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Comments
Mazda 6 sedan sales for Jan 2003 were 2254
http://www.autosite.com/editoria/asmr/homesedan.asp
Click on sales volume.
Even with good product mix it does't look good that there are models lamenting on the lots in droves. Is the Mazda6 customer THAT focused? And if the Mazda6 average buyer is THAT determined to have a particular car, is the market for the car overrated?
By the way Aromas...I don't go around vandalising 6's. I have seen 2 of them on the road though.
Oh, but wait....you can't really test drive or buy one because no one has them. Great way to sell cars.
As for this obsession with sales... As long as Mazda stays in business, I'm happy. Personally, with about 5 Accords on my street, I won't care if the Mazda 6 ends up at 20% of the Accord's sales. I don't want the same car as everyone else in the area. (Which is why I used to drive an orange Miata.
Besides, the real telling sales figures will be this summer, after the car has had a chance to establish itself, and after Mazda has a better handle on the configurations people want. (The only gray 6s at the local dealer, for instance, had the MT, but the other options were leather and sunroof. Kind of an odd combo.)
Nobody wants a Mazda 6i. Yet they have piles of them at all the dealers because Mazda thought that people were going to treat the car like an Accord/Camry/Altima. Why? It's not designed or marketed the same so why would appeal to the EXACT same people. But there is Toyota's blatant attempt to compete with the 6's sporty nature. You know the one, where the stupid guy is driving his Camry all over the place with nobody on the road. It's because A. You can't drive a Camry sharply without killing yourself and everyone around you and B. if they showed other cars on the road you'd realize that the Camry is actually less sporty than both the Accord and the Altima let alone the 6. People want the 6 because it's cheaper, faster, sportier. BUT they want all the trimmings and a slick 5 speed as it is, and a hatch version as well. As it has been written in all the reviews, the car must be mated with a stick to make it worthwhile. The Sport can be found everywhere in auto. And I know it's not faster but it is faster than the MAJORITY of the other three cars on the road. Sure you can get bigger engines in the Accord and Altima but why? Sit three 3.5SE Altima's side by side at a stop light. Have them floor it and watch as they total each other. After coming out of his coma driver A says "I didn't even turn the wheel".
Haha, no, I agree with what you say. That's what most people want.
Me? Watch out for my little 4cyl engine and all its thunder!!!
Nonetheless, what does work works really well. My total system cost is under $300. I'll post the whole update when the whole thing gets installed.
I confirmed there are no preouts possible on the back without the use of a line-out converter. However, it sounds good with a line-out converter.
It's not peaky enough! It pulls strong from 2000rpm, but doesn't peak before readline. Engines are fun when they do that. The engine continues to pull strong until 7000 rpm, but I want a spike. It's too linear.
Yes, I know I praise the '6 a lot, but I've got some complaints too. This is one.
Hopefully a new intake alone will give a boost after 6 grand on the tach, because I don't want to mess with many engine mods. Too pricey, too little return.
A question for those who know: will a cold air intake make the car perform similarly to how it acts before the engine warms up? That is, it feels a little faster even though I don't press it hard, and has a HUGE rush at 3250 RPM on. I assume that's because the air under the hood hasn't warmed up yet, so it's like a cold air intake.
Engine mods are something I know little about other than in theory.
Just a word of warning. I would ask the dealer before adding something that might jeapordize the warranty coverage.
I don't want a Manual
I don't want "all the trimmings"
I WILL give you this, though - I AM waiting for the Hatchback.
My husband seems to think I don't have the patience to wait another year. A guy at work here said that I won't want the hatch - he likes the sedan better. We'll see......
I think I have seen honda civics in a color that's similar tho..
I gave my car it's first bath last night. After a 5+ hour drive through the Columbia River Gorge the car was covered in dead bugs. UUUGGGG>>>
This car was much quicker to clean than my Impala (probably due to just being smaller). But it's got more curves than Marilyn Monroe! I've got a California blade for taking off the water, and it didn't work that great. There are just too many angles and groves and such. Sure, I don't mind, I'll just use a rag. But I was surprised.
Looks awesome tho... Just beautiful.
I'll agree though...you do have to be careful w/ a CAI. If you manage to suck up enough water, you can kiss your engine goodbye.
I said MAYBE about voiding the warranty with the CAI. I have seen this result with other makes, not Mazda though. I said it could be a possibility. Water could be another potential problem.
the only problem we have had selling the 4 cyl is the ugly hubcaps. Now that I can order alloy's on 4cyl, this will eliminate that problem...We put spoilers on alot of our 4cyl models and that has made a difference also...
That's exactly how many Mazda wanted to sell. But so far they are in the 10% area.
Oh...and there's only 1 post. Thanks for pointing that out...your input is so appreciated.
---3.9% financing from Mazda credit on the mazda6i
---no special incentives on Mazda6s
$500 college grad rebate available on any mz6 model.
Sure, they sold less than 3,000 in January. In it's second month of availability, that doesn't sound so bad. Especially when there is NO legacy helping it along. The 626 is a bad legacy if nothing else.
As long as the number does what they've been doing - growing month to month, there is no long-term problem. For the short term, it may not be as quick as management wanted, but it'll do well. The dismissal of the CEO on such short terms means little in the grand scheme. The 6 could have been and probably was a contributing factor in some degree, but CEO's normally don't get whacked like that without loads of politics involved.
As someone said - as long as Mazda stays in business and supports the car I own, I could care less if they sell one more. Exclusivity on a car this nice, in this price range would be pure icing on the cake.
I doubt that this car will end up being a failure. It's too good on its own, has seen too much good press and has an entire selling season in front of it with a factory just coming up to full production capability.
Now the hatch is another story...they've traditionally failed in America, even when they're good.
Unfortunately, this connotation got slapped onto hatchback versions of nicer cars too. Then again, they also used the same unreliable components (gas cartridges that lost their charge, poor weatherstripping, poor-fitting hatches that rattled all the time etc.). And styling was usually not that hot.
I like the 6 hatch. I like the P5. I like the IS300 sportwagon (though too costly for me). Sportwagons, I like. The estate wagon (like the Buick Roadmaster) I do not. They have a stodgy reputation, plus handle rather poorly. The sportwagon/hatch is a good compromise for me: handling on par with the sedan version, no long rear protruberance, able to swallow large, bulky packages or a couple of bicycles.
I think they're getting more popular, especially with fuel prices the way they are.
Audia8q - You would have sold alot more if the v6 5spd was available anywhere. I would be looking at one right now but I'm not paying thousands more than the car is really worth to me. Plus I'd like AWD (I know I'm just biased due to weather over the past month here in DC) but I'd at least look at the 6 again if it was available. I drove a loaded 6s manual the day it came out on the lot at fitzgeralds and I loved it. It felt like a luxury car but somehow wasn't which was a good thing. It's a wonderful car with a poorly managed rollout and a namesake that doesn't cry quality or longevity. Yes my Mazda is reliable but I wouldn't say it drives or sounds like it did when I bought it.
This car is very well insulated around every door, under the doors and in the wheel wells. My Impala had no insulation in the wheel wells. And I must say the noise from the street was pretty noticable. In this car I don't hear a thing unless I go over a particularly rough patch. While wiping out the door frames I noticed very little room around the door due to the weather stripping. A good thing, I'm sure. This should help with noise and with just keeping the car at an even temp.
New owners. do you find your brakes grip a bit hard initially? Will this ease up a bit with time?
And, unless the 6 turns out to be a lemon, I plan to drive it for a long time. I've been driving my current car - a '91 Mazda MX-6 - for 10 years. So its depreciation/value 2-3 years down the road isn't an issue for me, either. I plan to drive this car for another 10 years or so, if it's not a lemon.
I dunno - I drove the i AT model and it was quite powerful enuf for me. I'm used to a 4-cyl, so maybe that's it. But I really don't NEED any extra power than I already have - shoot, my MX-6 is quite a peppy little number! - and if all I'm trading for less fuel efficiency is automatic climate control and more hp for the 6-cyl, then I'll stay with the 4-cyl model.
If the war is short that will change. The average difference in annual costs between a 4cyl and a 6cyl is about US$140 @ $1.60 gal. and 15,000 miles.
fowler3
On the weatherstripping - after having similar stripping rub through the paint on my last car, I'd advise everyone to keep the paint/stripping interfaces as clean as possible. It isn't a 6 problem alone by any stretch. Over time - dirt caught between will abrade the clearcoat and become quite visible. Even more so on dark cars (black, gray, blue & probably redfire). Watch the hood seals as well - scratched paint and roadsalt can spell doom. I've had a hood replaced after it perforated, partially due to this.
The other neat thing about the doors is the presence of drain slots/holes at the bottom of the door. My Dodge didn't have these and I KNOW the car's body paid the price.
:-D
Everybody is complaining about horsepower. Mazda's have always been like that. How come nobody is complaining about Toyota's 190HP in the Camry and thats the V6 engine? Its a Toyota and Toyota is higher up in the food chain than Mazda so thats why they don't get any criticsm.
As far as Mazda's resale value is concerned everybody knows Mazda's resale value is not that good. People buy Domestic Big 3 cars and their value is way worse than Mazda is. I hate people who complain this car is depreciating so much. Its a car it is going to do depreciate. If you want resale value go buy a Honda or Toyota. A car is to enjoy not worry how much it goes down in value. I don't mean to be mean but I'm just saying how I feel.
On the other hand, it takes some getting used to. Not willing to? That may be a reason why Mazda has lost some sales.
Now that I'm used to it, I hate driving other cars. They feel unsafe- I press the brake what now seems like 'hard', and the brakes haven't even caught yet. These cars used to feel so natural!
I think the V6 suits the '6, too. Low torque but loves to rev = a blast to row your own gears. Give me a 6th speed.
The rear windows don't go all the way down. They're SO CLOSE! They stop just a few inches from the bottom.
I guess no car is perfect :-)