I've been a little wary of Mazda from the start of this strange journey (March in my case) but the announcement about the US power output has really focussed my attention. I would be interested to know how you all feel about the company now. Also Mazda can see if their strategy has paid off and we still love them...

i've had very little to no exposure to Mazda given that both of my top car manufacturs are Honda, Toyota, and Mitsubishi...i would never have thought of buying a Mazda if the RX-8 never came out...also, i've done my fair share of research comparing the top most reliable auto manufacturers and Mazda never broke the midline...and then i read about the Miata fiasco and the fact that Ford owns a large chunk of Mazda...with that kind of background, who would trust them?

fortunately my gamble payed off and i am VERY please with my RX-8...muich so that i am not selling it back (never even thought about it) and i plan to keep it for a very very long time...

i will not, however, buy another Mazda...if not only for Mazda themselves but the horrible, HORRIBLE dealership that tried to rip me off countless times and the extremely poor response time, or lack thereof, of call backs to voicemails...not even a Thank You letter for purchasing the car!!!

Mazda has now entered that Never Will Buy From list along the likes of Kia, Daewoo, Subaru, and Saturn...

i grew up with mazdas (no rotaries though) ... 323 hatchback, MPV, 97 Protege (totalled), brother's MX-6, 99 Protege ...

all GREAT cars BTW.

still deciding if i want to take my name off the wait list or what ... but gonna shop other competitors next time i need a car!

im in the same exact boat as BRx8.. ive (as part of the family) had a Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi.. Everyone said the Mitsubishi was a bad idea... but so far nothing major..

Mazda i wuda never looked at if it wasnt for the RX-8.. hell if the RX-8 came out 1 week later i would have an Evo right now..

Im not really nutz on getting rid of selling back the RX-8 but i will admit i am scared.. This is the first car Ive actually purchased and i dont want it to be something I regret down the line. Hopefully things work out with it. But i also dont plan on going in for another Mazda in the future.. no bad experiences with the Dealer,, I just think from here on out I will stick with the 90% sureshots.. \
I am thinkin of keeping the RX-8 for few years then selling it for something else.. but we wil have to see what is out in those few years..

Had a MPV and Millenia with nothing but horrible experience with three different Mazda dealerships in the past. I must say I didn't trust them to begin with, and the recent turn of events sure didn't make that any better. Overall, the RX-8 is still a very good automobile, but Mazda USA is getting worse and worse.

I've lost trust and respect for my favorite car maker :(

For me, it doesn't matter. I still have faith in Mazda, although this is my first time owning a Mazda car. A car still be a car, nothing more :p

Mazda can choose not to publish the 247HP number if they choose not to before cars hit the US shore, but they choose to release the number; they can publish the final figure a week or two before they release car in the US and would avoid having to face with brivery (as some might put it) in hoping customer will be happy. Perhaps it's a mistake that Mazda choose to release the HP early to attract customers and now they have to face with customer disatisfaction and need compensation.

off topic but:
IMO, even if a lawsuit is in place against Mazda, I don't think it will go any where. The lawsuit need to seek for damages and some kind of compensation, which mazda already did that (buy back option). As for false advertisement, there might be a good case, but I have not seen any ads going around with the 247hp figures, so the case will probably be slim -- beside the printed window sticker. The only damages that might be legit is emotional which I have no clue how to argue or give a view on that.

ps: probably there is some politics going on withing Mazda Corp. :D

I'm disqualified from comment. ;)

I dont feel like I can trust Mazda for power output.

Well made, great cars ok, but not on power now.

I have no faith in Mazda.

The change in management and ford's influence has caused some shift in the overall image of the company and I don't think it is going to end well for Mazda's sports car side. To top it off now that Mazda has admitted its defficiency in power, the media will be jumping on it, and exclaiming "Mazda fooled us, they showed us a powerful car but turned around and are selling a slow semi sporty car." My guess is the selling cost will be 3-4k below list by the end of fall.

I am still hoping the new rx7 will come out in 2 years, but at this point I doubt it. They needed the cash that would have been generated by the rx8, but this blunder is going to cause them to lose millions in potential income from an amazing car. If the engine has been developed and tooled out today, there is a possibility I guess. If not, the tools for making the wider rotors will probably not be available and the 7 will either come with a renesis or something along those lines. A 3 rotor would be nice, but I dont know if Mazda's production lines can make a 3rotor renesis engine, and I dont know if I can deal with 12mpg.

The other issue, IMO, is that I need to purchase a new car in 2 years, and at this point I refuse to purchase a first year car from Mazda. Let someone else find all of the issues first.

Elise here I come.

Scot

it makes me really sad that Mazda made another mistake. as with all the teams I've rooted for in my life yet another "chokes." (I grew up in Indiana, so the teams i'm mostly referring to are the pacers and colts). Anyway, my parents had a pair of GLCs back in the 80's that they totally hated. MNAO really alienated two customers then. I bought an MX-6 back in 1996 and have had just a few minor problems (leaky radiator and CV joints) but I really love the car. It's a tad under-powered though. Anyway, to answer the poll, i have to say I voted for the "Unsure" option, but lean toward the "Trust them then and still now" choice. I think mazda engineering knows what they're doing with design, it's just what follows that needs more consistency. i trust that the renesis can easily put out 247 hp, it's just that some point in time after the design, somebody screwed up with the emissions testing and then had keep detuning the engine to meet standards. (if i was shocka, i'd get the $500 + maintenance deal, and from the money saved, just get the ECU flashed/remapped for your 247 hp... you're in hicksville anyway, right?) Anyway, I am still waiting to buy the RX-8 next year and hopefully a lot of these issues and/or others will be discovered and resolved.

p.s. one last thing, if there is one thing about mazdas I don't like (but fortunately has nothing to do with the car/company itself) is that most of the dealers are terrible with car service, customer relations, et al. i hate going to most of the dealers around here!

Originally posted by Scot
The other issue, IMO, is that I need to purchase a new car in 2 years, and at this point I refuse to purchase a first year car from Mazda. Let someone else find all of the issues first.

Elise here I come.

BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!! :p

You don't want issues with a first year car, so you're considering a Lotus???!!! as an alternative? You really need to do more research... :D

Regards,
Gordon

Originally posted by Gord96BRG


BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!! :p

You don't want issues with a first year car, so you're considering a Lotus???!!! as an alternative? You really need to do more research... :D

Regards,
Gordon

Nah... the Elise is a tried and tested car. It's had many years here in the UK with no serious issues and I know an owner who thinks it to be the most reliable car he has driven. Older Loti? Well that's a different matter ('Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious')

Originally posted by Gord96BRG


BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!! :p

You don't want issues with a first year car, so you're considering a Lotus???!!! as an alternative? You really need to do more research... :D

Regards,
Gordon
Snicker.. :D It is a Toyota GTS 180hp engine in there though right? So we know that is very reliable.. what about the electronics and the electrical system?

I voted number two. I'm a little dissapointed that they chose to downgrade only to 238 crank since 180whp doesn't support that crank number.. but we all know that for marketing purposes the higher the number the better. The next few months will be a test of Mazdas corporate indentity and how they choose to handle this issue. If they provide us with a proper explanation supported by hard data and perhpas even a fix to this then my faith will be restored. If not, I'll probably still get the 8 but as I've said before, I will not pay msrp.

Current expectation is that it will be the 190hp (conservatively measured) bulletproof toyota engine from the celica gts. It is lightweight, within a few pounds of the K series, and has tons of mods available for it. Lotus should be confirming that september 19th.

The lotus elise, as a platform, has been around since 97? or was it 96? The USA platform will start selling next summer, giving it a year in the customers hands before I have to make my final decision. It is small, lightweight, fast, handles well, and is a light sipper on the gas.

If it only had either a boxer or a rotary.. There is something about the smoothness of those engines. (though that would kill the mpg)

Scot