always on the look out for Mazda2 news i found thewse stories this evening on Autoblog-

first Mr Imaki hinting that they are still mulling the possibility of bringing to the US. I think that him making this statement to teh press is his way of pushing at parent ford to let Mazda bring it.

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/09/mazda-still-mulling-over-mazda2-while-honda-dealers-clamor-for/


and then there is the Mazdaspeed/MPS version

http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/04/jdm-only-mazdaspeed2-in-the-works/

See the Demio (Mazda 2) SPORT for the Japan Market, the two pics in Gray/Black and Deep Blue.

Also see the Gold Looking Mazda 2 (I think it is actually the Lime Green duco with a change in lighting).,But there is an actual Gold/Yellow paint option listed on the Mazda Japan Demio website...a COOL Colour for the RX-8 maybe??

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

WTF? that is so much better looking than the yaris. why the hell would they choose NOT to market it here?

smells like ford nonsense.

230hp! what's that thing weigh - 1500? Can you imagine how bad it would suck to get pwnd by a SC Mazda 2!?? ouch.
:lol2:

they REALLY should bring this here. I'd take that over a Yaris or a Nissan Versa in a heartbeat

+1 much better than the current crop of sub compacts, except the Cooper.

I think its more of a resource issue than Ford telling Mazda not to bring it over. Mazda is streched so thin as it is with the launch of all their cross overs and the new Mazda6, finding resources to sell the car might be tough. They tried bringing a car over once with little marketing support for an experiment (Mazda5) and I don't think it sold well at all.

There is surely demand for the car, but to sell it in meaningful #s they have to be able to spend the marketing dollars to get it noticed.

NEW mazda6? Damn, I gotta get out more often...

yeah Jorge we're just waiting for the unveiling of the new 6 in Frankfurt in October. sales may start as early as November in Europe.

and whether its Ford holding them back(which i think is at least part of it) or lack of Marketing funds(which i also agree is part of it- the Mazda5 is actually helping to drive the Increase in sales for Mazda with very little marketing) the fact is Mazda is not reacting fast enough to the US Market. They need to be able to change gears quicker and move some of these into the states.

Honda's Fit is completly dominating the market to such a point that they cant put enough of them on the lots. thery are selling out every one they make even after increasing output to over 54k total they are still running short in the US. clearly Mazda could easily become the no 2(pun intended) in this segment.


found a Wall Street Journal Article with more from Mr. Imaki
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118365877088258253.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

However, Mr. Imaki said after the news conference that a possible launch of the Mazda2 in North America could conflict with the company's Mazda3 subcompact.

Clearly that is a wrong assumptuion. No one is cross shopping the Fit and Yaris with the Mazda3.

I can't even fathom how that car would feel to drive, 230hp in a car that size would probably feel like you were being dragged by a rocket.

I read a thread not too long ago about Mazda dropping a 300 hp 6-cylinder in their new cx-9 I believe. Well any news if they're dropping that in the 6?

very cool, i think it would probably not work here, as soon as gas prices go down, or level off and people get used to them, small cars will go out of style like they always do.

If gas doesn't cool off ever and we end up with euro prices, then i dont know what will happen.

American's have short memories though.

Honda's Fit is completly dominating the market to such a point that they cant put enough of them on the lots. thery are selling out every one they make even after increasing output to over 54k total they are still running short in the US. clearly Mazda could easily become the no 2(pun intended) in this segment.

Clearly that is a wrong assumptuion. No one is cross shopping the Fit and Yaris with the Mazda3.

we know you totally meant the pun. :icon_no2:

but seriously - the second part is dead on. the market for the 3 does not seem like it crosses w/the gas savers at all. tho a 230 hp MS 2 might be a different story. Still seems like the plain jane version of the 2 would do well.

i was under the impression the Mazda5 wasn't selling well, but Zoom44 may hav a better source than I.

Either way, they need to get the car here as fast as they can. I'm hoping for a late '08 launch.

They tried bringing a car over once with little marketing support for an experiment (Mazda5) and I don't think it sold well at all.



You are right, it only sells about 40% better than the RX-8 right now.... :lol2:

Mazda's record sales in the last quarter 06 and first quater 07 were due mostly to record sales of the Mazda5 and Mazda3 and CX-7. the 2nd quarter was when cx-9 sales finally surged. i think the Mazda5 is up something like 15 percent. they quietly sold over 17,000 Mazda5s last year

Sales up 6.0 Percent; MAZDA3 Celebrates Best January Ever

IRVINE, Calif. – Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) reported its best January since 1994 thanks to sales of 19,265 vehicles for January 2007, accounting for a 6.0 percent increase versus last year.

January sales were led in volume by continued strong sales of the wildly popular MAZDA3, which reported sales of 7,653 units, a 25.3 percent increase versus last year. The innovative MAZDA5 multi-activity vehicle continues to be a strong seller as it posted sales of 1,326, an 8.7 percent increase versus last year.

june sales however were down vs last year

I think the point is that a properly marketed 5 could have been selling twice as many as they are.

Paul.

makes you wonder what they could do if they brought the 2 over to the states and spent some marketing money....

i think without any special advertising- besides getting it in the hands of autowriters- they could easily sell more Mazda2s than the 17k Mazda5s sold last year

Tubo charge the MX 5

Mazda originally was going to make the new Mazda 2 solely at their Hiroshima Plant, recently they announced that the new Mazda 2 will also be built at the Mazda/Ford plant in China so that should ease supply issues, QC is another matter.

It is also interesting to read an article at goauto.com.au with Doug Dickson the GM of Mazda Australia, the problem now is not only capacity but new cars being left on the docks in Japan as they are unable to find enough car carrying ships!

http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/4C6782614FE591B8CA257307001774B7

the cx-9 has being a mayor hit, I have being selling cars for some time now, mainly as a hobby, but really got into it in the last 2 month(started building a private dearlership), we got 3 cx-9 in at the star of the month and they didnt last a week, we have sold more cx-9 this month than mazda3, for a small town sellin 11 cx-9 in less than a month its huge, im sure in my country we will get the mazda2 and I know its going to sell a lot