Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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fowler3
Very, very much so, even from 8 to 200 miles.
I would also expect your gas mileage to have gone up a bit.
It's not unlike a new pair of shoes - at first they're stiff. As they break in, they become more comfortable and easier to walk in.
Sportssedan2:
Hmmm.. I think a fully loaded Mazda6S Auto is selling for over 25,000-26000.
Not in So cal. The loaded Mazda6 can be picked up for about 22-23k.
$20,000 I would buy a couple of them and turn around and sell them the next day for a higher price.
Not to anybody here. BTW, a base Mazda6 S has an invoice of under 20k, so one can get a 6 no haggle here for 20k.
It could be too much car for some people who do a lot of highway driving.
To each his own. The Mazda6 turns 4k rpm with a manual at 90 mph. It's not a good freeway car at all, IMHO. They need a true cruising gear on the engine.
for some people who intend to keep the vehicle for a long period of time or who put a lot of miles on per year it just may not matter.
So very true.
Honda keeps thing simple alright, pay sticker or more than sticker or bugger off b/c someone else will come in and pay what we want for it!!
Highway noise is fine up front but somewhat noticeable sitting in the back. Of course I will be driving it and the kids will be in the back, so no big deal.
Perhaps it is your dealer who orders them all with spoilers. Perhaps even, horror of horrors, they are dealer installed gee-gaws at this particular dealership?
FOR: Driving dynamics, quiet ride, quality interior, eye-catching exterior styling
AGAINST: Mazda badge, noisy diesels
SUMMARY: Forget the old 626, the 6 is an altogether different - and better - proposition.
Reliability and Quality: 5
Image: 3
Performance: 4
Ease of Driving: 4
Safety and security: 5
Roominess: 5
Running Costs: 3
Comfort: 5
Fun to drive: 5
Stereo/NAV: 4
Value: 4"
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/motoring/roadtests/roadtest_511_1.html
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What keeps this car down is the Mazda badge - if it had a Honda one, it would sell better than if the current Accord had a Mazda badge on it. In a way it's good b/c of exclusivity and better prices, in a way it's not b/c not enough people will give it a chance.
Now looking at their analysis of the 6, why did it only get 2/5 when it ranks at 4 or better in almost every category?
Dinu
fowler3
Dinu
obviously this reviewer has "H" envy >:O
In the past, higher octane fuel made little or no real difference, and if someone wanted to throw their money away, who is anyone else to tell them otherwise.
In this age, with sophisticated systems controlling ignition, A/F mixtures, temperature based controls and adjustments etc etc, it is DETRIMENTAL to an engine to use a higher octane gas. Knock sensors are put into high-octane requiring engines to compensate for the cheapness of those who put in lower octane, but less effort is put into compensating for overly rich fuel, which detonates sooner (later? I forget) leading to potentially damaging buildups in the engine.
You will find a million references on the web to corroborate this point of view, nay, fact! As well as much better explanations
Just my 2 cents (and your saved 8-12 cents per gallon)
That is 100% true. Switch the badges around on the Accord and Mazda6 and guess which one would sell?
Car and Driver said this month that Ford will rebadge the 6 as a Mercury? Depressing....
If Merucry intends to simply re-badge the Mazda6, I think it would be terrific for Mercury and absolutely awful for Mazda. I doubt, however, that this will be the case (thank god).
If I'm not mistaken Mazda has been named as Ford's Centre of Excellence for four cylinder engines and mid-size platforms. That would account for the M6 being used to underpin the next gen Sable and Taurus.
That is 100% true. Switch the badges around on the Accord and Mazda6 and guess which one would sell?**
Yep, and then everybody would be saying, "Have you seen that ugly Mazda?"
fowler3
You KNOW they would. Mazda fans would never hear the end of it.
Overall, I would say it deserves another test, along with the 6s manual (which was being prepped and not available for a test drive).
Also, too bad Mazda doesn't offer the stability control (ala Camry, Passat, and others), the nav system (everyone has that now too), and other nice features, like even the safety of adjustable rear seat headrests. That totally blows goats.
I don't live in a crowded city (or around grossly incompetent drivers as most of you seem to live around) or have a tiny garage. Even if I did, I don't think folding mirrors would even be on my list of priorities. I personally try to avoid driving with a hair's length of the next car... Not that I haven't had my share of accidents, but folding mirrors are the least of my concern with I do have one.
To restrict yourself from purchasing a car because it does not have folding mirrors of all things - thats some high standards! To each his own I guess.
My father has the tiniest garage and has two huge cars, an Expedition and a huge Lincoln, and he never has problems or complaints about folding mirrors. I don't think either has them, but if they do, I've never ever seen the mirrors folded back. He's old enough so that if he does have a complaint, you will likely hear about it.
To think Louisiana has horrible insurance rates etc. and you people are knocking off mirrors left and right... its not fair.
And really, how often do you guys have problems with your mirrors getting smashed for whatever reason? 0 for me after 10+ years.
There have been only two times where folding mirrors revealed themselves to me. Both were in europe. The first time was in a tunnel in switzerland when some guy decided he wanted to come into me. As I sped up to avoid him, we clipped mirrors. The Fiat Marea sedan I was driving had the folding mirrors. The other time was on a narrow street in Livorno, Italy and my pathfinder's passenger side mirror clipped the mirror of a parked delivery truck. Most of the time the pathfinder's mirrors were higher than the opposition.
Question: why don't they just import the hatch/wagon?? (Honda imports some 4-cyl Accords...)
I'll chime in on the folding mirrors too: I have no idea why Mazda left them off. I use them alot and will not buy a car without them. Yes, Honda released the 98 Accord without them and they were back for 99. Mazda, you should've learned from Honda's "mistake"
Question for you, Rod: How cold was it when you tried to turn on your seat warmer?
I'll keep you posted, and will check regarding your suggestions. It does not sound like it is coming from the seat, though. From the driver's seat, it sounds like it is coming from the passenger's side, and from the passenger's side, it sounds like it is coming from the driver's side. At all times it sounds in front of you- like it is emmitting from the console. The sunglasses holder (up above) could definately be it.
The funny thing- I didn't even know I had a sunglasses holder. I didn't notice it until I was poking around for this rattle! I feel like an idiot :-/
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ambull- the 4cyl engine is very fast once it is broken in. I test drove one with 8 miles, and the one I bought (now at 250 miles) has much more room to zoom. I've noticed it has quieted down a bit, too, and at upper RPMs has a much nicer tone. Well, at least up to 4000rpm- I won't go any higher. It's so hard breaking in the engine when it's begging to be pressed!
Time to go back to Europe.
Danto, it's great having an "insider" here on the forums -- I thought it was cool how you were able to give stretchsje feedback on his rattle. The only quality control problem I've seen on my 6 (I've had it two weeks) is that the passenger-side seat heat didn't work, but the dealer fixed that already.
So far, I've enjoyed having the car. One thing that seems to stand out is how nimble the car is in changing lanes -- it's so quick, it almost seems to happen before you've finished thinking about it. I've have six different cars in the last two months as daily drivers (Prelude, Saturn, Corolla, Jetta, Protege, and 6) and the nimbleness of the 6 is what really seems to set it apart. The "6i or 6s" controversy has been interesting, too -- it's difficult to really exercise the 6s without getting into supra-legal speeds. I had a Prelude with the base 135-hp engine, and it was fun to be able to run it fairly hard without things getting out of hand. But in the 6s, when that engine is coming up on 4000 rpm in 2nd gear or so (I have the MT) the car REALLY gets personality, and definitely moves out really well. I don't think you could make a bad choice, though, especially with the MT -- either engine would be fun.
Just look what happened to the Saab 9-3.
We should be glad that Mazda will offer this style only one year after the car's introduction.
The old 626 HBs of the late 80s were nice!
Dinu
I cannot wait till December to buy a new car. It was all I could do to talk my wife into June.
I hate it when marketing departments cause decisions like this to be made. :-( There's obviously no good reason the hatch couldn't come online much sooner, and there's obviously demand.
It's a shot of the front end of the new Maxima.
http://www.nissanx.net/gall/album24/maxima
Good gravy that's an ugly mother of an automobile!