By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Audi, is that price right or can I get better?
My daily experiences demonstrate exactly the opposite.
Mark.
Kind of like some women who panic if another woman shows up at a party in an identical (not the same!) dress!
And as for Mazda marketing, my guess is that either the higherups at Mazda or folks at Ford raised the bar on sales targets to unrealistic levels so it falls on marketing and sales to execute on it. Not to mention the poor production planning. From what I see, the pretty unrealistic targets on top of the poor planning really hurt this otherwise outstanding car.
Doesn't management know that Mazda is a niche player and caters to enthusiasts? Why doesn't Mazda stick to a specialty and do it well? I guess like any business, it has to grow for shareholders sake and the way you do that is with more models (also trimming costs, but that's the topic of another rant).
Also, if you compare the car lines of Mazda and Toyota, for example Mazda has 9 models, Toyota 17! No wonder Toyota has such a following, their models are everywhere. As for Honda, Accord is such a dominating name that it's hard to overcome. What did Burger King say at one time: We're happy being number 2... you know how much tougher it is defending first place?
Anyway, I hope that Mazda has learned from this and adjusts quickly. Next year could be a make-it-or-break-it year and if I know the car industry, the folks in sales and marketing are getting pushed aggressively to get on track.
But don't forget, Mazda6 is not only doing relatively not well in light of targets, it isn't even doing all that well compared to the 626 it replaced.
Hopefully, time will help cure this.
I just hope Mazda doesn't decide the way to combat this is to go bland vanilla again, as they did with the 626 in its later days.
I did the $35 test drive right at the end of the promotion period and got my computer backpack within a few weeks.
Is this true?
if so, I gots to come to a decision!!
or dejectedly buy whatever I can find on the lot.. which won't be to my liking.
In mid April I checked with Mazda about the status of my offer and they said they would mail it out right away. Well, its mid May and no Certificate has arrived. I hope their customer service is better on their cars if you have a real problem.
On a better note, I am going this weekend to the Rev it up event and can't wait to try out the 6 in a autocross environment.
Leather here is about the same as your quote. Why don't you look up an auto accesories place or two and give them a call. To make sure the price is in line. Also be sure to ask about warranty and what else they will put leather on besides the seats. Some places will also allow you to customize the leather (by color and embroidery etc) at no additional charge.
Mazda fanatics wants to think that Mazda should be a niche player only which accounts to just a small fraction of the total US car sales. This aint happening as they need the sales to survive and the only way to do that is at least to fix their packaging options. With all the awards it got for a short time clearly indicates there is nothing wrong with the car but how it is being marketed.
We cannot blame Honda and Toyota where they are now. Herd mentality maybe the thing, but it sure did not happen overnight. It took them years to build that kind of reputation. Something that Mazda could only hope to achieve or only dream of right now.
Things change. It just takes a while.
A Red Robin (restaurant) opened near my home about a month ago. The paper did a story about how what is basically a upscale burger place was doing over $50,000 in sales in their first few weeks. They interviewed some smaller "mom and pop" eateries (very nice bistro type food) places near the same location who reported they don't do that sort of business in 3-4 months! They attribute it to the public's hesitancy to take a risk. You can get a very nice meal for about $8-$9 at these independent restaurants, much what it would cost for a burger and drink at Red Robin, but people want to know what they're getting. They want to identify with others that eat at the same place. They don't want a surprise, even if it's a good surprise.
Hence... Honda... it's been out there and very strong for 20 years (although those first 5 or so years were rocky) and people KNOW what they'll get.
It's hard to fight that.
But then, I always try the "hole-in-the-wall" deli's and the odd Cajun place that pops up. The restaurant may not last forever, but I'll remember those meals and trying new things.
I, personally, am not a big fan of Red Robin.
What's with that??? Isn't that like having him going on "Aunt Gerty" or worse yet... MOM!!!
People, people, what are you thinking....
of course, maybe they just don't really like their car.. and you can't buy that sticker with Mazda on it.. I don't think.
As for the herd mentality, I was talking with a friend of mine about cars a few weeks ago when she said something that made me shudder.
"Honda is the only good car maker."
Comments like that illustrate the stranglehold that some companies have over their customers, and that's what Mazda is fighting.
True.
Even the folks that read car magazines (a minority) may have been turned off by the Mazda6.
Why?
Well damn near every magazine had it in Speed Yellow or Lapis Blue (and always with the sport package). This screams "sport" to some readers but it also screams "juvenile" just as loudly to others.
Mazda is in the unfortunate position of having a killer sports sedan that has to be sold in somewhat reasonable numbers to the grocery getter crowd. The grocery getters don't think twice about buying cars in loud colors and ground effects.
I think the next 2 years will be make or break for Mazda. Kia is outselling them now. The option packages need to get better. I mean this car has almost been out for a half year and still no change in option packages. Mazda must listen to their loyal buyers and they are not doing that. GM didn't listen to their buyers in the 80's and look what happened: declining market share and bitter customers.
Mazda just has to listen to their buyers. Nissan did listen to their buyers after bankruptcty and Nissan is very profitable now.
I think its sad Mazda is doing in well Europe and can't do anything in the US. A bright spot is that 6 sales have been up every month. If Mazda goes the way of the dinasour it won't be right. VW sells more and their quality is not very good with the exception of the Passat.
Mazda Motor Corp. confirmed on Monday its annual operating profit jumped 77 percent...Japan's fifth-largest automaker said group operating profit for the year ended March 31 came to 50.66 billion yen ($432.7 million), in line with preliminary figures announced last month. Sales grew 13 percent to 2.36 trillion yen.
We need less people threatening to buying a mazda and more people actually buying mazda's.
One thing to note is that the demand for the sport package is much higher then anticipated. Being that the Euro version doesn't offer that styling, Mazda figured that the mix they planned would be adequate, but it's clear that with the heavy advertising they put on the sport package, this mix was incorrect.
It's a bit easier to find now.
I've been seeing elsewhere that several people who ordered their 6's in mid-March and early, early April have now gotten their VINs and ETAs of mid- to late-May. I ordered mine March 31, so I'm hoping hoping hoping I get my VIN soon too.
BTW, the email addy is: MUSA@MAZDAUSA.COM
I don't get this sport package thing...The people who are actually buying the car, at out store and in our region, are buying the 4 cyl with premium package. We have sport pkg cars in stock and always have... I think alot of dealers were lured into false expectations when a slew of initial non-buyers created the illusion that the six is a dud unless it has the sport package. I complained to mazda from day one about the advertising and the direction it was going. It didnt make any sense, to me, to advertise to people who are not going to buy the car. We had Audi and BMW buyers in droves. They loved the car but it wasnt "enough car".....
It has a speed limiter that kicks in at 120mph. I did confirm it :-)
Mark.
I often think of this and other instances where I see people who 'mindlessly' ignore a Mazda for a Camcord. I don't think it is right to dismiss this as 'herd' mentality. I myself have to admit, I rather like the quiet and comfort of the Camry some of the time to the much noisier PRO. If you have to get the 'grocery-getting' crowd's money to make your goals, then you can't sell a car on handling. I don't know whether there is enough potential sales among enthusisasts to make their figures, but if there isn't then something needs to give.
If I'm not into throwing my car into curves at high speeds I might begin to notice other aspects of the car that the 6 does not offer.
Finally I liked the zero options per trimline strategy of Honda, I almost did not want a Camry because of it. I think Mazda should consider this, and please, if they haven't already done so, get rid of that stupid 'Zoom Zoom' song. It gives you the impression that you should be able to buy the car with saved up candy money.
I'll wager V6 sales go up after this. "Herd" mentality? You bet.
And, oh, by the way. There are many of us out here who will NOT buy a car with a sunroof. Period.
Don't make the mistake of thinking what you want is what everyone else wants. Or doesn't.
Honda takes care of this by not offering any options. Packages only or dealer installed, that's it.
it's easy for all of us to sit here and criticize Mazda. Coming up with better alternatives is nowhere near as easy.
I drive the 6s MT and yes it pulls effortlessly all the way until the limiter kicks in. This car begs to driven over the speed limit so make sure you keep an eye on the speedometer.
I'm willing to bet that if the 6 came out in a coupe version it would outsell the sedan. Maybe that's the answer to cure Mazda's ills.
Mazda just needs put some zoom in their advertising, be more aggressive, show what the M6 is capable of.
Well it doesn't matter if the sales are low or if the sales are high, I'm happy with my Redfire M6.
I agree wholeheartedly! That Zoom Zoom song almost tuned me off when I was buying a 2001 Pro. It shouted teenager! Too much like Mitsubishi's theme music and commercials that say their cars are for innercity people. No Southerner could possibly identify with a Mitsu.
A reply to the Red Robin story: a local restaurant got good response to radio ads -- as long as they ran the ads. When they stopped advertising they lost business. The restaurant is now closed, kaput.
Remember when Honda advertised: "Honda makes it simple". They offered two Accord models in five colors, stick and AT, and no options other than floor mats. But those five colors were very nice.
No "sport" colors, wide appeal.
Option packages were an American car company's ideas, which Americans grew to hate. Honda gave buyers a COMPLETE car with no hassles.
Mazda makes it difficult: Two models, MT and AT, eight colors of which three are sport, and screwed up option packages which have nothing to do with each other, i.e. safety, premium, and sport.
On top of this they offer a beautiful small car to replace a larger, beautiful car, the Millennia, and the 626, which wasn't selling. How many Millennias have you seen with spoilers and GFX? How many BMWs have you seen with spoilers? They are sport sedans!
Mazda is screwing up the definition of "Sport Sedan" in their marketing. It took decades to get the concept across to American buyers. It's suppose to be a transparent secret as in the BMW cars. Not NASCAR-style add ons.
All those BMW and Audi buyers who test drove the 6s and rejected it because..."it's not enough car"? What's missing here?
Mazda has confused the few prospects who responded to their initial ads and those who looked deeper. IF they had introduced the 6i and 6s as family sedans and also brought out the 5-door hatch as the sport model, with seperate color options for each, their sales would probably be higher. And the wagon introduced in 2004 as an alternate for utility buyers. As it is, they are selling a suit, but the buyers will have to wait until next year to get the pants and the vest.
fowler3