In each of the last two years, America’s auto industry reported more new vehicle sales in October than in September. Sales increased 6% in October 2013, compared with the previous month. This year, October sales were 3% higher than September’s.
For Mazda, however, October is typically a low-volume month; their second-lowest-volume month in 2011; their lowest-volume month in 2012 and 2013. October 2014 sales were particularly poor, as Mazda USA sales fell to the lowest point since October 2012, crumbling 22% from September 2014’s total and 5% year-over-year.
Clearly, Mazda doesn’t have as many new cars and crossovers to sell in October, a traditional changeover season for model years in the auto industry. Therefore, one month is not a sufficient barometer of Mazda’s U.S. circumstance.
October’s dreadfully poor total does nevertheless symbolize Mazda’s disappointing U.S. situation. Fewer than 19,000 Mazdas were sold last month as the brand garnered just 1.47% of the market, down from 1.63% a year ago. And while Mazda USA volume is up 8% year-to-date, these are actually incremental gains because of the brand’s low-volume status one year ago. Mazda may well sell more than 300,000 new vehicles in 2014 – they haven’t topped 295K since 2007 – but an 8% improvement for Mazda translates to just 19,523 extra sales through ten months.
Fortunately, new product will help, even for a low-capacity company like Mazda. The next MX-5 will attract positive attention to the brand. A new 2 will surely sell better than the outgoing 2. The 6 and CX-5 will receive updates soon, as well.
Yet at the same time, Mazda is giving up on the increasingly outdated and unpopular 5, which was at the very least an unconventional product in the United States. Moreover, the assumption that new product will most surely help is belied by the 3’s figures. 3 sales are down 2% this year in an overall new vehicle market that’s risen more than 5% and a passenger car market that’s up 1%. Year-over-year, 3 sales tumbled 6% in October even as passenger car sales grew by 3%.
It was America’s 23rd-best-selling car in October, trailing nine small car rivals from the Corolla, Civic, and Cruze to the Sentra, Versa, and Soul. The 3 is Mazda’s freshest product at the moment, but it’s generating fewer buyers than the previous-generation 3. Compared with 2012, when 3 sales topped 120,000 units for the first time since 2007, 3 sales this year are down 15%.
For many enthusiast auto writers, it’s easier to avoid picking on an underdog like Mazda, as the brand is more of a cause célèbre than a naturally sought-after whipping boy. October’s dismal results, traditional though they may be for Mazda, once again bring about serious questions: Can an independent automaker with mainstream pricing make progress in the long-term while averaging fewer than 26,000 sales in America?
Mazda’s was America’s 18th-best-selling auto brand in October. BMW’s sales were 63% stronger. Kia, which a decade ago sold at the same rate as Mazda, sold far more than twice as many vehicles as Mazda in October.
Timothy Cain is the founder of GoodCarBadCar.net, which obsesses over the free and frequent publication of U.S. and Canadian auto sales figures.
Mazdas problem is
1: their cars are ugly. Sorry that schnoz they use on their whole lineup is hideous. Everyone says they’re beautiful…most people I talk to say they look like BUTT. That and the 3 and 6 are almost the same exact car but I’ve ranted about that here before.
2: Their marketing sucks. Selling yourselves as the zoom zoom company will make you fans with people that are too young to drive or too young to afford your products. It hasen’t worked for 15 years AND IT NEVER WILL!!! THen theres the fact that the performance IS A MYTH! There’s no speed3, or speed6 anymore and all the other manufacturers offer engines with 250+ hp in their cars. Nothing to combat the focus ST or accord v6 so when you sell yourselves as the zoom zoom brand and you’ve got none….
Mazda needs to follow the path Nissan did when the 02 altima came out. Focus on all aspects of the car but give it an angle. That’s what their SHIFT campaign did and it worked great.
on a side note some interior colors other than black in the lineup would help.
Speaking of the interiors, I’m a big fan of the almond (white) leather. But it’s only available on the highest trims. Mid-trims have an optional “sand” interior. It seems people prefer black.
I will have join the band wagon against Mazda, and I have owned 4 in my life, 2 x 626, MX-6 and a Mazda6. At one time, Mazda offered more car for the money and later could be purchased used at a better price than a Honda or Toyota. With Mazda today, their pricing is the same if not higher than the competition, with no perceived advantage. My last 6 was a 2007, V-6 hatchback, which handled well, but gas mileage was so-so, and interior so-so as well. I would suggest, as a former owner of 4 Mazdas, to make the exterior more cutting edge and offer more, like Kia, with a 5-60 warranty to give the customer a little more value than the competition.
They do offer white and black interiors, so that complaint is factually incorrect.
As for being ugly, you are entitled to your opinion, but is a minority one.
I think you are in the minority with your first point, but the second point is hard to argue with. Even conceding they drive well compared to the direct competiton, it’s not enough to stand out. I doubt a Mazda6 drives much better than an Accord Sport, and the 3 likely not much better than a Focus. And as you point out, they have nothing to match up with competing V6s and 2.0Ts.
I think they could better distinguish their lineup by switching to RWD, but I doubt they have the resources to do that even if they wanted to. And there is the significant risk RWD Mazdas would sell as well as brown diesel stick shift wagons. Oh well. I would settle for doing something about the road noise. And the rust. And the non-durable yet expensive consumables. Sigh.
Boring, “me-too” cars are not a winning strategy.
The entire auto industry suffers from boring/bland at the low-end. Everything remotely interesting in the auto world is simply too expensive.
As the boomers die off, the auto industry is going to have real trouble selling melba toast appliances to gen Y. The auto industry needs to start making sexy and fun products that top out in the mid $20’s. If the auto industry can’t get young people to fall back in love with cars it will hurt the ability of car companies to sell expensive cars later.
Yes the Mazda 6 is a boring me too vehicle!! Really?
The exterior looks nice. Beyond that, it’s not particularly a standout for excitement.
The exterior looks nicer than anything else in the segment, and it drives well. It doesn’t stand out like a Jag and it doesn’t drive like a Lotus, but what midsize $22k sedan does?
If anything, Mazda’s sales figures prove that boring, me-too cars are the _only_ winning strategy, at least in the <$30k market.
Have you driven a mazda6? It sucks. Anyone who’s driven a really engaging sedan will get in the 6 and it will be a disappointment. Dissapointed with the numb steering, dissapointed with the anemic loud motor and slow acceleration, disappointed with the rough punishing suspension, all these put together make a car that’s not engaging to drive at all…it makes it an annoying car to drive…like oldsmobile achieva annoying.
As far as the styling goes….lets make an ugly schoz and ripoff the rear end of the 2011 sonata. That’s what mazda did with the 6 and 3…ugly ripoff.
3800FAN, let’s just say that you and I are both entitled to our opinions, but while the market has certainly spoken with regard to sales of the 6, your opinion as to its styling appears to be in the very distinct minority of critics, journalists, and anyone I’ve personally spoken to.
Sorry, but when I finally test drove both the Mazda6 and the Mazda3 with the 2.0 emgine, I was pretty disappointed. Neither vehicle seemed to have any power at all. The 6 was an auto as finding a manual around here is impossible. Even the manual in the 3 with the 2.0 seemed slow. Though they look similar on paper, the 2.4 Earthdreams Honda Accord seemed much more responsive, especially with the excellent 6 speed manual, which is always in stock at the local dealer. Why would anyone in thier right mind buy a Mazda6 over any trim level of Accord? Styling? The 6 looks pretty good, but the latest Accord looks pretty good too, and looks are subjective. After that it’s pretty much all Accord. Better drivetrain, better reliability, better resale and in the case of the LX, cheaper.
To me it looks like a refreshed Sonata.
You realise it came out before the refreshed Sonata (which is more like a Subaru Legacy).
Beyond me how you think they look alike.
What I mean is it looks like as if the last gen Sonata was refreshed.
And you realize new Sonata front is similar to Santa Fe, which the Legacy resembles.
IT’s more like the reincarnation of the Pontiac Grand Am,,,minus the terrible interior and reliability. It’s a car that’s designed to look fast and exciting and fun to drive…..but it’s not. It’s slow and unengaging… It’s got no power, the steering is responsive but provides the feedback of the Out Run arcade game, and the suspension is punishingly stiff. It’s also extremely loud from road and engine noise.
So yea the GA/Alero was more fun to drive than the mazda6 lol.
Silly young person. Fun is so 1990s.
Wait, yesterday we had this
Mazda 18,798 19,737 -4.8% 259,751 240,228 8.1%
YTD up 8.1%
What seems to have dragged them down in October is the CX5 which has been doing about 2000 units a month better than the comparable 2013 month only just beat October 2013. Unknown why.
“Can an independent automaker with mainstream pricing make progress in the long-term while averaging fewer than 26,000 sales in America?”
26,000 is an arbitrary figure. Also remember that most Mazda models (all except the CX9) are “world” cars and not US specific. So they have the scale globally to develop models, as they have shown in the past 3 years with the new CX5, 6 and 3 with all new chassis, engine and transmission. Pretty impressive for a small company.
You also forgot that the CX3 will be coming out next year, that will increase sales and is again a global vehicle.
Arbitrary? Mazda USA averages 25,975 sales per month in 2014.
I think his point is the following: Are 26,000 units per month the amount of vehicles an independent automaker has to sell to stay in the US market, or are you making a connection that isn’t there?
I don’t know what the right answer is. Do they need to sell 20K/month? 30K/month? Are they making moeny selling under 300K units a year?
Exactly and the answer would seem to be yes since they are a going concern.
Mazda generated losses in North America in 2010-13. In FY 2014, it had a net profit from North American operations of a whopping $11 million — there are car dealers that net more money than that.
Mazda’s operations are carried by profits made in Japan. It is not a particularly successful company, and the critical mass is heading in the wrong direction.
26,000 units is not an arbitrary figure. A company can’t sell cars at that low volume and in this price range, and expect to go the distance.
So I expect the many other car companies that sell less than 26000 per month to go and to go sooner- Mitsu, Volvo, Lincoln, FIAT
There’s certainly cause for concern with both Mitsubishi. Volvo is placing a lot of eggs in the new XC90’s basket by their own admission. Fiat and Lincoln are different examples, as neither are independent, and Lincoln obviously attempts to absorb their low volume issues by charging a lot more money. They also plan to sell a lot more cars in the future, as well.
Mitsubishi will probably be the next brand to withdraw from the US.
Volvo will hang in there just as long as its new Chinese overlords are willing to prop it up. Given their ambitions, they’ll probably absorb losses for quite some time.
Lincoln is a brand, not a separate company. My guess it that Ford will eventually give up on it, although Fields seems to have more hope for it than did Mulally.
For these purposes, FIAT is a niche brand that helps the European operations and fits within the context of a broader lineup. It isn’t like Mazda, which has a small lineup and little to amortize.
Mazda is helped by having global cars to amortize their costs. Also they have component sharing down – two engines shared between the 3, 6 and CX5. Same chassis for 6 and CX5. They seem to be pretty efficient, as they need to be. With NA production coming online will help their cost base further.
You really ought to do some math here. Last year, Mazda made about $30 per car sold in North America. Prior to that, the North American business was generating losses. They aren’t amortizing much of anything here.
Fields loves Lincoln and tried to make it better in the PAG days. It’s staying at least until he’s gone.
PCH – yes they made a small amount of money here in NA, which should be helped by having some NA production coming on stream.
Wouldn`t the sales they make in the US help amortize their costs since the US provides something like 25% of their volume and the 6 they sell here is essentially the same as the 6 they sell in other markets. Only asking, so don`t be snide please.
Mazda has little choice but to make a play for the US, since it is a small company that doesn’t produce much profit.
That doesn’t mean that the US business is good. But a car company that gets most of its profits from Japan is heading for a wall. It needs to try to expand, otherwise its failure is guaranteed. You should consider its North American plant expansion to be an act of desperation.
A longer comment was lost in the spam filter, but Mazda has little choice but to try to succeed in the US.
That doesn’t mean that it is doing well here. The numbers speak for themselves. Its dependency on Japan and its lack of success elsewhere do not bode well for its future.
Just Japan? I would say Mazda was probably the 2nd or 3rd most popular brand that I’ve seen in Thailand. I see a lot of them in China as well, especially in the 2nd-tier cities. I don’t have numbers, just personal observations.
Japan is where the profits are coming from.
Mazdas problem is
1: They sell themselves as the fun to drive car….sorry but that’s an angle that few who can afford a new car gives a shit about…and those who do are gonna buy something with real performance like a focus st, accord v6, mustang, charger, bmw, etc. The zoom zoom tagline has been used for 16 years now and it’s not working. Find a new angle mazda.
2: Their cars are hideous. That ugly schnoz they all wear now looks like butt. Auto journos rave about their styling cuz it’s different but boring > ugly. Nobody wants to drive an ugly care.
3: how about some interior colors other than just black mazda? Its just black or 2 tone black and tan. Options please.
The 6 is more fun to drive, at least by Miata metrics, than the mainstream players in it’s segment. As is the 3. And certainly the 2. And 5. And CX-5. And MX-5.
The STs, Ms, STIs etc. are special, low volume, cases. And Mazda doesn’t compete in the Mustang market.
I get the feeling the Zoom-Zoom tagline has served Mazda reasonably well by allowing them to play strong amongst the niche of people who do want the Miata of whatever class they’re shopping. While that niche is smaller than the Toyota one of people who wants the world’s quietest and most reliable car come what may, or perhaps the one who wants the most horsepower per dollar, or the absolute lowest price; it is still a sizable semi captive market Mazda has fought for and largely succeeded in winning. It’s not something they can afford to just throw away, in order to chase a market diametrically opposed who just happen to be larger in absolute terms.
As former 2005 Mazda 3 and current 2007 Mazda 6 hatchback owner I can say:
– Corrosion doesn’t help selling me another car. Nor does the refusal to fix the problems.
– a weak AC doesn’t fly here in WI, but sure not in the South
– They stopped selling 6 hatches…
– Their better driving only applies for the first few miles. Once the suspension and alignment are destroyed on US roads driving is worse than in an apliance Honda/Toyota
– large rim cause expensive tires and suck in winter. This may work for a weekend Miata, but not a daily driver. When I bought our CRV I found the CX5 tires cost $1000 vs. $500 for the CRV. In addirion every CX5 owner reported how much it sucks in snow even with AWD.
HerrKaLeun.
We were last seriously in the market ~6 years ago, in that we had to buy a new car. The Mazdas (3 and Protege 5) felt like they’d fall apart quickly, first manhole cover told me that. Then they started rusting to pieces.. Really glad we didn’t buy it.
We have Honda Fit at work and with 50000 miles they drive nicer than my Mazdas with similar mileage. And I’m not a jerky driver.
Whoever reviews Mazdas and thinks they drive nice must have complete new tires, syruts and alignment. Little costly toinclude in every oil change…..
BTW, The 6 holds up much better than the 3.
Both are MT with the 2.3
That echoes my experience with a CX-9. In addition to the many broken and scratched (faux aluminum surfaces) bits in the interior, it rides like an ox cart with 20″ wheels. I just replaced a siezed caliper. Anything that can corrode – will.
Yet consumer reports ranks them 3rd – right with Toyota and Honda based on their surveys.
Yeah, Consumer Reports… that was your first mistake
(I know you meant “/sarcasm”)
just turned over 100,000 miles on my 07 mazda3. I’m in NY and no rust and only have done basic maintenance to the car. Heck I just did a cross country trip this past summer with 92000 miles on it and no problems. The only thing I know I’ll need soon is a new clutch. But still rides great and is fun. I’m hoping to hold out until a new speed3 or speed6 arrive
I do agree that they need more zoom in their lineup though. It is lacking, but then again the cars are more about handling over straight line acceleration.
For my 3 I had 16″ winterwheels instead of the 17″ OEM and it drove much nicer with winter tires.
The stock tires were totally unusable in winter even with no hills. I lived in the mountains and driving with normal FWD cars never was an issue. But Mazda really hates the snowbelt.
on the other hand the AC sucked. So unless you live in San Francisco I don’t know whst climate this car is good in.
“The stock tires were totally unusable in winter even with no hills. I lived in the mountains and driving with normal FWD cars never was an issue. But Mazda really hates the snowbelt.”
Yes they were. I got caught out and had to drive on snow a couple times with the stock 205/50R17 Goodyear RS-As. Absolutely useless. The car was fine on studded 16″ winter tires. It’s just as slow to accelerate as any other open-diff 2WD vehicle when it comes to acceleration, but the braking on slippery roads is exceptional.
I too have learned that 205/50R17 is not a suitable size for bad roads. 215/50R17 is a much better size for the stock 17″ wheels. 205/60R16 is probably the ideal size for this car on Northern climate roads.
“In addition every CX5 owner reported how much it sucks in snow even with AWD.”
Right. Sure. You didn’t ask my brother though, did you? No.
He traded an AWD Element on his CX-5 13 months ago, and says there is no comparison. The Mazda is far better, snd we had the winter from hell this past year.But then in Canada, Mazda does sell.
What a load of tripe you and 3800FAN are promulgating – an Alero better than the Mazda6. Better at driving into telephone poles, I guess.
Here’s a far more interesting question. Why does the Subaru Forester sell so well? My brother and his wife rejected it in favor of the CX-5. Today I had one as a loaner. It was just great from 0 to 20mph, then behaved like a drunken kangeroo on our bad pavement. I put a whole 7miles on it.
Whenever I read dismissals such as yours, I just know there is a hidden agenda.
“When I bought our CRV I found the CX5 tires cost $1000 vs. $500 for the CRV. In addirion every CX5 owner reported how much it sucks in snow even with AWD.”
Did you price these at the dealer only? Tire Rack has decent, name-brand tires in the 17″ size for the CX-5 starting at $83 per tire. 16″ tires for the CRV start at $74.
The 19″ CX-5 size is uncommon and expensive, starting at $152 per tire. But if you step it up one width to a 235 – the proper size for the rim and wheel well, IMO – the selection and cost is more favorable, starting at $99.
Do any of the CX-5 owners reporting poor snow performance use winter tires? Even a Subaru WRC rally car would be absolutely useless in snow on bad tires.
I suppose I’m probably commenting in defense of Mazda because of my bias. My ’04 Mazda3 with 80k miles, which I purchased new in ’04, still drives very well – on the track or off – though it certainly has a cheap, unsubstantial feel to it. I’ve upgraded an engine mount, LCA bushings, and rear trailing arm bushings after they failed. As*de from that and a $40 MAP sensor, I’ve done nothing but fluid, filter, and tire changes. No rust, though I noticed rusty water drying on the rear fender lip a few years ago and started coating that area in Rust-Check twice a year. I do see an unusually large amount of my generation of Mazda3 with rust on the rear fenders.
Mazda apparently has a thing for uncommon tire sizes. I think my ’02 Protege was 195/55/16. At the time, the selection for 205/50/16 was much better.
As for the rust, it isn’t just the risk of bubbling or even perforated body panels; it’s everything underneath. My oil pan and J-pipe rusted through before 60k miles in MA.
Mazda?
Who that is, who that is?
No, I hear great things about the Mazda 6. The brand spankin’ new, fully-loaded CX-9 I experienced was quite nice.
Nothing about the brand makes me wanna jump up and sign my life away for another four years.
I enjoyed the likes of the 929 and the little turd that wouldn’t die, the B2000’s of the 80’s.
I miss you, Mazda. Come home soon.
The CX9 is marked down $10k at local dealers in Boise. We’re in the market for a 3-rower with an expanding family. I was thinking used but it’s a tempting deal, especially given how much more our 12 Accord is worth vs remaining payoff. We’re also looking at the a Explorer and just crossed the Pilot off our list (too noisy and cheeeep inside).
Did you give the Pilot Touring a gander?
Lots of technology there. I’d prefer it, for the long haul, over the CX-9 from a reliability standpoint.
The CX-9 does have a very nice fit and finish on the inside. Lots of cheap plastic throughout on Pilot.
The 3.5L VTEC in the Pilot is quite nice, however (once you get used to the engine running on 3-cylinders in eco-mode).
Hopefully you gave the Touring Pilot a gander. If you’re going Pilot, that model’s the way to fly.
The interior on the Pilot is plastic central. Lots of tech in there, but meh- it’s a sea of plastics, agreed.
The handling of the behemoth feeling Pilot is nothing to write home about. *BUT* the 3.5L VTEC is the sweet spot. Once you get used to it hunkering down into Eco Mode on you all the time, that engine is art, even if you can’t experience it to its true potential in that big 3rd-rower. (A little blip of that throttle brings the other cylinders back to life.)
The CX-9’s interior fit and finish feels very nice and it truly does handle much better than the Pilot.
From a reliability standpoint, Mazda’s no slouch. But you just know the Pilot’s going to be a cockroach even after the CX-9 is loooong gone.
My .02.
Oh yeah, I suppose TTAC likes my comments so much, they’ve decided to keep my first reply to this for themselves.
Do me a solid, TTAC- delete it before you post it 5 hours from now, will ya? Kindly spare me the double posts.
“A new 2 will surely sell better than the outgoing 2.”
So, they’ll move 503 units in October 2015 instead of 457 units in October 2014? Yea! 10% sales increase!
That’s 1%, but I don’t want to be pedant
46, the difference between 503 and 457, is about 10% of 457. A 1% sales increase over 457 cars sold would be 462 cars sold, or about 5 more cars.
You’re right, my bad
I’m wrong about many things, so I had to double check.
No, I just read your numbers wrong, thought it said 497 instead of 457, I’ve since cleaned my screen
Either way, it isn’t very many Mazda2s.
I would expect the new Mazda 2 to sell better with the improved looks and fuel economy.
The 2 is only selling in those numbers because the remaining inventory is being dumped into fleets.
So they’ll go back to moving 700-1000 units a month?
Mazda needs domestic manufacturing yesterday. They aren’t considered a top tier Japanese brand, so they can’t be priced the same as Toyota, Honda, or Nissan.
Short term, I think Mazda could one-up the Koreans and offer a 120,000 mile warranty. That could help some. But until they can build the 6 and the 3 in North america, the woes will continue.
Comment got et.
Cliff notes: Mazda needs North american production. Offer a 120k warranty to 1-up the Koreans. Prices have to be at least 3k less than comparable Toyotas or Hondas.
Agreed, they have just opened a factory in Mexico for Mazda 3 production so they are heading that way. Prices have been a bit higher because they are made and shipped from Japan. One reason for the high quality reports on them.
120k warranty with their rust? Not gonna happen. (Unless they write in an exclusion for snow)
They’re going to have to do something, take some kind of risk, to stand out and get people into showrooms.
My main issue with Mazda is that its cars are priced out-of-whack. When I priced a nice 3, it was $28K. WTH?! There are Cruze and Focus units with MSRP’s that high, but you can typically get them for $24K or below. The only compact car I will spend above $25K for is something high-performance, like a Focus ST, WRX or Jetta GLI…
I completely agree. I recently tested a 3 with the 2.5 & 6 speed auto for $26K. Lovely little car, it drove very well and the 2.5 compares favorably with any other non-performance engine in the class except the VW 1.8. However, I then drove a base 2015 GTI w/DSG for $27K. No comparison, the GTI just destroys the 3 for only a grand more.
If junk like nav, blind spot warning (for pete’s sake), and a goofy HUD are higher on your priority list, then the 3 is go. I’d rather spend the money on the motor.
Agreed, it does depend on your priorities. You forgot to include reliability. Mazda ranks quite high, VW not so much.
Good points. I did end up with a VW over a Mazda…but I went with something I didn’t even know I wanted until I saw it and drove it: a Jetta SportWagen TDI.
Last I looked, the Mazda3 was the 4th best selling car in Canada, almost tied with the Corolla. At times, it challenges the Civic for #1.
I would guess that Americans simply like appliances better than sporty cars. (For the same reason VW is much more popular in Canada.) If U.S. sales are a priority, make the cars bigger and blander.
“I would guess that Americans simply like appliances better than sporty cars.”
Our roads may be crumbling, but they’re still straight, wide and packed with traffic, much of it huge. No place for frivolity like “sporty”.
People stopped buying the CX-5 in favor of the 2015 Honda CR-V…Who wouldn’t?
The 3 and 6 are awful loud clunky overpriced drivers…to those who have money to buy new cars.
Who wouldn’t? People who like a communicative vehicle, with good steering feel and a suspension that is well-sorted for spirited driving on real roads. Jack Baruth, for example. Or a couple of my friends who each recently purchased a CX-5: one a mechanical engineer, the other a biology Ph.D. Car and Driver considers the CX-5, Mazda3, and Mazda6 to all be best in their respective classes. C’mon, there must have been a time when you were young enough to not want to steer a sofa on wheels.
Who wouldn’t? People who like a communicative vehicle, with good steering feel and a suspension that is well-sorted for spirited driving on real roads. Jack Baruth, for example. Or a couple of my friends who each recently purchased a CX-5: one a mechanical engineer, the other a biology Ph.D. Car and Driver cons*ders the CX-5, Mazda3, and Mazda6 to all be best in their respective classes.
C’mon, there must have been a time when you were young enough to not want to steer a sofa on wheels.
I was discussing this with a friend who drives a late model Mazda6. If there was some real competition to our single Mazda dealership there would be quite a few more Mazdas running around here. Right now our Mazda store seems not to be in hurry to deal when it comes to price (at least it seemed that way when I was buying my 2014 Mazda2). Anyway, with a metro population of 900,000 you would think Mazda would allow another dealership if it really wanted to increase market share.
One thing that I’ve recently been thinking about is Consumers Union’s POV on cars.
They are more purist than EVO, let alone C&D! Look at their top scorers and there’s only one “cruiser” in the bunch – the Prius – the rest are “carvers” either outright or relative to their class. Every Mazda is right near the top of the charts with the compact Fords. They whaled on the ’12 Civic for losing its driver focus and are even knocking points off BMWs now that they’re steer-by-Nintendo.
Are they right? They can objectively establish & quantify what they want to see – high slalom speeds, short stopping distances, hot laptimes on a tight little track in East Haddam, low roll and pitch angles, clear steering feedback (good drivers give results that agree with measurements per C&D). Should CR be recommending a little manufacturer that wants to build Miatas with varying numbers of seats and driveline configurations?
As someone who races a kart, my answer is “HELL YES,” but a car with the traditional Detroit/Korea driving feel (<1.5 hz springs, 5 deg roll per g cornering and >5 deg pitch per g braking) loses a LOT more points than can be made up in the ride and noise categories. This is how the Ford Contour, Chrysler Cirrus, and Honda Accord matched the pinnacle-of-Toyota-being-Toyota ’92-96 Camry in CR’s testing.