Here down under, we are getting deliveries of our 2003 model RX-8.

Strangely in America though, you guys are getting 2004 RX-8's when its only the middle of 2003.

How can the American car built in 2003 be wrongly marketed when here in Oz, NZ & Japan, they are all 2003 models.....??

Because Americans are happier buying next years model early?

I'm sure it's the same car. I notice this quite a lot with the US (anyone care to explain??)...


-andy-

Because in the US the MY is dictated by Jan. 1st

For instance, since Mazda just released the car, after Jan 1, 2003, it has no choice but to call it a 2004.

Now if Mazda released the car prior to June 1st then it could call it a 2003.5MY, but not a 2003MY.

There's also something about planet alignment and "spirits" in there too.



Just kidding about the last part.

We Americans like to be fooled, thus by telling us we're getting something special, i.e., a 2004 model in the year 2003, we'll probably gladly buy it. :) j/k...i don't know why really...but i think that's not too far from the truth. You need to market things to people differently, in this case making people feel like they got something "early"...just my 2 cents

actually prorating a year ahead helps in reselling the car later. When ppl buy a used car, they would think the car MY2004 is actually bought in 2004 when it's actually a 2003 purchased year. ;)

In the UK it is 2004 as well and the way they are delaying us that is when we will eventually get delivery!!

rael.

Originally posted by RomanoM
Because in the US the MY is dictated by Jan. 1st

For instance, since Mazda just released the car, after Jan 1, 2003, it has no choice but to call it a 2004.

Now if Mazda released the car prior to June 1st then it could call it a 2003.5MY, but not a 2003MY.

Close, but not quite true - a manufacturer is not allowed to sell a designated model year over more than one Jan 1st date. Beyond that, it's up to them - there's no June 1 or 31 or ".5" model year requirement. The RX-8 could easily be called a 2003 model, and they could introduce a 2004 in the usual Sept 2003 timeframe - they didn't have to call it a 2004, but they can if they like (and did). A designated 2004 model year could conceivably be sold from Jan 2, 2003 to Dec 31, 2004, nearly 24 months!

The Mazda6 is a more interesting case - in the US, the 2003 Mazda6 went on sale in Fall 2002 - in Canada, Mazda held back the introduction until January 2003, and it's marketed as a 2004 model. We never got a 2003 Mazda6, but we've been able to buy a 2004 Mazda6 for the past 5 months, and in the US you won't be able to get a 2004 for another month or 2! Some manufacturers use the ".5" model year add-on to designate slight mid-year revisions to a model. Mazda has used this unofficially with the Pretege5 and MazdaSpeed Protege recently.

For Zap13B, it's normal for auto manufacturers to start selling the next model year in September of the current year (ie every manufacturer's 2004 models will be available around September 2003), and manufacturers frequently introduce a new vehicle early, like in Spring or early Summer (the 1990 Miata went on sale here in June 1989).

Regards,
Gordon

Originally posted by Gord96BRG


Close, but not quite true - a manufacturer is not allowed to sell a designated model year over more than one Jan 1st date. Beyond that, it's up to them - there's no June 1 or 31 or ".5" model year requirement. The RX-8 could easily be called a 2003 model, and they could introduce a 2004 in the usual Sept 2003 timeframe - they didn't have to call it a 2004, but they can if they like (and did). A designated 2004 model year could conceivably be sold from Jan 2, 2003 to Dec 31, 2004, nearly 24 months!

The Mazda6 is a more interesting case - in the US, the 2003 Mazda6 went on sale in Fall 2002 - in Canada, Mazda held back the introduction until January 2003, and it's marketed as a 2004 model. We never got a 2003 Mazda6, but we've been able to buy a 2004 Mazda6 for the past 5 months, and in the US you won't be able to get a 2004 for another month or 2! Some manufacturers use the ".5" model year add-on to designate slight mid-year revisions to a model. Mazda has used this unofficially with the Pretege5 and MazdaSpeed Protege recently.


Regards,
Gordon

Well! After doing some research, rather than going on a what a friend at Ford Marketing told me..............




It seeeeeeeeeeeeeems................




Like you are correct! So there;) :D