I wondered if the Bose upgrade isn't just add-ons to the standard stereo, and most of the $600 covers the 6-CD changer?
Like stretchsje says, with standard audio the first upgrade should be changing the speakers.
For those who play the radio only the new speakers would be fine. I have the single CD player in my Protegé, have never tried it. Had a cassette deck installed, used it once on a trip. I have both, just too much of a hassle changing tapes and/or discs while driving.
I plan to factory order so that does not matter to me, audia8q. If I am going to buy brand new - probably the only time in my life! - then I want to get EXACTLY what I want. I don't want to pay for extra stuff that I don't want. I don't want to sacrifice others (i.e. safety features) due to stupid combo packages.
They spell it out from the get-go that there are very limited option packages. Mazda makes it appear you can option the car out how you want but then throws the bundles at you. Plus, to get virtually any other option you have to get a somewhat outlandish (for many people) wing and GFX. Not so with the Honda. Mazda's number 1 problem is the fact that safety options (ABS and traction) are not included as standard, if they were included there would be less confusion. Options could be moonroof, sport package and leather / bose (make them a package). How hard is that?
Here's an idea: Mazda should DUMP the Sport Package altogether. It's just marginally bigger tires and some ground effects. Instead, it should offer every model with ABS and side bags. The Sport Package is just a gateway to option- infuriation, esp. on the 6i.........People don't care as much about leather, upgraded stereos, bigger rubber, or even traction control. But ABS and sidebags are a MUST nowadays. Even Hyundai offers them standard on some models............the Mazda dealer I visited 2 wks ago never called me back. I drove thru the lot today; same number of 6's (a gadzillion). They don't seem to be moving. Of course, I had told the salesman I only wanted Speed Yellow, minimal options, stick mandatory. He probably dismissed me as a flake.
redkey...safety only marginally sells cars....so far we are seeing people who are not interested in the benefits of the saftey items. (not high on the important scale) this is nothing new and the trend has continued on the 6. Based upon real sales..only a small percentage of buyers are making a buying decision based upon the safety items...Like Mazda, safety items are not standard on all honda's.....I have been in a few accidents and fully appreciate the safety stuff but car buyers in general place safety items around 5th or 6th of importance.
chikoo....GM actually dropped the ABS feature as standard this year on many models. The reason given by GM was it did not sell cars and was no benefit to the company..It was more profitable to sell the item instead of throwing it in... Remember, Edmunds posters are not the "typical" car buyer and the typical car buyer is the one that everyone is interested in selling to...
i went to check out the 6 i at a dealership and the sticker stated that the engine was made in Mexico. whats the deal whith that? there were no 6 s in the showroom so i don't know if that engine is made in Mexico too. can anyone who bought or saw the sticker to a 6s enlighten us?
Seems like the Canadian tactic -- 4 basic configurations -- for dealers, but offering *any* combo of options for folks wanting to do factory, would be best.
That way dealers, and people too lemming-like to make decisions, are happy by having fewer "stock" choices. But customers who want a car that's really configured the way THEY want it can order what they want instead of having to buy the configuration that makes life easy for car dealers.
I agree that having only a few option packages makes consumer choice easier, but I don't agree with Mazda's approach that in order to have one package, you "need" to have this other package as well. Safety features (ABS, SCA, etc) should all be grouped into a safety package and should not require someone to buy leather seats or the sport package. The packages should make sense, and packages should not require other packages. That way they can still keep the number of packages to a minimum and keep the dealers happy.
And this "fewer option packages makes things easier for the consumer" thing reminds me of Henry Ford's "You can have any color you want, as long as it's black."
This is the 21st Century. We're spoiled. We want CHOICE.
show a man willing to go out at the drop of a pin, only because it gives him a chance to drive his MAzda & will give him a break from his otherwise boring life
i took a look at a 6s on our lot and the country of origin for the engine is USA. Its a manual trans, and that unit comes from japan. Overall parts content is 12% mexican.
A delivery guy kept having to make deliveries to people whose last names were those of far-away cities. Naturally, he drove to the cities instead of walking to the folks' offices. Kind of funny.
Of course, they only showed the Focus driving down straight highways, perhaps to keep the steering wheel from coming off the column from too much driver input.
does anyone know why the 4 cyl is made in Mexico? this is of much concern to me as my Jetta is made in Mexico and i've experienced a lot of trouble with it.
I've said this in a much longer post before (# 6980). IMHO, Mazda should drop the zillion options and just emulate Honda. Make it SIMPLE to buy the 6 and aggressively promote pricing and/or financing. Otherwise, this is going to be another Protege: terrific car with mediocre sales.
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6s AT leather seats, Grey comfort package (if that includes heated seats) NO moonroof (I'm 6'1" and I almost scrape the roof. Darn. I really wanted the moonroof too!) wing spoiler GFX??.. I can go either way.. leaning against right now. side airbags/curtains 16" wheels
ok, given this list of desires.. will I be able to order a car from the factory exactly this way? Or, will there still be some limitations, even when ordering from the factory???
Enough for it to be standard. This is basically afamily sedan. They should at least have ABS as a standard. The SAB could be left options since they aren't univeral yet. But the ABS is a must in this class. Especially in a car trying to find it's niche.
Fixed. Bad Seal. Picked up car last Thursday evening and no problem since. And my car does not have the rattles of my rental Camry. Also, noticed '03 Camry seemed to not stay on road as nice as my 6 on same highway and similar wind.
I'm sure you've already been to the Mazda website where you can build your own, but if not, here's what I found:
For some reason, you can get ABS and SAB on the 6i as of April as seemingly stand-alone options. However, if you try to add on the comfort package and leather seats (required for comfort package), then you have to add everything to get the other saftey options. As far as the 6s goes, it appears that the same thing happens when you try to add the comfort package. SAB can be added as stand alone (as of April), but if you want the comfort package you have to add everything for SAB.
I saw someone post earlier (mazdamarla... couple pages back) that their dealer said they could add leather and heated seats through the dealership, as opposed to manufacturer's options. This way you could get your stand alone items, and still get the leather and heated seats. Just a thought.
Mazda does have the options figured out- they just only offer them in Canada!
Gee: Audia8q knows what sells. There's lots of data to back him up that safety really doesn't sell as much as we think. GM didn't keep ABS standard on all their cars for the same reason.
A lot of the stuff we think would sell probably would sell, but it wouldn't be more profitable. Argue it all you want- we're not the beancounters with all the statistics of what each part costs.
Personally, I'd rather all these options than just three trims. I mean, drop these thirty packages to six and say that we're better off? No way!
Three trims might sell better because people are lazy and don't feel like sorting through confusion. The solution (to this non-marketer) is to make the packages more linear- give me a few base configurations with certain options stand-alone.
OK, if I take the advice that the Bose upgrade is basically the same stereo as the basic model but with a 6 cd changer and better speakers (and the speakers aren't that great), then yeah I can do w/o the cd changer and can do better/cheaper speakers in the aftermarket. A decent set of speakers would be nice/a near must. But what I really want...
is the MP3 player! (Sorry to change the rules at the last second.) I've had a Nomad II MP3 player and I love the thing, probably the best piece of consumer electronics that I've bought in the last 10 years. Got a little bit of a system going here with all my CDs saved on my PC and I have a couple of 128M Smartmedia cards to move things around (Well, one's for my camera.) Incidentally, how does that work for a car? Insert CD and save it to car jukebox? Move Smartmedia (or other) memory cards around? How large a memory would a car MP3 player have? 128M is two hours of music, so that's plenty and I'm sure that bigger cards and cheaper prices are a'coming.
So, what I want is a speed yellow (yeah, speed yellow) 6i MANUAL w/rear spoiler wing, premium package, 16" alloy wheels, leather seats, mp3 player and various other sundries: fog lights, cargo stuff etc. I noticed when I priced out on Edmunds I included the safty stuff, both the air bags and side air currents. I'm willing to pay, say $500 over invoice for all of this ;^) Yikes, that's doable in April (leather + premium package) upgrading to the MP3 when that arrives.
Want it in April? Order in March, avoid the hassle, and pay $200 over invoice. That MP3 option is enticing!!! It works with mp3s recorded onto a CD, much like MP3 equipped DVD players do in your home. To me, again, it wasn't worth the money- so long as I'm recording CDs, I might as well record audio CDs that work in any CD player. It's not as 'cool' as having 10 hours on one CD, but it'll do.
I've got a 10-disc sony mp3 cd changer in my car now, would be hard to go back to having no mp3 in car capability, looking forward to the 6 getting this feature!
Also, saw my first Mazda6 on the road yesterday (actually parked outside Longos), Silver GT v6 with black leather.. Looked sweet!
I'm new to the Mazda Owner's Town Hall, but I have been following comments on almost a daily basis. Man was I lucky I found the 6s I wanted(almost, but close enough) and it is happily sleeping soundly in my garage after picking it up this afternoon. I've been searching for it for about 2 months throughout the Northeast. It had arrived at a dealer 86 mi away on Thursday and no one had claimed it yet when I found it on the dealers on-line inventory. It is a Oynx black (this was a 3rd choice color), 5 spd MT, Sprt pkg, cmfrt pkg, satin alum fuel filler door, compass/autodim mirror w/homelink, sprt grll, alarm shock sensor upgrade, whl lock, side air bag/curtain, leather seats, pwr mnrf & Bose. Paid $26K which was probably high, but you win some you lose some. It had only 5 mi on it and was in the showroom during the blizzard. I didn't know it had daytime running lights and projector beam headlights. To bad there's no HID/Xenon, but aftermarket Philips/Sylvania HID conversion kits or Sylvania Silverstar will do. First impression, very quick, drives smooth and shifts smooth. More later with pics.
Congratulations! Are you in the US? I didn't know they had daytime running lights either! Does anyone else's? I assumed when you referred to miles you are in the US, and the pricing seems to indicate that, too!
I have a Nomad 3 40gb jukebox and would desperately love to find a car with a miniplug input to hook the player up to the stereo direct and not through a crappy tape deck or some useless wireless adapter.
The only Bose I have ever heard that didn't suck was in the Catera. Bose is marketing hype and crap most of the time.
When you order a car "from the factory," you still must do so through a dealer. The factory does not sell direct to consumers.
Dealers avoid a lot of their hassles--floorplanning (which is interest on inventory), uncertainty of sales, etc--on an ordered car. One can usually order a car for slightly less money (and in some cases a lot lesss but in others MORE money) than buying one off the lot, BUT:
*incentives often do not apply to cars not already in stock. If the incentive expires while you wait for delivery, you are out of luck.
*If the car is a hot seller, you will pay as much or even more to order. You also may not be able to order it at all, especially if the car you want is not fully equipped with all options, as dealerships in those cases can already sell their allocation without dealing with you.
Sometimes, a dealer trade is a far better option than ordering. That assumes the configuration you want is even available.
And ordering sometimes requires you wait until the factory gears up to build cars like the one you ordered.
Quite frankly, I understand the car business pretty well. I doubt sincerely the factory will build configurations that are not standard for quite some time. Just because Mazda takes your order does not mean the car will ever be built.
Trust me. I know.
Otherwise I would have been the proud owner of a 1995 Mazda 626 with ABS but without a sunroof. I waited six months for that car, which was always going to be built next week.
Well, if the post above is to be believed, the hback arrives Feb 2004. A whole 'nother year. Not Spring 03. Not Summer. A year. Sorry Mazda, you blew it!! Hello, Honda? Still selling the Accord coupe? I'll be right down!!
Congrats! Take it easy for the first 1000miles and check your fluids (especially oil) to make sure it's all there - I've been reading the SiR board too often
For me, it still works out since I won't be buying new until Sept 2004 at which time the Mazda3 HB and Mazda3 Sedan and HB will compete head to head in my decision. Until then, I can only wait for the 3's specs and more pics.
Are you saying that by ordering direct from Mazda does not require paying MSRP?
Ordering is less costly for the dealership because the car isn't depreciating on their lot. They keep all the holdback without needing it. My local no-haggle place sells for $250 over invoice now. That's an extremely friendly no-haggle place in a metro area- it shouldn't get any 'hotter' that that, so if you order at a rural dealership you might be able to get invoice.
Retina burning Yellow with GFX. 5 speed V6 loaded except leather (had premium audio and moonroof).
Went on a long test drive yesterday. city, highway, etc. Anyone seeing a yellow blur around Ottawa around 7pm, that was me. Several people honked at lights, obviously commenting on the car's looks.
I was extremely disappointed with the "premium" stereo. I would never buy BOSE if I had a choice.
I also didn't care for the interior. There's some plasticky strip that goes the length of the dash and looks cheap. Also, I drove my wife's 01 civic DX-G after I got home and the interior in the civic is nicer than the 6. The plasticanium console is one thing but the actual dash materials themselves (black) did not look up to par. And then, the dealer started nitpicking about the materials on the interior of my ML 320!!
I've already seen the leather in the 6 and didn't care for it either.
I really like the car's drive and feel and exterior look but don't think the level of luxury (especially interior appointments) is up to scratch. It doesn't even have a dimmer switch- just an on-off button for the dash lights.
I'm going to wait til April and see if the TSX is more to my liking.
I really wanted to like this car and had every intention of buying one, but I can't seem to bring myself to make the commitment.
Did anyone else notice that if you try to build a Mazda 6 on the website that you get a warning that (paraphrasing) "you can select this option now, but it won't be available at a dealer until April"? This would seem to back up my dealer's claim that my ordered 6s (loaded) has been delayed because the sport package parts weren't produced in enough quantity. I placed the order in mid-December, so it's been 9 weeks and counting, with no specific delivery date in sight. Those of you already driving around your 6, you're lucky and I'm jealous.
Agree with you in saying some shouldn't drive in the snow. Someone wasn't paying attention yesterday that the snow was in their lane on Route 50 towards Annapolis, and flipped over on the road. Closed for 45 mins., I guess the passengers were ok because an ambulance (as opposed to lifeflight) took them away.
Manual does help in handling the snow, so does the autostick option. Very useful. Traction control would be another good thing, for ice and slush anyway. Doesn't help in deep snow.
I live in Baltimore, and didn't even TRY to get my car out until yesterday. Still no plows to be seen, because we live on too small a street for them to fit. So moving to another area, as well as possibly getting a 4WD vehicle, goes on the list (just kidding).
The impression that I got from both the website and the dealer rep was that there is a shortage of parts for producing more sport package equipped cars. There's obviously a decent amount of them already out there (mostly sport pkg only or loaded automatics), but it sounds like there are more orders for that package than the factory has in stock. Just something to think about if you're about to place an order. I'm just hoping to get my car before my birthday in March - it'll be a nice gift to myself.
Mazda6's assembled in Japan: 4-cylinder: Hiroshima, Japan
The I4 is made in Mexico because that's the North American plant for that family of engines. This family of engines is global, and the other plants around the world that make this family of engines are Valencia, Spain and Hiroshima, Japan.
As for the reliability of the engines coming out of Chihuahua, I do not know.
Similar logic applies to why the V6 is assembled in Cleveland.
It doesn't even have a dimmer switch- just an on-off button for the dash lights.
Sure there is! It's right next to the traction-control on/off button (which I don't have). There's a different dimmer button for the top LCD display- that's probably what you saw.
Comments
Seeing a Camry doing that looks really odd.
fowler3
Like stretchsje says, with standard audio the first upgrade should be changing the speakers.
For those who play the radio only the new speakers would be fine. I have the single CD player in my Protegé, have never tried it. Had a cassette deck installed, used it once on a trip. I have both, just too much of a hassle changing tapes and/or discs while driving.
fowler3
If I am going to buy brand new - probably the only time in my life! - then I want to get EXACTLY what I want. I don't want to pay for extra stuff that I don't want. I don't want to sacrifice others (i.e. safety features) due to stupid combo packages.
chikoo....GM actually dropped the ABS feature as standard this year on many models. The reason given by GM was it did not sell cars and was no benefit to the company..It was more profitable to sell the item instead of throwing it in... Remember, Edmunds posters are not the "typical" car buyer and the typical car buyer is the one that everyone is interested in selling to...
That way dealers, and people too lemming-like to make decisions, are happy by having fewer "stock" choices. But customers who want a car that's really configured the way THEY want it can order what they want instead of having to buy the configuration that makes life easy for car dealers.
Mike
This is the 21st Century. We're spoiled. We want CHOICE.
eg.
show a man willing to go out at the drop of a pin, only because it gives him a chance to drive his MAzda & will give him a break from his otherwise boring life
Of course, they only showed the Focus driving down straight highways, perhaps to keep the steering wheel from coming off the column from too much driver input.
does anyone know why the 4 cyl is made in Mexico? this is of much concern to me as my Jetta is made in Mexico and i've experienced a lot of trouble with it.
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I wouldn't choose one car over another on the basis of airbag or ABS availabilty.
leather seats, Grey
comfort package (if that includes heated seats)
NO moonroof (I'm 6'1" and I almost scrape the roof. Darn. I really wanted the moonroof too!)
wing spoiler
GFX??.. I can go either way.. leaning against right now.
side airbags/curtains
16" wheels
ok, given this list of desires.. will I be able to order a car from the factory exactly this way? Or, will there still be some limitations, even when ordering from the factory???
Also, noticed '03 Camry seemed to not stay on road as nice as my 6 on same highway and similar wind.
For some reason, you can get ABS and SAB on the 6i as of April as seemingly stand-alone options. However, if you try to add on the comfort package and leather seats (required for comfort package), then you have to add everything to get the other saftey options. As far as the 6s goes, it appears that the same thing happens when you try to add the comfort package. SAB can be added as stand alone (as of April), but if you want the comfort package you have to add everything for SAB.
I saw someone post earlier (mazdamarla... couple pages back) that their dealer said they could add leather and heated seats through the dealership, as opposed to manufacturer's options. This way you could get your stand alone items, and still get the leather and heated seats. Just a thought.
Gee: Audia8q knows what sells. There's lots of data to back him up that safety really doesn't sell as much as we think. GM didn't keep ABS standard on all their cars for the same reason.
A lot of the stuff we think would sell probably would sell, but it wouldn't be more profitable. Argue it all you want- we're not the beancounters with all the statistics of what each part costs.
Personally, I'd rather all these options than just three trims. I mean, drop these thirty packages to six and say that we're better off? No way!
Three trims might sell better because people are lazy and don't feel like sorting through confusion. The solution (to this non-marketer) is to make the packages more linear- give me a few base configurations with certain options stand-alone.
Just don't reduce it to three trims.
BTW, why not ORDER the car?! Problem solved!!!
Rich
Start?
Sigh.
I wonder if the UAW knows anything about Sirius!
is the MP3 player! (Sorry to change the rules at the last second.) I've had a Nomad II MP3 player and I love the thing, probably the best piece of consumer electronics that I've bought in the last 10 years. Got a little bit of a system going here with all my CDs saved on my PC and I have a couple of 128M Smartmedia cards to move things around (Well, one's for my camera.) Incidentally, how does that work for a car? Insert CD and save it to car jukebox? Move Smartmedia (or other) memory cards around? How large a memory would a car MP3 player have? 128M is two hours of music, so that's plenty and I'm sure that bigger cards and cheaper prices are a'coming.
So, what I want is a speed yellow (yeah, speed yellow) 6i MANUAL w/rear spoiler wing, premium package, 16" alloy wheels, leather seats, mp3 player and various other sundries: fog lights, cargo stuff etc. I noticed when I priced out on Edmunds I included the safty stuff, both the air bags and side air currents. I'm willing to pay, say $500 over invoice for all of this ;^) Yikes, that's doable in April (leather + premium package) upgrading to the MP3 when that arrives.
Oh darn, I've got to work tomorrow.
jht
Also, saw my first Mazda6 on the road yesterday (actually parked outside Longos), Silver GT v6 with black leather.. Looked sweet!
First impression, very quick, drives smooth and shifts smooth. More later with pics.
Are you saying that by ordering direct from Mazda does not require paying MSRP?
The only Bose I have ever heard that didn't suck was in the Catera. Bose is marketing hype and crap most of the time.
Dealers avoid a lot of their hassles--floorplanning (which is interest on inventory), uncertainty of sales, etc--on an ordered car. One can usually order a car for slightly less money (and in some cases a lot lesss but in others MORE money) than buying one off the lot, BUT:
*incentives often do not apply to cars not already in stock. If the incentive expires while you wait for delivery, you are out of luck.
*If the car is a hot seller, you will pay as much or even more to order. You also may not be able to order it at all, especially if the car you want is not fully equipped with all options, as dealerships in those cases can already sell their allocation without dealing with you.
Sometimes, a dealer trade is a far better option than ordering. That assumes the configuration you want is even available.
And ordering sometimes requires you wait until the factory gears up to build cars like the one you ordered.
Quite frankly, I understand the car business pretty well. I doubt sincerely the factory will build configurations that are not standard for quite some time. Just because Mazda takes your order does not mean the car will ever be built.
Trust me. I know.
Otherwise I would have been the proud owner of a 1995 Mazda 626 with ABS but without a sunroof. I waited six months for that car, which was always going to be built next week.
It never was.
And when you have some pics, please post some.
Dinu
Dinu
Ordering is less costly for the dealership because the car isn't depreciating on their lot. They keep all the holdback without needing it. My local no-haggle place sells for $250 over invoice now. That's an extremely friendly no-haggle place in a metro area- it shouldn't get any 'hotter' that that, so if you order at a rural dealership you might be able to get invoice.
Actually, I just made it up for you....
Sometimes folks can misunderstand...
Went on a long test drive yesterday. city, highway, etc. Anyone seeing a yellow blur around Ottawa around 7pm, that was me. Several people honked at lights, obviously commenting on the car's looks.
I was extremely disappointed with the "premium" stereo. I would never buy BOSE if I had a choice.
I also didn't care for the interior. There's some plasticky strip that goes the length of the dash and looks cheap. Also, I drove my wife's 01 civic DX-G after I got home and the interior in the civic is nicer than the 6. The plasticanium console is one thing but the actual dash materials themselves (black) did not look up to par. And then, the dealer started nitpicking about the materials on the interior of my ML 320!!
I've already seen the leather in the 6 and didn't care for it either.
I really like the car's drive and feel and exterior look but don't think the level of luxury (especially interior appointments) is up to scratch. It doesn't even have a dimmer switch- just an on-off button for the dash lights.
I'm going to wait til April and see if the TSX is more to my liking.
I really wanted to like this car and had every intention of buying one, but I can't seem to bring myself to make the commitment.
Sigh.
Manual does help in handling the snow, so does the autostick option. Very useful. Traction control would be another good thing, for ice and slush anyway. Doesn't help in deep snow.
I live in Baltimore, and didn't even TRY to get my car out until yesterday. Still no plows to be seen, because we live on too small a street for them to fit.
Mazda6's assembled in Michigan, USA:
4-cylinder: Chihuahua, Mexico
6-cylinder: Cleveland, Ohio
Mazda6's assembled in Japan:
4-cylinder: Hiroshima, Japan
The I4 is made in Mexico because that's the North American plant for that family of engines. This family of engines is global, and the other plants around the world that make this family of engines are Valencia, Spain and Hiroshima, Japan.
As for the reliability of the engines coming out of Chihuahua, I do not know.
Similar logic applies to why the V6 is assembled in Cleveland.
Sure there is! It's right next to the traction-control on/off button (which I don't have). There's a different dimmer button for the top LCD display- that's probably what you saw.