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Comments
The Sepang Green is an amazing color. I can really emphasize with the pain you must be feeling over the 2+ month wait. I ordered mine at the beginning of December and had to sit tight until mid March for it to arrive. I was ready to break the deal after having waiting an entire month past the ETA! Nonetheless, i can say hands down that it was truly worth it. The car just keeps getting better and better as it loosens up!
I, for one, would not want to be in an accident and wonder for the rest of my life if I had been able to stop in time were it not for the shields. Some plaintiff's lawyer might help me do that wondering.
For me at least, I would much rather see a little stuff on my front wheels than to not be able to stop in time or to have to replace my brakes much more frequently.
Stuff on front wheels seems to be a long standing Ford problem. My 1989 Taurus did that, and horribly so. My GM products since have never done it. Nor did the Maxima. My Chrysler products did a little.
Are other Mazda6 owners seeing this a lot?
Mark.
Don't bother- I'll say it for you. Brake dust on the '6 is so bad, it's funny. Really, I look at the wheels in disbelief and laugh.
The car sure does stop well, though. While different brake pads would surely fix the dusting problem, I'm actually so happy with the brake feel that I'd get similar pads again.
anon - some of us really did miss you. We didn't have anyone to remind us that we should buy the 6 because not enough other people are buying it. Thanks for bringing us back to our senses.
Lapis_blue: I realize you were only trying to point out something that I may have missed. Which is cool, I appreciate it. Believe it or not, even before I read your post, I was wondering if I could live with the black leather interior with the sports package, for the sake of having the SAB/SAC option, if the wheels could be swapped for 16s. My order won't officially go in until tomorrow, so it could be a possibility. I just don't know if the black leather will ever "grow on me", even though I really would like the extra safety of the SAB/SAC package. So I had thought about it. I guess great minds do think alike. :-) It's a shame that Mazda made it so hard to get what you want on such a great car.
Mark.
What do you think of the "Sport Grill." I was thinking of installing one on my Steel Grey 6s. I don't have the "Sport Package", but I really like the optional grill. I don't care for that chrome strip under the hood lip.
Mark.
are you sure the gear was not in Manumatic mode and the saleperson was a moron?
Silvercrown, Congrats on your selection. I also like the sepang green with beige leather. Very Luxo upscale look.
AudiA8Q, Can I order a Mazda6 with the following options:
Mazda6s Manual
Sports Package
Sepang Green
With Beige Leather
Please do respond.
I like the sport grill. Since I have to order to get what I want (6s-MT with only option SAB/SAC pkg) I'm leaning towards just ordering it with the car. But, you can also put it on later for about the same cost.
Otherwise, you could just get the chrome mustache painted like stretchsje did, which isn't a bad look either.
Australia doesn't offer the V6. Looks like they had better.
btw...I agree the Sepang looks great with the tan interior.
Rich
The standard gauges are white on black faces during the day and glow red at night. The center stack display, controls on the steering wheel, and HAVC buttons glow red whether the gauges are standard or Optitron.
fowler3
ummmmmm......that's a BIT of a stretch.
Nice theory but I don't think so. My wife drives her 6i like she has an egg under her foot. She is as unagressive as you can get and her front wheels are blackened with brake dust after 3 + weeks. Back wheels are clean.
http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosinsider/0305/12/autos-161871.htm
I would:
1. Simplify those confusing option packages and emulate Honda, which means zero options.
2. Make the 6 a price leader and promote it aggressively with incentives.
It's a shame that such a terrific car is in trouble, but I attribute most of it to lousy marketing. Same problem with the Protege, IMHO.
It takes about 10 min. There are two screws at the top, and four clips at the bottom on the inside.
You could also have a body shop throw it on for you.
It really completes the car IMO. I don't have the Sport Package, but actually prefer the cars lines without it. I think Steel Grey is a super stealthy color. I love the way the color shifts in direct sunlight.
Again, super choice!!
Dinu
Mazda lost allot of owners in the early 90's to Honda and Toyota, and the "Herd" mentality is firmly planted in them.
The important stat is that although sales are low, they are increasing each month.
Nothing of value is ever easy. But then again, maybe a little more cash in the advertising budget could be of assistance.
It's so hard to overcome this "herd" issue in the automotive industry.
Here in Canada I seriously doubt the picture is any rosier as far as the 6 goes. The Protege remains VERY popular though and the B-series is according to Mazda Canada the best selling import truck.
I also think that after all those incentives in 2001-2002 and so many new sales records being set the market is getting saturated. With the US economy in a DEEP hole, people will realize that cars do run just fine for more than 4 years, hence a decline in car sales now and possibly in the years to come if the US administration doesn't do anything to stimulate the economy.
So when we live in such an economic climate, people might find some comfort that at least 300.000+ other individuals bought the same car they're driving, thus perhaps justifying their purchase further as a "safe" purchase.
Unfortunately, in this type of climate Mazda looses as they're different than others. If they could only do what Nissan did...
Dinu
Last night I talked to my friend and I told him that I bought the Mazda6. His response was: "Is it an SUV?" Mazda must be doing a horrible job advertising this car.
Mazda, on the other hand, has come off a few years of some rather lackluster products, and furthermore is trying to penetrate a niche. A niche, in my experience, requires some heritage. Mazda has some great heritage, but not that the public knows about. Instead, the public knows about the bland 626 and dwindling Millenia, or only the Miata... which is made by who again?
So I called my salesman today and discussed my thoughts. The sales manager told me that I had until Thursday to change my order, so I decided to come in to test out the ride of the 6 with the sport package for myself. I had never even tried it, because I dismissed the idea based on what I had read and the fact that I didn't want a harsh ride. It occurred to me that I was doing myself a disservice to discount the "feel" of the sport package without trying it for myself. Especially since I like the "look" of it. I was relying totally on reviews and the opinion of others, instead of judging it for myself.
I drove the sport and non-sport back to back and I really didn't notice a huge difference in the ride. I may have felt the bumps slightly more in the sport, but I really couldn't tell. It was not the drastic difference that I thought it would be. Plus, I really liked the gauges in the sport model. Very, very cool.
About the black leather, I'm still a bit wary. The beige leather is gorgeous, looks "richer", and seems softer, but that's probably very subjective on my part. However, I think that the black interior may be easier to maintain over the long haul and it looks better with the titanium dash.
I even made a list of pros and cons to help me with this dilemma. (Yes, I'm anal, I know) It was pretty much even until after I took my test drives. Then the scales tipped in favor of the sport package. A big part of the appeal with that is the fact that I'll be able to get the SAB/SAC option, which is important to me. I hate to give up a safety item for cosmetic reasons.
The sales manager said that I should have higher resale value with the sport package because it's so popular. I don't know about that, but in a way, it makes sense. That's not a big issue for me, though. I'm more concerned with how the 17s will operate in Michigan winters. Any feedback out there?
So, for slightly less money, I'd be getting a few more options, particularly the SAB/SAC option that would give me extra peace of mind. I always regretted that I didn't get the SAB feature on my Camry. Not that I've needed it so far(thank goodness) but I often wished that I had gotten it for additional security. But that option was hard to find then, and I needed a car fast, so I went without it.
I know I probably sound a bit schizophrenic, but this is actually making sense to me. If I can adjust to the black leather, I'll be able to have everything that I want on this car. It may be a worthwhile compromise. Plus, I no longer think that the 17s will be a problem for me. Hopefully, I'll still be able to place my order, after reading that article posted today.
I'm going to sleep on it and see how I feel tomorrow. Thanks for letting me "vent." :-)
You can't blame car buyers for not wanting to subsidize Mazda while they try and figure out how to market and sell the 6. I don't know one person from my work associations, friends, or family who owns a 6 or is even interested in one. The Camry and Accord are very well represented though.
Well, that is a very subjective matter. At least you gave the 6 a chance before you made your desicion.
I kind of agree with stretchsje about the herd mentality. Many people who buy the Accords or the Camrys do it because of the reliability and popularity of these cars. The problem is that the majority of these buyers do not even visit a Mazda dealership, better yet they don't even know about the Mazda6. Mazda has been making great cars for enthusiasts like ourselves (with the exception of the 626). Mazda has a great line of cars right now. Hopefully with the introduction of the RX8 the Mazda brand would get more exposure which might help the 6 sales. I consider the launch of the RX8 a second chance for the Mazda6. Time will tell.
The Altima was in much the same position as the 626 was but power and size are easily identifiable to consumers and hence it became successful and took a large bite out of the market.
But no one expected the 6 sales to be this anemic. Maybe it will be the car equivelant of the 1st Austion Powers movie, which did lousy at the box office but had a rebirth on video thru word of mouth. This led to subsequent huge box office #'s for the next 2 films.I know it's a lousy analogy but I'm trying to find a silver lining.
On another note, did anyone watch that European Honda Accord ad i posted? What did you think?
For any of you that missed it, here's the link again...
http://onlinetonight.net/images/hhonda-ad-300k.swf
For once I like a car by Mazda that is midsized, sporty, roomy and available with a v6 and manual. What does Mazda do?
MESS WITH THE OPTIONAL PKGS!!!
I don't care about the Sport pkg., I want every other option except it.
What Mazda should do is copy Nissan. Last year Nissan did the same stuff Mazda is doing now. For 2003, Nissan grouped things in option pkgs. This worked out better than the single options with the "Have it our way" policy.
I don't understand Mazda. The 6 is available in Canada with the 17 inch rims without the sport pkg., but here we have to get it in order to get the rims, or pay a high price from the dealer.
Once Mazda straightens this mess out, I might buy one. But if Nissan gets the interior of the Altima right for next year (It's getting the LCD screen from the Maxima I hear.) I will get the Altima. I really do like the new 6 though.
They could have spent their ad money on giving away $25 or $50 gift cards with a test drive, potential customers would have found out about the gift cards through deal sites and word of mouth. I would love to know the percentage of people who test drive the 6 compared with those that buy one. My guess is that it would be fairly high.
As far as options go, I would go the route of Hyundai. Give all the basic options without having to a la carte a freaking options package. Maybe Mazda does not have to go the warranty route that Hyundai uses, but it would not hurt. I quite wonder if the Sonata is outselling the 6 (yes, I know the 6 cyl engines have much less horsepower and are 5 grand cheaper).
I did the $35 test drive offer months and months ago and never got even a nickel. Anyone else?