zoom44

http://www.aiada.org/newsroom/newsDe...77&cmd=article

Good Comprehensive article

and a related article

Mazda5 posts MASSIVE sales increases.

I should mention that in 2007 we got to drive one of these great little wagons (its really not a van) in GA on a family vacation and really loved it. Even took Rick Engman and Paul to lunch in it and Rick even gave it good praise

So at the end of this past year we traded out of our fast fading Subaru Outback and its really a great car. love having the 6 seats when visitors are in town. As my wife says it doesnt drive like a van at all but like a small car. Its agile and quick.


Pretty good for a car that gets no advertising i have seen.

kvndoom

The 3 is Mazda's bread and butter right now. I hope the smiley-face doesn't scare people off. That car is a great value. Even the Speed3 offers a hell of a lot of car for sub-25k.

alienRX8

to tell you the truth mazda is one of my favorite manufacturers right now. They make affordable cars that are good looking and fun to drive. My dad has a speed6 and its amazing and has been very reliable. I had a CX-7 that I loved and now my mother has it and I have the RX-8 of course. I see mazda3's a lot on the street and I would take that over any corolla, sentra or civic (except the Si)

They are nice cars. And hopefully now that ford has left the scene mazda can do some more in house stuff.

Bastage

iTrader: (1)

I bought my wife a Mazda5 back in 2006. GREAT wagon! I didn't even know it existed until I saw one at the dealership. I did some research and found that it's basically a Mazda3 with a 2-2-2 seating configuration.

We both love it.

dynamho

Hopefully, the massive Mazda5 sales will coax Mazda into a slightly stronger powerplant. I'd buy one in a heartbeat if it came with the DISI turbo to replace the family beater.

alfy28

love my mz 3. go go mazda

RotoRocket

iTrader: (1)

Mazda is the only affordable make producing exciting cars that are styled right inside and out, handle well, and have a genuine sporty nature on a consistent basis, across their product line...even their CrossOvers.

There are many good cars, but Mazda seems so pure and true to its roots. BMW does, also, but at a significantly higher price point (plus, some of the new beemers are heffers).

*Caveat - I love the Pontiac G8 GT. It may end up in my garage soon if I decide to supplement or replace the 8 due to the new addition.

rotarygreg

wow, glad that mazda is growing so much in such tough times. both as an enthusiast and as an employee at the local mazda dealer, this makes me proud. i wish my parents would get rid of their camry and pick up a nice late model 6 sport. i love those cars. as for the 5 with a bigger powerplant, now that the new base engine for the 6 is the mzr punched out to 2.5L, we should be seeing that in both the 3 and the 5 so that should help in the power department for both those cars. Im really glad i work for mazda these days. when i worked at toyota, i hated every car we serviced. even their last "sports car" which they discontinued in 2005 (the celica) was lame. just a glorified corolla. but mazda has the perfect formula to appeal to anyone and everyone. they have the 3 that fits in most peoples driveways. be it very well off people that need something for their kids to wreck, or lower income families that want something fuel efficient and reliable and sportier than the corolla. the 6 is pretty swanky these days and can be a high dollar car with all the options on it. the 5 is sort of a niche market, but its there for sure. the cx7s and cx9s both fill their ends of the bargan nicely. the miata has always been and will likely always be the best sports car in its price range. and then they have the rx8 for idiots like us. lol. the only company taking risks on something with such a bad reputation in the general public. i cant understand how toyota is number 1 with a company like mazda with all their great products in the mix. maybe marketing? i rarely see comericials for mazdas. and i have never seen one for anything but the 6 or 3. oh and i saw one for the cx7 when it came out 3 years ago. likely will be alot of marketing with the release of the new 3 just around the corner.

Greg

Marklar

Yup, I've always considered Mazda to be a poor man's BMW. The two companies have very similar design philosophies when it comes to the driving experience. VW tries, but alas...they aren't as good as Mazdas and they cost more.

kvndoom

Well, to their credit, VW stubbornly continued to sell diesels in the US until forced not to for 3 years, and picked up again once they were able. I'm still hoping strongly that one of the Japanese makes will get the ***** to bring diesel cars over.

Marklar

Why diesels? Diesels suck.

Then again, I'm prejudiced. My first car was an '85 Golf diesel. It had the acceleration of a loaded dump truck.

ASH8

Yep, As you may know Mazda Australia had another RECORD Year in sales for 2008 over 07, nearly 80,000 (79,826) Units, for a population of 22 million People is a great Sell.

That is 7.9% market share and the Top 4 car maker in Australia, and the largest Fully Imported Brand here.

Imagine if Mazda NA could achieve an 8% market in the US or even 4%, would be better than the 1.9% (or there abouts now).

I just HOPE that Mazda steers their steady ship and does not go back-wards with their designs and engineering.

They are really in a unique position in the world and the best Japanese brand for exciting and fun to drive and own cars.

Like the US the Mazda 3 has been a massive seller here, so close to being the best selling car.

I guess Mazda has such a good reputation here you can see there are just not that many used Mazda's in car yards, if any, Owners like to hold onto their Mazda, or trade in for another new Mazda..

ASH8

The new Mazda diesels are really fantastic, NOTHING like the old ones or a 85 Golf diesel

MattMPS

+1

in EU only "die hard" sport drivers* still prefers gasoline...

* trackday oriented... i mean...

modern diesels it's almost PERFECT fo SUV & medium-big sedans...every day commuting

neXib

Most people bought diesel here because of the gas prices and the fact that they are in fact damn good now power and torquewise.

Now that diesel is more expensive than gasoline though... they sound like *** for one :P

Loving Mazda's progress, can only agree with the design. For a long time they've been the best designed jap cars, and some German car designs have only gone backwards lately.

kvndoom

It's that exact 20+ year-old perception that has stunted diesel growth as an alternative fuel in the US. It's not the 80's anymore and things have changed quite a bit. Then again, people still think Domino's Pizza will be delivered in 30 minutes or it's free. Amazing.

I'm prejudiced too. My last vehicle before I got a Mazda was a 2004 Golf diesel. It had beastly low-end torque for a car that could get 50MPG on the highway. To this day I regret selling it.

In the real world (believe it or not America isn't the center of the universe), Mazda has diesel offerings for all their piston cars.

neXib

Well, diesel still pollutes more locally than most gas cars eventhough CO2 emissions are lower. Might not be the thing you need in LA :P

Marklar

So why are diesels better then? I know they are more reliable for heavy-duty applications and are more efficient, but what else?

I drive an 8, so obviously I don't put much stock in reliability and efficiency

neXib

Torque, mpg. Few fuelcars compete with the mpg of the diesel cars in the mid-range here.

MattMPS

Mazda it's one of the few japanese automakers who always have believed into Diesel Tecnology for passengers cars....

look at this....

http://www.mazda626.net/index.php?showtopic=25422

sound

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kJBqq9EazQ

Flashwing

It's really funny that the Mazda 5 has seen such great sales numbers. I worked for a Mazda dealership in 2006 when the Mazda 5 was first produced. We had TONS of them on the lots and ended up using many of them as rental cars cause they wouldn't sell.

Honestly, the primary issue was no rear air like the MPV. I guess the excuse was it's not a mini-van like the MPV was.

I've been seeing more on the road these days. Glad to see Mazda is doing well. I can't honestly see owning anything else.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Mazda does have allot of bang for the buck, which led me to a Mazda6 for my daughter (4-banger) and an RX-8 for me (2x3 banger).

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, the Mazda5 is a great alternative to a mini-van. Put another way, it is the only 'mini van' I will drive. That being said, I am seriously considering selling my wife's Mazda5, since the increasing demand for them is helping it hold it's value and we could dearly use the freed up monthly payment. It would make the 8 our only car for a while, probably another year or two at least, but there could be worse options.