Mazda6 Sedan

marchhare

Well, I think I'm red-green, and I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but the red lights aren't easy to read for me. Are there after-market things to change the color, do you think?

vocus

I know most cars on the market have the availablility of those aftermarket gauges that are like 5 different colors or something. I used to see alot of them on EBay, but I think demand has died down because it's been awhile since I have seen them.

I have a Jetta, and love the bluish lighting on the dash, combined with the red for everything else. I have driven 8 hours behind these lights, and they never became hard to read or hard on the eyes for me.

markjenn

Here's a good site on color blindness. I'm moderately red-green colorblind which causes a few problems now and then, but overall it is not a big deal. I've never noted anything on a car or driving that caused any problem.

http://www.toledo-bend.com/colorblind/index.html

- Mark

mazdafun

The theory is that it also has the minimal impact on night vision. People usually are most sensitive to yellow-green light. Blues (especially when going towards violet) are also difficult to see.

Try it with LEDs of the same light output (mcd) and intensity and you'll note the reds seem less bright than green and yellows. Orange also seems fairly bright, though not as much as the green ones.

chikoo

1.8L, 2.0L and 2.3L on the UK!!!

Holy mako!!

chikoo

http://www.mazda6.co.uk/upclose/gallery/ipixdetail.asp?id=1226&title=Mazda6+4dr

chikoo

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the_north_east/autobytes/m/mazda6.html

chikoo

http://www.gearwheelsmag.co.uk/milestones.htm

.....Tried in the damp but imposing hills of North Wales with its twisty roads and steep inclines, the Mazda6 proved lively, quiet, easily handled and enjoyable. A six-footer can sit comfortably behind one of similar build.

Mazda's UK marketing director Rob Lindley told us, "We designed a little of the Mazda MX-5 sports car into every Mazda6 derivative - a great handling car with a sporty feel, but which is a practical and functional car. Why should sports car drivers have all the fun?"

meesr

Saw a blue Mazda 6 running around here last week. I confirmed it by driving by their R&D facility and saw a few parked deep in their garage facility there.

They also got a few Mazdas that look like they were banged up for engineering data out back too.

alternator

namely :

http://www.mazda6.co.uk/upclose/gallery/ipixdetail.asp?id=1226&title=Mazda6+4dr

I found that even better than the images were the in-depth interviews (very, very interesting!) and the 6-page brochure you can download, and the "complete specifications" that can also be downloaded. Really great stuff!

Don't miss this if you have a real interest in the Mazda6.

maltb

The banged up ones are employee leese vehicles that were totalled in everday driving. They usually end up as donations to schools as training aids.

So I hear anyway...

meesr

......... those cars out back look like complete total losses!!!

adu1

Could they be the vehicles used for federal crash testing? I don't know how that process works.

alternator

is now the "accepted" term for so-called color-blindness. I have the common red-green deficiency, but have always had well above-average "night vision (contrary to the accepted idea that such deficiency hurts night vision).

One thing that does bother me immensely is that car manufacturers persist in using color indicators on switches, rather than some other observable "on/off" clue. Specifically, they use push-on/push-off buttons that stick out a little further for "off' than they do for "on". But the "little further" amount is not nearly enough to be readily seen while your attending to your driving. Aren't any car engineers color-challenged?

wishnhigh1

Well...it is a little hard to accept, and I would be pissed off too, however you are a very small minority. The automakers build cars for the majority. An aesthetic(sp?) preference to the majority is more important to the automakers than a rather significant beef from a minority.

My brother was complaining today about how cars should come with a left foot gas option for left handed drivers!

alternator

I'm only asking that they maybe extend the "out" position of the buttons by 1/4", and add a white or yellow line on the side of the button so that "on" or "off" can be readily seen without the "color clue" from what is usually a tiny and dim bulb (surely that would not be an aesthetic eyesore). And do you feel that 8 percent of our male population is an insignificant minority?

My solution is obviously not the only answer. But not dealing with this very real problem is, I believe, just dumb, dumb, dumb!

alternator

re "northeast england" web site you mentioned:

The reviewer says the Mazda6 "brakes as quickly as a Porsche Carrera" and (get this!) has a "RORTY" exhaust noise. What more could one ask for?

alternator

By "white or yellow line on side of the button" I mean the button should have a white side that would not show when the button is depressed.

wishnhigh1

Yeah I see what you are saying, and it wouldnt be too hard. However the trend right now is digital toggle controls. They are much more reliable and typically higher quality, because of less moving parts. Just a rubber flex button underneath the plastic button.

Look inside any digital keyboard and you'll see what Im talking about.

There probably is some kind of compromise, maybe white backlighting when the feature is on, but no lighting when it is off. Possibly they could give you a toggle for guage control colors, like to switch from red to blue or white. Personally I like white backlighting because of the higher clarity. Red and blue lighting gets too fuzzy.

And, yes, to an Automaker, 8% of the population is nothing. Hypothetical situation: Automaker builds a car with expectations to sell 1 million US units before redesign. That is 2% of the US population. 8%x2%=1.6%. That would be insignificant, especially considering that even most colorblind people will not make a decision on a car completely based on colorblindness, because they do get used to the controls by feel.

bean3422

http://www.goonish.com/atenza/read.php?TID=41

This is a forum that comes from the www.mazdaatenza.com website. If you go there, you can link to the forum for a lot of other pictures.

Have Fun!!

ashutoshsm

Well, if 8% of the population is colour-blind (or vision deficient), then you can't really multiple the target (2%) by 8%.

All other things being equal, 8% of the buyers of a car will also be color blind - there are no reasons for the stats to change when you consider a smaller sample space.

So, I guess I'm saying that such a large percentage should not be ignored! But unfortunately I don't make decisions for the car manufacturers. Or we'd have a much better set of cars on the road, huh?

silvercrown

Yesterday evening, I saw a white Mazda6 going west on the I-96 expressway. There was no dealer plate, temporary tags or any other identifying characteristics regarding its origin. I wasn't near Flat Rock, but maybe that's where he was heading. I couldn't really get a good look at the driver. No surprise at 70mph. He was traveling very fast in to my left and it was hard for me to keep up in rush hour traffic. Of course, I gave it the old college try until my exit came up and I had to quit stalking, I mean following him. Dang!!

I almost crashed trying to get a good look at it. LOL Boy was it sweet!!! From what I could see of it anyway. Even in white (one of my least favorite car colors) it was very sharp. Very clean and sporty with a rear spoiler. From the front, it looks like a Protege, but as it drew alongside me, I could see it was bigger. What a beautiful car!! I can't wait to see it in person. If only I could see my way to getting one next year. ***Sigh*** Well, perhaps a miracle will happen .... ***Heavy Sigh****

marchhare

Well, maybe my blaming the color-deficiency is not the problem and I just don't like the red backlighting. I hear that it's meant to be "sportier" but I rather prefer a more 'cool' tone to the guages.

taddison

Red might be considered "sporty" or whatever, but it's also apparently the color that affects night vision the least - aircraft panel lighting is red for this reason.

Has anyone seen car manufacturers touting this safety issue as a reason for going red, or is it just a style issue for them?

mazdafun

I think Saab tried that and I believe Lexus mentioned it a couple times for the IX300(?) sport sedan.

Not that it matters for most drivers. Why not go in the middle and use orange? More visible than red and less likely to affect night vision than green? Oh yeah, looks like pumpkin.

Still, I like both orange and green. Never liked red. Too difficult to see, especially after I've been blasted with mis-aimed HIDs.

ickes_mobile

As discussed when a number of white '03 Accords started popping up, white is used as a test color on pre-production cars so that its easier to identify any flaws or damage that occurs during the assembly line setup.

capitano

is OK for me. My old pathfinder had that and it was fine.

I wonder how much time designers spend on this aspect of the car. Do they have marketing folks that can identify trends?

maltb

Usually, there is an advance planning group that studies long term trends and then a product planning group that fine tunes a vehicle. They read alot of what goes on and what is said about a car but rely more on surveys and focus groups. It would be nice if they spent more time in these forums but unfortunately, us car nuts are not always an accurate cross section.

white951

Those pictures on the Spanish site are AWESOME!!!

The basic styling sort of says Lexus IS to me. Is the 6 similar in size to the Lexus. I can't wait till they get here. Timing should be perfect for when my wife replaces her car.

pat

Have everyone seen Christian Wardlaw's recently posted First Drive of the new 6?

In case you missed it, you can get to it via the Helpful Links box on the left sidebar.

kenoka

A lot of people have commented on the similarities between the 6 and the IS300. Heck in Japan they even have similar names: Atenza and Altezza. The C pillar, taillights, and wheel arches are all reminiscent of the IS300. However if you look at the previous generation 626 you'll see even more similarity. So the 6 owes most of its design cues to its predescesor.

capitano

Don't know how I missed it. Thanks for pointing it out, pat.

Back to the gauge tangent.

I must be getting crotchety in my middle age because I used to not pay attention too much to the gauge design. Now I find that most set ups are fine, but there are a few that I find annoying. The new mini's speedo in the center irks me. It reminds me of the Renault Twingo sub compact sold in europe.

The Altimas gauge pod thing is another one that is not appealing to me. The Mazda6 could win on this point alone. Oh, yeah need to see where the fuel door release is. On the Altima it just pokes out of the carpet like a worm. My 4 year old civic has a better arangement.

ickes_mobile

It seems to me I have read that before somewhere. Some of the info is outdated like the reference to possibly changing the trim designations (we know that DX/LX/EX is gone in favor of i and s). Besides, the drive is from the press preview in Rome, where everybody has already printed their impressions. I'll have to think about this some more...

verozahl

I haven't seen any 6's in the Detroit area whatsoever... like the other guy above, you must have been blinded my HID headlights and convinced that a pimped-up Protege was really Mazda's new sedan! >;p

I suppose the "6" could be described as a bigger Protegé, but, that wouldn't do it real justice! Now, when it comes to Camry/Corolla, I'd have no problem insinuating (or merely stating the fact) of such a big brother/little brother relationship!

Unless one wants to go to Lansing, Detroiters have all of six choices in Mazda dealers:
1) Sterling in Sterling Heights
2) Suburban in Troy
3) Bill Cook in Farmington Hills
4) Metro in Ferndale
5) Livonia in Livonia (where you live, silvercrown)
6) Sesi in Ypsilanti

and I don't know where the best place to find the first "6" would be. Suburban or Bill Cook, I'd say.

Yea, Altezza and Atenza are probably long-lost cousins.

vocus

In that review, they said something about the "DX/LX/EX". Well, it was "ES". "EX" is a Honda designation, not Mazda. Just thought I would point that one out..

dabtij

I don't know if anyone else has seen this, but ESPN.com is having a sweepstakes giving away a brand new Mazda6.

Looks the advertising machine is gaining steam...

chikoo

how good is the build quality of the 6?
is it as good or better than the current Accord EX?
Note:
For me the Accord is the benchmark in this class for build quality.

magnetophone

I believe it's the Passat, not the Accord.

verozahl, you mean there are no Mazda dealers in detroit proper?

ashutoshsm

http://www.velocityjrnl.com/jrnl/2003/v2kmdl2867mult.html

Maybe this has been posted already, but nice hi-res versions of all 3 cars.

I'm not sure if this is the NY Auto Show - I was there, and the layout looks familiar, although I don't remember seeing a silver one on the pedestal then.

ashutoshsm

To my untrained but sharp eye, the build quality exhibited absolutely no flaws.

I sat in all three avataars, in front and back, tried the impressive seat fold back (koo-koo-whatever), popped the hoods on a couple, tilted, raised the seat etc, and took a careful look at the dash and gadgetry. I came away very impressed!

vocus

They are from NYIAS. I remember the yellow Pro5 and silver ES that were there. And that pedestal was there too, I have a pic of it somewhere.

ashutoshsm

... the pedestal there did not have a Silver Mazda 6 sedan on it. It had the cross section cutout (in half) of the red sedan. And the layout of the wall behind the sedan doesn't quite look right. At NY, they had an info desk back there.

The colors of the three 6's and the two 3's (Proteges) are the same, though, as is the location of the Ford section in the background. I imagine Ford and Mazda always share the same area of different auto shows, and they bring the same vehicles along for a bunch of shows.

silvercrown

verozahl: My comment about the Protege was not to say that the 6 is simply a bigger version of it. When I saw the 6 in my rear view mirror, it did resemble the Protege from the frontal view (in the quick glimpse that I took). Also, I wasn't expecting to see the 6, so the next best assumption was that it was a Protege. Once I got a better look, I could see that it was a different car, bigger and different styling. From the front view, though, you can see a "family resemblance" to the Pro. I could tell that whatever vehicle it was, that it was a member of the Mazda family.

Having said that, however, I don't think that any reference to a Protege-like appearance is an insult to the 6. The Protege is a handsome car and is impressive in its own right. And so is the 6. Plus, there are much worse comparisons out there. At least this one is understandable. And it's still very positive. It is not my intent to detract in any way, from the very promising characteristics of this brand new model. The 6 is an awesome car no question! Especially if it delivers what it promises. And I think it will.

Interesting that it was white in color. Ickes_mobile made a point about white being a common preproduction color. I'm sure that's what this car was, especially without any plates on it, not even mfr plates. In fact, that's what struck me when I got my first glimpse of it behind me, that I'd never seen a white Protege. I'm sure they exist, but I'd never noticed one. As it turns out, that wasn't what I was seeing anyway. :-)

magnetophone: It's sad to say, but there aren't too many major businesses in the actual city of Detroit period. Especially "foreign" car dealerships. There are only a few domestic dealerships within the actual city limits. Most dealers (both import and domestic) are located in the outlying suburbs, some closer to the city than others. Of course, you'll still see more Ford, GM and Chrysler dealers than anything else. Although there are a lot of Toyota dealers in this area too, Toyota probably has the biggest import presence here.

Well enough of all of that. I'll be keeping my eyes open for other sightings of the new Mazda 6!! I can't wait to see one in that beautiful blue color up close.

tomcat630

Is the Flat Rock plant in "retool" mode yet?

white951

I just looked online for events at the bayside Expo center in Boston, which is where they have the car show every year. They listed 2 mazda dealers who would be at the show. Seems loke alot to me. Anyhow, I called the local dealer and asked if the 6 will be there, and he said yes it will.

magnetophone

That's what I gathered. Detroit could use some serious urban influx...the suburbs seemed pretty and all, but had no real charms. The inner city could really spice itself up like Chicago. Then again, Chicago has a much more diverse industry base.

Someday, the automotive industry won't be enough for Detroit. Something tells me it's already not enough as it is.

ashutoshsm

Now that the comparison board has been closed, thought I'd mention this here

Honda will offer XM as a dealer-installed option

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl

?ACCT=KTVB_AUT.story

&STORY=/www/story/08-28-2002/0001790702

&EDATE=WED+Aug+28+2002,+09:02+AM

(combine the four lines!)

Mazda, on the other hand, only provides Sirius as an option!

carspy01

The German weekly AutoBild reported today, that the complete allocation of Mazda 6 sedans for Germany for this year is sold out (1.8l, 2.0l & 2.3l). Mazda issued delivery times already. Germany is MAZDA's most important market in Europe. Hatchback not yet delivered to dealers over there, wagon neither.

mazdafun

That antenna better be good or your radio station will just drop out.

I think I'll stick with analog. Cheaper.

mazdafun

Isn't white the first color layer they put on top of the primer coat (check the next sizable stone chip in your paint)? Maybe they just skipped the other color layers for the pre-production samples?