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It's not surprising that a manufacturer wants to widen its presence in the market. How would you compare the methods of BMW, VW, Toyota and GM in grabbing marketshare? BMW seems to be cautiously expanding its premiere position into interesting ventures (the MiniCooper) and a few duds (X5); its dealers are happy because all the models bring in healthy doses of profit. Most manufacturers use the GM method to saturate the market with all sorts of vehicles to get as many potential clients in the door. Unfortunately, GM products for many years were below standard; recently that has been corrected by the Cadillac lineup but the shadow continues to hang over the general. Hence, the arrival of the GM-buster, Toyota. Toyota is moving into many product lines while maintaining its most critical consumer asset: reliability. As the latest Camry recall showed, they are not perfect. At this point they are such a power-house with so much momentum that it is hard to see how they will not become the dominant player. On the other hand, news about VW, owner of Audi and Porsche, seems gloomy. With the value of the euro and the cost of European manufacturing rumours of insolvency are now no longer limited to GM. That would be a shame especially considering the incredible progress of European engineering as seen in the F1 series this year. As to Mazda it seems to have recognized its DNA as sporty performance and value, aka the affordable BMW. Rather than trying to saturate the market like GM or Toyota I hope they continue like BMW to focus on providing excellent machines that are affordable. This formula works not only in the States but the rest of the world which is important considering the largest automarket now seems to be moving from North America to China.
Deciding who and what to be was the first step and it was a good one. Mazda's Zoom Zoom philosophy and marketing really got folks attention. In a flat market Mazda has shown some very positive things. They key is to stay on a roll which isnt so easy. Mazda doesn't need to be the everyone car company like Toyota but they need to keep the fresh and exciting products coming. This will require stretching the product line on some direction. They have done a good job with the niche products like the Speed line which has been good for us and most mazda dealers but it isnt the long term answer to increasing market share.
From a customer perspective: a) the MazdaSpeed line is a well-appreciated step up on the performance ladder similar to Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti; b) coupling exciting performance with fuel efficiency via hybridization seems like another way of generating interesting products. From my perspective, monster trucks and larger SUVs are temporary phenomena that give dealers a false sense of profitability in the short term, these products are not sustainable in the long term. Toyota is pursuing an interesting midterm direction by introducing niche hybrid vehicles at the same time that they continue to dominate the market; imagine the base Corolla and the base Camry in 2010 being hybrids with a fuel rating of 80 to 100mpg; what would the competition do at that point? I hope Mazda is thinking long-term as well as short and mid term.
Hope your sales register sings this summer!
:shades:
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I see the new MX-Crossport being able ot fill the need of a step-up from the 6. Depending on the possible option packages, it can also reach the "near-lux" area.
The trick is to expand to fill several needs while still remaining focused on the core of their appeal. And if a 3rd row will fit in the tail of the Crossport, that can fill a lot of step-up area. Never mind that it's a sporty SUV, because if the person is a repeat Mazda buyer, they're going to not only know what Mazda is about, but go in expecting the sport aspect to begin with anyway.
But they've got nothing for the Mazda6 owner who needs to move up to a truck to haul the occasional work stuff.
I think Infiniti is much further along on this than Mazda is.
I also read somewhere, they are considering not offering the next gen MPV in USA since they are not making it an "American" sized van like the Ody, Sienna, Freestyle, Town & Country, etc.... I guess they figure the mini-mini van buyer will want the Mazda 5 anyway.
It does make sense for Mazda to better order its offerings. Brand continuity seems to be the trend these days.
That comes very close to being an oxymoron. For BMW, price is well down the list of priorities. For any economical carmaker, price is well up the list.
I say there's no poor man's BMW currently. Historically, Honda a few years back came closest, with Civic Type R, ITR, ATR. Maybe Honda will give it another try.
It may sound like an oxymoron but Mazda is doing it! I think audia8Q hit the target here. Mazda is trying to offer the BMW experience to those of us who cannot afford to sell our souls for our cars. Honda is quite different. Honda's aspirations seem to be closer to Toyota in trying to be a multi-purpose solution. BMW does not portray itself as a provider to all but to the discriminating. Mazda is trying to turn that on its head by saying that we can all be discriminating if we are provided with excellent products at a reasonable price. My sense with Mazda is the last thing they need to do is go everywhere, that is to serve a generic market base. They aren't large enough or even in control of their own destiny. Rather, they should keep on doing what they are doing now : building exellence at an affordable price. Bring on the Miata, the RX8, the Mazdaspeed6, the Crossport ...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Has Mazda definitively stated what the powerplant(s) of the CX-7 will be?
What would be your ideal engine?? my dream engine would be the 3.9 V8 that is found in the Lincoln LS.
The Mazda Tribute will continue for at least a year or two beside the CX-7. A hybrid version been greenlighted (no pun intended) for Mazda.
A four cylinder turbo engine is a possbility for the CX-7, but not confirmed.
A larger crossover, based on the Lincoln Aviator (likely called the CX-9) will follow soon after the debut of the CX-7.
The new Mazda MPV will likely not be imported into North America because it is not going to be gigantic.
The Mazda2 has been greenlighted for Canada and perhaps North America. (I would prefer the Verisa, which is a hot little car).
The next gen Mazda6 will ride on a modified version of Fusion Platform (itself a modified version of the Mazda6 platform) and thus will grow in size. The wagon and the hatch will be dropped. This will be a NA-only version.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Along with the oft mentioned rotary issues - poor cold start, incredible oil use - they also had frequent software issues, warped brake rotors, catalytic converter and wire harness problems and a tire blow out that ruined the wheel as well at less than 10k miles. (I've heard Michigan roads really stink, so this may not be a Mazda issue)
I hope the new Miata does not borrow any of the problem pieces from the RX-8.
But oh, the joy of driving a rotary. There is nothing quite like it. And for all the bad stuff the long term reviews of the RX-8 have been saying in the mainstream automotive press, they all still love the car on its own merits, just hate the hassles.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
PF Flyer
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I do not think the MX-Crossport had a 3rd row, but again it was just a concept.
Mazda does have the 2.3 turbo that'll be in the MazdaSpeed and 6, but IMO the 3.5l Duratec would be better suited to its weight and size, particularly if it does get that 3rd row.
MX-5 will be reliable, I'd bet on it. The engine is based on the already-reliable Mazda3 2.0l powertrain.
-juice
1. the 2007 mazdaSpeed will be the 3
2. the 2007 MZ6 will be larger than the current altima
I wish I could get more details on upcoming products but they are doing their best to keep stuff secret.
So will it be a 1 year run, then they switch to MazdaSpeed 3 production for MY2007?
I'm not sure I'd want to see the 6 grow that big. I'd almost prefer to see them add a Mazda8. :-)
-juice
maybe it will be a repay from Ford: they can get a shortened 500 platform to be the new "8"
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Details about the drivetrain (AWD/FWD) and key specs (HP, torque, weight) would be appreciated ... thanks for the news, Rich!
ateixeira....all speed cars are one year or one and a half year runs...Mazda is planning an October Launch for the speed6
stickguy....I think you might be on to something. VW has moved the Jetta up the foodchain a bit so maybe mazda is thinking along the same lines....I think a pricier 6 allows them to expand the 3 line a bit.
Mazda could actually make a Five Hundred a little more exciting, but I'd still like to see 3 sedans in the lineup.
Nissan has 3 (Sentra, Altima, Maxima) and so does Toyota (Corolla, Camry, Avalon).
-juice
-juice
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Mazda3 is fine where it is IMO.
-juice
-juice
(sort of getting off the Mazda topic......)
PF Flyer
Host
News & Views, Wagons, & Hybrid Vehicles
The Mazda Mania Chat is on tonight. The chat room opens at 8:45PM ET Hope to see YOU there! Check out the schedule
According to me it's fine. But that's because I just checked and found out that my Mazda3 is now worth more money than I paid for it....I'm not kidding. According to Edmunds, right now, my 2004 Velocity Red 5 door sells for $20,100 as a certified used vehicle. I paid $19,500. Holy cow.
Of course, this also means Mazda simply can't make enough to keep up with demand. As mentioned on other threads, there just aren't enough 2005 models laying around to last until the 2006 models arrive. Of course, that means that those of us who financed our 04 and 05 vehicles might be able to sell them and make a profit, who knows?
Not that I'd part with my 3, mind you, but it's a thought
-juice
No, the base price I posted ($24400) is for the GLI 2.0T. There is no GLI 2.5.
I read something the other day saying that the Mazda3 has been the most successful model (on a global basis) in the company's history. Apparently the U.S. is the SLOWEST market for this model. Wonder how much that statement was just hype and how much it was for real.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)