that are barely theory at this point. now back to the MazdaSpeed3....
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Replying to: audia8q (Aug 29, 2006 8:35 am) From Toyota: "Toyota has already sold more than 500,000 hybrid vehicles around the world, and continues to develop new versions of its hybrid power system to use in forthcoming vehicles. With the positive response from the market ... Toyota will achieve its goal of selling one million hybrid vehicles world-wide early in the next decade." What does this have to do with Mazdaspeed? Well, MSP is the niche line where Mazda gets to try out a new twist on a vehicle, something different and exciting and if it doesn't work, it can drop it after a year or two or if it does work, then share it with other platforms. Mazda turned to the turbo, something from their past and passed on this technology from the Mazdaspeed6 to the Mazdaspeed3 to the CX7 to the ... In other words, this is turning out to be more than a two year phenomenon applying to a single model but rather a major investment across multiple lines using this technology. Will this investment pay off and generate a half million sales like Toyota's hybrid strategy has so far?
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Replying to: autonomous (Aug 29, 2006 9:56 am) Well, MSP is the niche line where Mazda gets to try out a new twist on a vehicle, something different and exciting and if it doesn't work, it can drop it after a year or two or if it does work, then share it with other platforms That is not Mazdaspeed. Mazdaspeed is a production Mazda that offers what enthusiasts, or people in the race industry have had access to for years, Mazdaspeed performance. It is not their test lab for technology. When you invest millions of dollars into technology, you rarely incorporate it into one vehicle. It is more business like to invest your millions, or billions, in multiple vehicles. Like the MZR 2.3 DISI Turbo in MS6, MS3, CX-7. Will this investment pay off and generate a half million sales like Toyota's hybrid strategy has so far? Mazda's buyer is far from the Toyota buyer. Mazda's idea of what they feel a vehicle should be vastly differs from Toyota. If the Mazda does sell 500,000 MZR 2.3L DISI Turbo vehicles, then, I guess a small company like Mazda accomplished what a mega giant like Toyota did as well. I would think that speaks highly for Mazda.  Mazda has already sold nearly 1 million of their most famous nitch vehicle, the MX-5. Mazda knows what they are doing. Now, back to the MS3!! 
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Replying to: aviboy97 (Aug 29, 2006 12:17 pm) You're right: GM is the leader for the moment, however, Toyota is the most profitable. Many predict Toyota will assume the mantle of both (most profit and most production) later this year. From BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5244430.stm): Toyota, the world's most profitable carmaker, has reported a 39% rise in first-quarter income ... Toyota's global unit sales should soon overtake market-leader General Motors. The Japanese giant sold 2.09 million vehicles around the world in its latest quarter, up from 1.95 million during the same period a year earlier. Toyota is doing particularly well in North America, where it sold 747,300 vehicles during the quarter, up more than 16% ... Unless Mazdaspeed's turbo variations of the Protege, Mazda6, Mazda 3 ... are tied to a strategy for the future this may be a misguided use of resources useful only for the short-term. I believe Toyota and Honda have a better formula for the future: deliver performance + efficiency. The Accord/Camry/Lexus hybrids offer both excellent performance and improved efficiency; these will move from being niche vehicles to leaders of the brand and eventually the segment. p.s. I'm an ardent fan of Mazda and wish it to capture some portion of the future market but have concerns ...
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