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Comments
3 silver metallic 6's cruising around the track. They do a nicely-controlled rear-end slide too, if you look for it early in the video. Not something I'd try on public roads though.
http://www.mindarrow.net/mazda6_2/static/mazda6_2.asp?cid=768&mid=1321
I'm just glad they're keeping the fake wood out. Fake wood, real wood, neither belongs in a car interior (or on the exterior), IMO. Fake looks cheap (so does the real), real wood invites termites and splinters (wouldn't want that on top of your air bag, would you?).
Never seen termites in a car before. The wood in Dad's old Benz always looked great. Even after he stopped driving the car while it waited for the junk man, the wood and leather remained beautiful.
Can't wait to drive one of these. And can't wait to see a review of one with the V6 manual tranny.
I have noticed that the headlights on some of the 5-door Sport models (the one shown with the body color grille) have blacked out reflectors. Pretty cool...
Or someone specific, not just "feedback@mazdausa.com" or something
He drives a P5, but would really like a 6 wagon himself.
I guess not all are in the business because they love cars.
On the model selection delay - I also can't understand the delay in bringing over the hatch and wagon. The competition *camcord* et all, don't offer any like them. So why is Mazda just bringing us the sedan, just to be like everyone else? The Hatch is IMHO the best looking car to the group, and the most practical. They will sell truck loads of them if they come in. I wonder if they read these forums...
What's the % split between the Protege sedan and Protege5?
Saab is doing the same thing with their new 9-3: drop the hatch, bring sedan first, wagon and hatch (maybe) later. Saab dropping their hatch probably helped Mazda decide to bring theirs here (less competition).
So don't blame Mazda; they are doing the sensible thing here. I'm sure they're getting the wagon and hatch ready as soon as they can. It's hard to introduce three new models at once.
My main concern is that each of the models that they do bring are done right, with few problems of any kind.
Second, the phrase "bringing in" the new cars is a bit misleading - these are going to be produced in the US factory [Flat Rock, MI?], where there is plenty of capacity to work with, unless the car becomes a sudden huge hit, in which case I suppose imports would be the order of the day. Whether all three body styles will be USA- produced is a good question, but it is my understanding that was their plan.
Flat Rock should get a lot of new Mazda 6 production, because the 626 and Cougar are heading out. Of course, now, my aunt works for Ford, and Ford seems clueless about Mazda in general. Her coworkers (all financial/corporate types) are fools. Explain to me why Ford owns Mazda again.
What Ford did do for Mazda is provide funding and force them to focus their efforts. They were trying too hard to compete for the mainstream with Honda and Toyota. Now, they're focused on a nice nitch, hopefully engendering a faithful following.
I would get the hatch or wagon over the sedan myself.
I think the biggest problem with sales people, is that most of them are just that. Not "car" people. They could just as easlily be selling toothpicks or beer for all they know about the car itself.
I went there a few weeks ago to test drive a Millenia. I had a special offer that Mazda had emailed to me for a $50 gift certificate to take a test drive. Since I was curious about the MM, I decided to go ahead and take advantage of the offer.
The first person I encountered, once I had asked for service (strike 1), seemed to be trying to blow me off because I had the special offer coupon. I got the distinct impression that he merely wanted to fill out the form and send me on my way without taking the test drive. Maybe it was the annoyed sigh and the "you've got one of those" comments that was made which gave me this impression. (strike 2) My response was that I came to test drive the car, not just for the certificate, which Mazda would not have offered to me unles I had expressed an interest in their cars in the first place. Since I probably had fire in my eyes when I said this, politely of course, he immediately backed down to try and find me a salesman. "Several of them called in today, so we're shortstaffed," he said. Not my problem, it was a Saturday and they are open on Saturdays, so that's their issue.
I waited a few minutes for an available salesman. After he introduced himself, he promptly asked "Will you be buying today?" Again, I bristled up immediately. "No," I said quite firmly, "is that a requirement to take a test drive?" "Oh no, oh no, right this way," he said. (strike 3, 1st out)
First of all, I am accustomed to the salesman bringing the car around for the test drive. Oh no, this chowderhead takes me to the back lot, opens the car door and then walks a distance away and lights a cigarette. (strike 4 and 5)
I get in and look around the car a bit and wait to see what this knucklehead is going to do next. Finally, I say, "Okay, can I drive it now?" Annoyance is rising and tone of voice is reflecting this by this point. He gets in the car on the passenger side (reeking of smoke, ugh!!) and hands me the keys. I ask if I can drive it by myself (I hate test drives with the salesman looking over your shoulder, you never get a good test that way). He tells me that it is their policy that the salesman must go on the test drive. (strike 6, 2nd out)
By now I am too ticked off to even enjoy the car and I don't even want to take the test drive now. But I went ahead and drove it basically around the block. I didn't even make a fuss about the short drive because the treatment that I received had caused me to lose interest in the car. I know that's unfair but I really wasn't in the mood for all this unnecessary drama.
I drove the Millenia S which did drive very nice for the short time that I drove it. He claimed that they did not have a P for me to drive to compare the two. (strike 7 and I'm tired of counting) Again, I was too peeved with them period to even argue. Plus, I'm just window shopping. If I were seriously in the market to buy a car, there would have been some real problems with the way they handled a potential sale.
When I came back in, the sales manager asked me how it went. By now, my attitude towards them had sunk to a new low and in my mind I'm thinking that I would never buy a car from them and I may never buy a Mazda if this is how they treat prospective customers. I told the guy that I had no idea how I felt about the car because I had such a short test drive and the salesman insisted on tagging along. I said that the only way I could get a real impression is to take a longer drive by myself, but since that's not their policy, that seems impossible. He became very apologetic as he filled out my form and said that if I were willing to make an appointment to come back, he would make an exception and allow me to take a test drive by myself. Meanwhile the salesman comes over, gives me his card and leaves without a word. I gave the manager a skeptical look, took my form and left.
I have never been treated so shabbily by any dealership, Toyota, Honda, VW, Saturn or Lincoln/Mercury. It was enough to make me think of going back to Saturn for an L-Series as my next car just for the excellent dealership and ownership experience. Even my Toyota dealer is much better than that. I was so disappointed with my experience, I started to write a letter to Mazda afterwards, but I didn't take the time. Maybe I can still do that, using this post as a guide. (sorry for the length of it, I guess I'm still a bit upset about the whole thing).
It's sad because the Millenia seemed to be a nice car and Mazda has many interesting cars for those who want something a little different. The new 6 is very intriguing to me, it looks like it could be a winner. However, because of the poor experience I had at Livonia Mazda, I'm not sure I want to try and test drive it. Perhaps I will, but probably not at that dealership. If they really want to sell some cars, they need to get their act together and fast!
I do agree that many car salepeople seem to be in the wrong profession. I guess that's like anything else I suppose. It's very sad.
You must be a glutton for punishment, ... I mean, you should have just walked out. There are other Mazda dealers in the area. None of them score high for service in my opinion. Stu Evans gave up his Mazda franchise in Sterling Heights, but there is a new "Sterling Mazda" dealer down Van [non-permissible content removed] there now. Have a look at there. There's also Bill Cook Mazda in Farmington Hills, which is of course owned by Detroit Megadealer 'Suburban Collection' whose Suburban Mazda-Subaru in Troy we love oh-so-much.
Sesi Mazda in Ypsilanti used to be in Ann Arbor, but moved east. Mazda dealers in Detroit IMO suffer from a dual set of stupidity.
(1) There are half a dozen Mazda dealers in SE Michigan. None of them are in good location.
(2) What dealers there are, aren't very cooperative. S-Plan wise, Ford makes it difficult to let you get into a Mazda.
Idiots all around. But individual dealers can be nasty, and if the Mazda 6 interests anyone in SE Michigan, it means you'll have to drive past the corner (there's a Ford dealer on every dang corner here) to find one.
Ford dealers in Detroit region are the worst. No one beats them in sales and service crappiness... and my aunt works at Ford HQ currently, 26 years running. Doesn't mean that my family gets any better treatment than anyone else. >:(
But in any case, I just got my $50 gift certificate which I was able to use at Amazon.com. That was cool. I guess if it hadn't been for that, I may have walked out. Or perhaps that's why they treated me the way they did. Sort of a catch-22.
I didn't know that there were so many Mazda dealerships in this area. I only thought that there were 2 or 3. Since I was never interested in Mazda before this year, I never checked around to see where their dealerships were located.
I agree that the few they have seem to be poorly placed. It seems that most of us in the metro Detroit area would have to travel a bit and work a little harder to purchase and service a Mazda. Then to get treated like crap when you get there. No thanks!!
That's too bad about the S-plan, that is what I had planned to use if I decided to buy one (my Dad is a Ford retiree). But I guess that shouldn't surprise me. I've never purchased a new Ford so I don't know how that A-plan, etc. works. I don't have much experience with Ford dealers either, but again I'm not surprised that they don't provide an optimal sales/service experience.
I think I will revise my post into a letter and send it to Mazda now that I've put my complaints into writing. It may not do a bit of good and I will still probably not buy a Mazda, but they need to hear from a consumer who will most likely purchase elsewhere, in part because of poor customer service in one of their dealerships.
Meanwhile, I have a new appreciation for LaFontaine Toyota in Dearborn, where I get my Camry serviced. They treat me almost as good as the Saturn dealership treated me when I had my Saturn. It seems that in order to get good treatment and excellent customer service when buying a car, you either have to buy a luxury brand (expensive) or a Saturn. That's a shame.
I still would like to test drive the 6 when it becomes available. But I won't got to Livonia Mazda this time. Maybe I'll try Sterling Mazda. That's a long drive for me, though.
Thanks for the tips!
BTW, I have heard unflattering things about Bill Cook dealerships. I think he has a VW franchise too.
Apologies to TH for slightly off topic posts. :-)
To the best of my knowledge we have never sold a car to a test drive coupon person. There are web sites set up that tell people who is offering test drive coupons and they make a hobby out of collecting free things. Sometimes I see dozens of people per day...
So, that said. I have no problem with a consumer being lured with a hand out to the dealership if they are considering buying a car, thats the point.....but almost always its a person looking for a free hand out...they take up the time of a salesperson, who only gets a paycheck if they sell cars....The test drive coupon person never shows up on a Tuesday afternoon, they usually appear on the busiest day of the week, when everyone is busy and buying consumers are all over the lot... only to whip out the test drive coupon after taking up an hour or more of everyone time, including that of fellow customers who are waiting for a salesperson...These people have no intention whatsoever of buying anything now or ever...
Most people are honest and confess they only want the hand out upfront and most dealers will gladly sign the paper without the test drive and the person is happy....
The fact that a sales person thinks spending an hour with any customer is a waste of time kind of irks me. Because the person who spends the time with me and makes my car purchasing a pain free experience is the person I would buy the car from over the typical $!@#%$&.
I went to 2 dealerships before buying my car because I absolutely hate the experience(2 being a small number, shopping around didn't happen). The first dealership had the impression that I was going to purchase there on the spot and when I said I was just shopping all heck broke loose. I promptly exited there and will never go back, ever. The second dealership was very casual, no pressure at all. Test drive was easy, no sales person drove with me. They told me a reasonable price and that's all she wrote. Guess who I'll definately buy another car from? The guy that treated me right! Repeat business, what a concept.
I know this post doesn't really belong on this board but I wanted to respond to the poopy dealership experiences.
The bottom line is that all customers are potential, there's no reason to blow anyone off or be rude. Seems like that's just common sense. But I guess in the car world it isn't too common.
Where to get a Mazda in SE Michigan?
Suburban acts like that (we don't have the time for you, go away, please). Bill Cook is actually part of the greater Suburban Collection, so that's two Mazda dealers I wouldn't want to deal with. Troy Motor Mall, Suburban Honda-Acura/Infiniti in Novi, and Bill Cook in Farmington Hills are great places to look at cars, but if they have a tough time realizing how customer service should be done, head someplace else. My dad hates taking his Miata back to Suburban Mazda (where he bought it... no thanks to their poor salesmanship) for service, but it is the closest dealer...
... except for Sterling Mazda. Drove out to Lakeside Mall a few hours ago, and hunted it out on Van [non-permissible content removed]. You're talking another fine Mazda dealer, in the end of a nice strip mall. From Stu Evans (yuck) to a standalone dealer in a strip mall.
The new 6, I would think, should you buy one from any Mazda dealer, wouldn't need as much service as, say, the new RX-8. I don't think anyone in the region has a clue on the Wankel Rotary engines. Suburban and Bill Cook probably do, but they'll charge you premo and make you bow to them before they hand the keys back over.
Metro Honda-Mazda, a couple of blocks north of Detroit city limit in Ferndale, is a dealer I don't know much about. Ann Arbor's Mazda dealer moved out to Sesi in Ypsilanti, which is a Lincoln-Mercury-Mazda dealer these days. You might consider that. Mazda have fine products (family enjoyed our MPV and my dad's on his second MX-5 Miata), but the dealer situation is suboptimal. I would actually skip Sterling, Livonia, and Suburban personally (if I was interested in buying a Mazda)... try Bill Cook and Sesi in Ypsilanti.
Anyone know if the 626 is still being produced or if the switchover to the 6 has begun?
vooch, I totally agree with everything that you said in your post. Any retail establishment should appreciate customer interest of any kind, even if it doesn't result in an immediate sale. Any contact is a golden opportunity to impress that person and they may very well return to make a purchase at a later date. Or they may become convinced to act sooner than they planned. And they may tell others about their good experience. Word of mouth is the best advertising and it can't be bought. It's just good business to treat every visitor to your dealership/store, etc., like a true prospective customer and to treat them well so they want to become a new customer.
verozahl, thanks for the info on Mazda dealerships in Michigan. If I do decide to test drive the 6, I'll probably go to Sterling Mazda based on your comments. This is what made this slightly off-topic discussion worthwhile. In the end, I now have information that encourages me to give Mazda another chance at my business with the 6 and I have a decent dealer with a good recommendation.
Okay, now I'm done. Thanks to everyone for your patience. :-)
Grrrr, "6." They should call it the "Atenza" as they do in Japan.
Rich
Not that I'd ever buy a GM car, but when one thinks of Saab, the 9-3 hatchback is THE model that comes to mind. Another dumb move by the new owners of Saab, huh?
Not sure if u know this since u dont seem to read u on Saabs but the 9-5 which was the previous 9000 had a 70% boost in sales when the hatchback was converted into a sedan form. Following the 9-5's example, with the change to a sedan for the 9-3 would mean another big boost in sales.
Not exactly a dumb move if Saab is selling more cars is it? regardless of personal opinion of the representation of a Saab car
If you are flying through Frankfurt
you can see one on display at the airport.
Looks nice
Also, one good Mazda dealer is Autobarn in Evanston IL. The sales guy I talked to knew enough about the Protege, Miata, and the upcoming 6.
Sorry for the off topic post, but wasn't the 9000 only a hatch and 9-5 only a sedan? Then isn't it possible that the boost in sales was more due to the 9-5 being a new model than the change from hatch to sedan?