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
http://www.canadatotwincities.com/buy_car.html
Can you really do this? Can you get the speedo changed over at a dealer?
BTW, in addition to units conversions on the dash, there may be safety equipment and emissions equipment changes to make.
Damax07
After that they can give people options, cause I don't want Mazda to go out of business either.
It could happen :-)
Please email me if there are any questions about the messages I've just had to remove. We aren't going to get into the issue here because it is very much off-topic.
Thanks!
I guess I'm one of the lucky ones that didn't get blind-sided by the option packages. I am willing to give up the side impact airbags on a 6s MT becuase I feel that the front and rear side impact door beams (which are standard) are more important when it comes to side impacts. The manner in which forces are distributed along the body frame during impact are far more important than side impact airbags. The forces which are transfered to the human body inside the vehicle can be more damaging and a curtain that comes down to shoulder length won't help.
Just my 2 cents.
6s Manual Transmission
-Sports Package
- Bose Package
--ABS and traction control are standard on the 6s, so 2 out of 3 is not bad when it comes to safety options.
Although I'm dissappointed with the packages, I was rather impressed with Mazda's use of Flash in its "Sneek Peek" of the 6. I was left wanting more and I still can't wait to take the car for a test drive. Of course I'm not interested in the engine. I'm excited about those heated seats!
I am also dissapointed that it is gonna be so much, but I was going to buy one fully loaded anyways. The reality is that 90% of people like leather, premium stereo, larger wheels, and side airbags. I myself dont have a problem with paying the premium on the packages as long as i get my money's worth. They had to make up the $$ somewhere and this is where they chose to do it, so live with it or go get an Accord. They came out right from the beginning saying it "wasn't a car for everyone", dont be pissed if you are one of the people it isn't for.
Mazda admits that the Mazda6 is not a mainstream car and they do not expect the common average joe buyer to appreciate it's sportiness.
Second:
It comes out with options packagin that is desgined around the average Joe buyer....and to top it off, it has brainwashed it'd dealers into believing the same story.
Why is Mazda NA contradicting itself?
Can't it stick to a policy that is uniform across its divisions?
If they wanted to make a car for the average Joe, the engineers SHOULD have designed a car that SUITS the average Joe.
Instead, they design a car that suits a very niche market....and then they try to sell it to roadside Tom, Dick and Harry who are simply looking for a car 'cause thay are in need of one...anyone.
Perhaps we should drive it before we deem it worthy of all the praise we heaped upon it?
Would it not be ironic if very few people end up even liking the thing?
Let's drive it, then decide...
and ur right.
I should drive the thing before praising it.
But the hype is what got me into this mental turbulence.
again, my gripe is that the problem that plagued the 626 is still what they are offering in the 6.
The 626 was plagued by the tranny problem. They used a 323 transmission in a much larger 626 with very bad results.
The very same combo is with the 6i Auto, which is going to attract the average Joe buyer. A protege Automatic transmission is going to be used in much larger and heavier car.
What should I expect from these bunch of morons?
u be the judge.
The proof is in the pudding. Mitsubishi has proven that you can sell mediocre cars with clever marketing. Mazda NA hasn't really demonstrated that they can market their superior cars. It looks like with the mindless configurations on the 6, they are going to screw things up again.
In their safe and secure ivory towers, I am sure they believe that no way could anything they did be the problem.
Perhaps the packages will loosen up after launch. I keep telling myself these packages were only put together this way until they get enough cars on the ground. And then I remember that I could never get a 626 with ABS without also getting a moonroof or leather. Sigh.
Looks like we won't be getting the hatch and wagon then, if that's true. Isn't that based on the 6's success?
Luckily, I don't agree with this. I think the 6 will meet their expectations since it is in its own niche. Sure, it won't beat Camcords, but it's not meant to. It'll sure get Mazda's name out there, though, and put them back on the chart. They won't have to sell many cars compared to Toyonda to quadrouple their own sales.
In a few years, overall sales had better be promising when the "6" gets a sister car under Ford.
Like the man said, "I could be wrong, but I don't think so."
It seems like that they did their market research with two teams - Team #1 identified this unfilled market segment as those people that want a sporty, affordable, mid-size sedan, and are unhappy with the other manufacturer's offerings. OK so far. Then, Team #2 went out and asked people what options they preferred. But, they didn't talk to Team #1 and surveyed ALL mid-size car shoppers. OOps!
On the other hand, maybe our detractors are right. Maybe we should all just shut up and buy Accord LX-4 automatics with steel wheels and plastic wheel covers and be happy consumers. haha
Dinu
Team#2 was a bieng lead by a NA fat-[non-permissible content removed] manager who did not believe in getting his [non-permissible content removed] out of his comfortable chair in Irvine. All he did was order the market survey dataa from a market research firm for "Midsize Family sedan" and voila....you get Toyota / Honda options on a midsize sports/ family car.
1. How much wind noise can u hear?
2. How much road noise comes into the cabin?
3. How firm / soft is the suspension?
4. How sweet does the 6 rev? does it sound like a tin can or tight and harmonic?
5. How good is the leather? is it comparable to leather or feels like Vinyl?
6. Does the dash look upscale or plasticky?
7. How "solid" do the doors appear / are?
awaiting ur answers eagerly.
Oh, and for everyone who is griping about the options. You are more right than wrong as far as Mazda should not be making a reasonably priced lower end model much more expensive just to get one option. Now, since I am one who has always liked all the "toys", it does not effect me as much, but to join in, I am not happy that the sport option forces the interior to be black only.
I like a lighter interior.
I wish getting side curtain airbags added to a car was that easy.
Chikoo - Your analysis could be more closer to reality than mine.
It would appear that Mazda NA operates almost like a sub-company...
The Mazda engineers, etc. who bring us the exciting products like the 6, the RX8, and the rotary engine are still doing their job. Other than being an automotive enthusiast (all cars), I will probably never buy the 6 anyway. My MPV and Protege do the job quite well, and when the Protege dies, hopefully the RX8 price gouging will have ceased.
I will be perfectly happy with a base RX8...just 50/50 weight distribution, rotary spinning 9 or 10K, and a winding mountain road...who the heck really cares what other options it has!!
I do think that Mazda seems to put something a little extra special in their cars, so I am interested in them succeeding as a company. My Protege is way too much fun, and even my MPV can be flung around (for a minivan)...I am just drooling for that RX8 test drive.
(Just kidding, boys and girls, just kidding....I hope...
I mean, after all, to get ABS on the five speed four cylinder 6 costs you more than $4900 than base! And those of us who have a problem with that are called whiners?)
While I also think that Mazda should offer ABS with the 6i as a stand alone option, it makes complete sense to me why they don't.
The Mazda 6i costs $19,050 and doesn't include ABS. Hypothetically, add $400 for ABS and $800 for alloy wheels (what enthusiast will keep the hubcaps?), and you're now at $20,250.
OK, many of you would stop here and call it a sport sedan. But Mazda knows better. For only $1,370 more, they offer the 6s...which includes all of the above equipment, plus climate control, power seat, alarm, and.......V-6!
Just spend the extra $1,370. Mazda knows you better than you know yourselves.
Speaking of... the 2.3l engine was only supposed to make 150hp here, not 160, because of our crappy gas compared with overseas. MazdaUSA still lists 160hp, so what happened to that? Edmund's "most significant car" column talks of the M6 to have only 150hp (and NOT torquey) which contradicts the previous reviews we've read. I know not all the reviews were wit Euro-spec cars, but will the USA production engines be as powerful? Premium gas allows more aggressive engine timings.
I personally, do want ABS and larger wheels with the 4 cyll and 5 spd combo. And with all the fuss and hype of 6 replacing Protege as "the sport 4-door" at Mazda...the combos offered definitely belie expectations.
So if I were going for the 4cyl, to get a better weight distribution, I would only want the ABS option, nothing else.
I can buy much better wheels at Tirerack and then have a set of winter tires on the factory steelies.
TB
Options packages are just another addition to the book of marketing ploys used by car manufacturers and dealers. The book with the title of "How to Increase Sales Commissions" has a chapter titled "The Options Caper".
Infiniti, among others, with its new G35 is doing it too. Infiniti offers only a few options packages, but these packages significantly inflate the price of the car. At least the safety equipment, including ABS, comes with the base model on a G35.
I have only seen one G35 on the road since the car has gone on sale. Maybe the price of options does not hinder sales, and who needs 280 hp to go back and forth to the mall? However, more flexibility in options packages...especially with ABS...could mean more sales for Mazda.
I know...this board has worn out the options topic, but I had my new car purchase down to Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and the Mazda 6. Waiting to test drive the 6, but this options situation is a pain in the posterior.
A similar situation exists on the 6s, if you try to get the SAB pkg. For the 6s-MT (base price $21620), in order to get the SAB pkg, you have to also get Comfort/Leather/Moodroof/Sport/Bose pkgs for a total increase of $3725 (total price $25345). Now, if you want the 6s-AT (base price $22520) with SAB pkg, it’s a stand alone option for $450 (total price $22970). So, the 6s-MT with SAB will cost you $2375 MORE than the 6s-AT with SAB, so I guess Mazda isn’t interested in selling the 6s-MT with SAB, either.
Since that 6i-AT will be their best seller, it makes sense that there are more option combos for it, but that doesn’t do much for those of us the want the MT. This also seems ironic to me, as the 6I-AT, with it’s 4-speed AT and less HP than the Accord, won’t be able to compete with it in the market segment dominated by Accord LX-AT buyers.
it was 'cause they used the 323 autotranny with the 2.0L engine. A poor choice since the little tranny was constantly shifting to keep pace...resulting in a burnt tranny.
What about my co-pilot seat?
Mazda likely expects that between 5% and 10% of all Mazda 6's sold will have a manual transmission. The other 90% will be autos. Anyone who thinks the manual will account for 20-25% of sales is smoking some fine British Columbia weed. It isn't going to happen.
There may be a bit if a bulge in the first few months as enthusiasts who have been waiting for this car place their orders, but after that it will sell like every other mid-size sedan in the segment. If you disagree, ask your local Nissan dealer how many manual transmission Altima's he's selling these days.
My point here is that there is a reason Mazda is offering extremly limited option packakge choices on the manual transmission models - because there is an extremely limited market for these cars.
I'm not saying that Mazda's option packages in the States are brilliant. Frankly, I think Mazda Canada got it right and MazdaUSA got it wrong - but you will be holding your breaht for a long, long time if you expect Mazda to offer as many choices in the manual as they do in the auto.
Only two things will change this. If MazdaUSA goes the route of Mazda Canada and offers very limited options or of MazdaUSA allows you to order whatever you want from the factory.
For those of you who now predict the car will be a major failure because you can't get it exactly the way you want it, I disagree. I think the car will do well.