Furymax

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that Mazda Australia and local dealerships are no longer advertising the RX8 ??

Just thought I'd raise this observation here and the other site and see what people think.

Every newspaper I read and even Television Advertisements no longer feature the RX8.

I noticed and rightfully so - as new models ie 6 MPS and 3 MPS were released that the 8 was resigned to the corner of the page, but now it has no place at all.

The latest general Mazda Ad (ie non specific product like the CX7) on TV features only the Mx5, 6, 3 and CX7.

What is Going On ???

Does anyone have any ideas or insight ??

Have a good one
FURY

RXP33D

Its good for resale.

Zoom zoom.

EZZY

hate to break it to you...
but the RX8 is an old news.... it doesnt excite many ppl anymore.

EZZY

1 dog year = 7 human years.

EZZY

3 year old car = time to get a new car (if you are lucky enough)

takahashi

They never put the RX-8 on everynight when it was new anyway. Look at 350Z ads - cannot see them at all now.

auzoom

The 3 and 6 are the power sellers for Mazda with some 3000 and 1000 cars sold per month respectively.

The RX-8 sells itself on its uniqueness in a market that sells very few cars in comparison to the mass market. I believe the 8 sells around 100 units per month in Australia and has done so consistently since being released here.

Cheers

Andrew

Rotor Convert

All our ads in SA have been run-out ads...which the RX8 doesn't do. So we have only had 1 or 2 ads in the last 2 months featuring the 8. The one we have features the heritage of the 8 as a sports car....then shows all the others.....

I like the ads shame they don't play them that much.....
I think they go in cycles though...depending on what they are trying to flog......

BTW it's off topic but has anyone seen the new Subaru soft roader......sheesh that car is pig ugly.....styling not evident.....looks like someone's love child got out from under the stairs....

Wilson

We don't see RX-8 ads here in the US either. At least not here in the south.

Revolver

This car pretty well sells itself to the target market. Plus, it is getting older.

I still see the ads from time to time. They were running them on SBS before Top Gear sometimes (which starts again tonight!! ).

Besides, they probably achieved the desired penetration with the initial campaign. I still get people asking me if I allow the doors to hug me (as they did 'Steve') and I haven't seen that particular ad for well over 2 years now.

Julia - agreed on the new Subey - Fat Albert had a smaller, prettier ****.

ASH8

Sales of the 8 here have almost died, local dealers in SA have had the same stock for months..
A Mazda Australia price list I have (Oct 2006) still has 2005 RX-8 for sale and are about $100.00 cheaper than 2006 models...wow!

They were selling about a 100 a month 2 years ago, lucky if its 30 now.

Why don't we have the 6 speed Auto that has been available all year 06 in the US.
(it's not on our Oct 2006 price list).

The main reason that the 8 here is not selling is because of price!
The Aussie dollar has gone from 57 cents to US when the 8 was released to now 78 cents, its been in the hight 70's for 2 years.

The Yen has gone from 68 to 92 to the Aussie $ in the same period.
And MA has the cheek to increase the price of the Revelation,,,even though it had a few extras, $70K on road, should be $45K.

ALL Japanese imported cars here are WAY over priced.

takahashi

And still car considering the yen is hitting all time low

92 yen per $1AUD

f&*k

auzoom

Well the 100/month figure I stated was a guestimate from based on Last years MX-5 sales of 152/month. And I agree, we get ripped on price.

PYR88

Overall Sports Car sales in Australia dropped 14.9% in 2006.

No wonder they are pushing the 2, 3 and 6.

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/Ar...eID=22500&vf=2

Revolver

The expert marketers on here probably have a better answer but it's not realistic to expect the price of a long-life consumer product to go up and down with exchange rates. Think how that would affect purchasing decisions and resale.

Car prices stay relatively static for a reason. Although I don't know, I suspect prices are set at what the target market is prepared to pay rather than cost plus a set profit margin. Fluctuations in the exchange rate just mean that sometimes that profit margin goes up and sometimes it goes down.

Don't get me wrong - I'd love to pay less for a lot of cars on the market but that won't happen whilst car sales are booming.

ASH8

Totally agree "Revolver"...

and no I don't expect car prices to fluctuate with exchange rates, but clearly Mazda Australia and others have been rolling in it in, they "pitch" their product with the competition (350Z) in regard to price, as the RX-8 is Mazda's top line car all their other models have to be cheaper, they have no room to move, clearly the 8 is $15-20K too much, people are not stupid, you can compare prices very easily internationally, and Mazda Australia can not justify the price of their cars, and yes while sales are still good you won't see any change.

What concerns me is the 8 and any other future rotary model will cease to be imported here, same thing happened to the FD Rx-7...became too expensive.

IF and WHEN the new RX-8 face lift comes to Australia is it going to be more expensive?

MA cant even offer a longer warranty program to shift 8 stocks or incentives, they prefer to "protect" existing owners resale values and their "image".

ASH8

Well I have to eat my words here.....

RX-8 sales in Australia for 2006 are 879 units, or an average of 73 per month...not 30 as I said earlier....sorry members.

http://editorial.carsales.com.au/car...w/2277417.aspx

MX-5 being the top sports car seller in 2006 with 1468 units sold.

ASH8

Top Five Sports under $80K AUSTRALIA

1 MX-5 1468
2 Monaro 912
3 Astra Convertible 907
4 RX-8 879
5 eq Astra Tigra 651 & Saab 9-3 Conv

EZZY

since when the Astra Convertible, Astra Tigra 651 & Saab 9-3 Conv are sports cars?

Revolver

Agreed - must be a lot of cashed up hairdressers out there.

Those sales figures don't surprise me though - I'm seeing plenty of RX8's around Sydney these days. I saw about 5 on my trip into work today.

labrat

I would imagine that car companies advertize in media where they expect their potential buyers to look. If you're in price sensitive segments, then advertizing price will be an important factor in getting the punters into the showrooms. I suspect that once you get to the $50k+ segment, your buyers are becoming very discerning - they're certainly not impulse buyers! They do their homework, and they know what's out there (witness the discussions in this forum). In short, you don't have to advertize; your customers know all about the product and where to find it. What advertizing they do is more to enhance the brand image than be product-specific.

ASH8

Quite true, and getting "heads" into showrooms is the number one game for distributors/dealers, so a car company can get more bang for their buck in advertising $$s from their bread and butter lines.
I have seen many cases where a customer goes to a showroom with a model type and budget in mind to be converted by the salesman into a more expensive and different model and then finance.

Rotor Convert

I agree to a point but I went in with a car on my mind and ended up talking myself into an 8......the salesman had nothing to do with it!

I don't see that many in Adelaide......would be lucky to see one on my way to work.....