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Mazda Protege Owners: Protege Posse

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  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Sigh, it is my duty to deliver the eulogy I thought would never come.

    Today we mark the passing of an era, my friends. How could we ever have imagined this day would come. Let's take a moment and think of the good times ... how could we forget "let's get to 10,000 posts by noon!" ... ah, but a fading memory of once-happy days.

    Sigh.

    Now I myself must bear the two-Protege-family torch and shuffle reluctantly forward, alone, into the misty haze ahead ...

    I still love ya, Larry.

    This place just won't have the same vibes anymore.

    Meade
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
  • protege_fanprotege_fan Member Posts: 2,405
    Where'd Larry's other Protege go?
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    What's His Name now has two white Toyota Vibes.
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    protegextwo is now toyotavibextwo :-(
  • chikoochikoo Member Posts: 3,008
    what made larry move away from mazda?

    was it the car or the company he got with them?

    har....har.......j/k
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    His heart died.

    In four years he'll trade both of the Vibes for Buicks.

    And so it goes.

    Meade
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    who's the next to pull a Larry in here?????
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    You *do* still own both Mazdas, last I checked :)

    I owned two for an overlapping period of almost 2-3 months. Does that count?
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    ... did you mean "Who'll sell two Mazda's next?"

    Ohhh ...
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    but Meade bought 2 Jetta's this weekend.
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    only if i get ANOTHER Mazda in return ;-)
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    ... holding off on the plan to get the RX-8?

    I'd say spring for the MS MX-5 (evil grin)
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
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  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    No VW anything for me, thank you very much. Even at a fire sale. (Ooops!)

    No, Tammy and I still own our 2002 Protege5 and 2000 Protege ES, respectively.

    I spent four hours with Zoomster on Saturday, when we had a very nice, sunny, 75-degree afternoon, and washed, detailed and ... WAXED him!

    His first coat of Meguiar's Gold Class since late last summer. My, my, is he shiny now. Finish is smooth as silk, and I swear he's Emerald-Mica'er than he was before. Real deep green. All this and zoomin' fun at 74,500 miles. We've got a long road still ahead of us.

    But a Winning Blue Mazda3s 5-door 5-speed with leather IS in my future ...

    Meade
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    but meade, have you checked out a 3 in the more sophisticated (IMO) shade of Strato Blue Mica?

    it's like the midnight blue mica on my Protege, except darker and purple-er

    a very nice color, i like it better than the winning blue
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Besides, it's only available on the 3s. The Strato Blue Mica is available on the 3i as well, so the Winning Blue Metallic gives me status!

    :)

    Metallic paints, as I learned during our exhaustive argum--- I mean, debate a year or so ago, are more durable than mica paints too.

    Let the debate begin anew.

    Meade
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    I've had a dark-colored car (Emerald Mica) for four years now. I want something brighter next time. If this were a couple of years ago I'd go for yellow, but it's so overdone now. Red's too normal; "Lava Orange Mica" (er, "Metallic Pumpkin") makes me wanna uurrrp my lunch, green is too -- well, I have green now, and the other colors are just too drab.

    BTW, and Raymond's gonna get all over me for this since it's the color he wants, the Mazda3s I had two weekends ago was Titanium Gray Metallic. I found the color B-O-R-I-N-G.

    The brochure and web site just don't do the Winning Blue justice. If you really want a good idea of what Winning Blue looks like, either see one in person or check out the post below, where I think the digital photo I took was much more representative of how deep the blue is.

    (If we could only get that fat guy out of the way ... :D)

    Meade
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    image
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    but still my favorite. I have a dark blue now, I like it and even though winning blue would technically be different, I try to not get the same color twice.

    Also, I think the Titanium makes the car look more expensive whereas the brighter colors make it look like a Matchbox Car. Not that it's a bad thing,just a different emotion it gives me. I like the expensive look over the boy racer look, at least this time around.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    I'm 39 and my current car is a nice, but fairly "executive," Emerald Mica. It's a grown-up color; in fact I've learned that many septogenarians (my dad being one) admire it because of its "British Racing Green" color -- a comment that hails from the '50s and '60s, before yours truly graced the world with his presence (I came along in 1965).

    I am quite humored by my car, hence the Zoomster name, and my Protege keeps me feeling young. After four years with "British Racing Green" and probably one more year before he zooms off to Wholesale Heaven, I think I'd like a color that more reflects the fun of this car -- without being too boyish.

    Hell, I'm just in love with that blue.

    (BTW, I've had dark blue cars before -- that's all my dad had for the first 10 years I was driving, so maybe I'm just bored to tears with dark blue.)

    To each his own -- let's just be thankful this isn't 90 years ago, when Mr. Henry Ford had us driving cars in "any color -- as long as it's black"!

    Heck, what fun will future meets be anyway if we all show up in the exact same car? Do you think I've enjoyed being one of three green Proteges every time I've hung out with Larry?

    Meade
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    I just like bright red on the cars I happen to like. I think it'd be too much on something big and blocky like a minivan, truck or SUV (though I think it looks great on fire engines and trucks).

    However, that metallic navy blue ("winning blue" I think) looks pretty good on the Mazda3 and RX-8. In fact, I think the RX-8 looks better in that blue than in red.
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Actually there are two blues for the 3; the Winning Blue Metallic is of a lighter shade than the other one. I *think* the blue available on the RX-8 is the Winning Blue or a close derivative thereof. The other blue on the 3 is more of a dark navy.

    Hmmm, maybe just living 100 miles north of the Tarheel State I'm a natural lover of Carolina Blue ... (which Winning Blue is, admittedly, darker than.)

    Bad sentence construction, Dale, I know.

    BTW, I think the MPV minivan looks pretty doggone good in red.

    Meade
  • the_big_hthe_big_h Member Posts: 1,583
    same paint code and everything.

    the darker blue (my favorite) is the Strato Blue Mica, or as i like to call it, deep dark sexxy purple ;-)
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Deep, dark, boring navy.

    Of the 12 colors available for the Mazda3, four are available only on the S:

    Winning Blue Metallic
    Titanium Gray Metallic
    Solar Yellow Mica
    Lava Orange Mica

    If you're going to choose an S (equivalent of the Protege ES), I say go with a color that makes that distinction by only being available on the top-end model.

    But that's just my expert opinion.

    :D

    Meade
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    Winning Blue is sweet.

    Pity it doesn't come in Lapis Blue (the 6 Blue) ;)

    Actually, my favorite Mazda Blue is the Pacific Blue (available on the 6 overseas, but on no American Mazdas - ugh!). Its what I saw and fell in love with at the NY Auto Show in ye olde days (April 2002)
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Oh my goodness. Now there's even more proof of the 6's close ties with Ford.

    My 1994 MazFord B2300Ranger pickup was ... Lapis Blue.

    Nice color, awful everything else. But very close to Winning Blue. In fact, the color was one major reason I liked the truck enough to buy it.

    So maybe I'm feeling slighted and am ready for a WELL-MADE vehicle in that color!

    Meade
  • mdaffronmdaffron Member Posts: 4,421
    Dark blue is the third most popular color for sport and compact cars in the nation, right behind silver and black.

    (Source: 2002 DuPont Automotive Color Popularity Survey)

    Meade
  • meinradmeinrad Member Posts: 820
    chartreuse?
  • ashutoshsmashutoshsm Member Posts: 1,007
    I knew that :) Lotsa rangers and Taurii have the same color.

    Pity they decided to use a pre-existing (however nice) Ford color instead of the much nicer, new Pacific Blue! But she does look awesome all washed and waxed up, as I did last weekend. Two coats on some sections. And finally - sparkly cleam wheels again for the first time in months!
  • mazdafunmazdafun Member Posts: 2,329
    Ick. I think the last time I've seen that color on a car was on an AMC Gremlin.
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Welcome to the Mazda Mania Weekly Chat!

    Liven up your evening and join your fellow enthusiasts every Tuesday from 6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET for our Mazda Mania Chat!
    The chat room opens 15 minutes before the scheduled chat time, so come early and get a good seat! Hope to see YOU there on Tuesday!

    Mazda Mania Chat Room

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    Host
    Pickups & News & Views Message Boards
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