Guys, although Mazda Australia in there wisdom think a sunroof is too good for us Aussies. (Not on options list) They are available in other markets.

Has anyone tried a "special order" yet & pushed the dealer into pushing Mazda Australia to get one in regardless of their so-called wisdom.

I know that one friend has been pushing the dealer hard & whilst his gotten his price down to $56500 (on-road) for the base model he is still holding out for the sunroof & making the dealer sweat

 

I did ask about a sunroof and was told by my dealer that although they are available in other markets, Mazda fell foul of the ADRs which seem to preclude a sunroof in vehicles with no B pillar. The central backbone is of no consequence in this argument and to prove their case, I understand Mazda would have had to subject a test vehicle to a full structural test -- and the Aust market just doesn't warrant the cost and time delay of this.

This type of thinking is probably why we no longer have any light aircraft manufacturing here As Dick Smith once said, if Boeing had tried to get the 747 first approved in Australia, our safety authorities would have immediately reacted by demanding Boeing put another engine on it :D

It will be interesting to see what happens when/if anyone tries to import second hand 8s from Japan

 

I drove a US spec GT, which gets a sunroof. It took a lot of headroom away. I like the headroom I have. When I put a helmet on in my car, my head touches unless I change the seating position a little.

Cheers,
Hymee

 

Bugger. That just wiped another $3,000 off our cars values.

 

The reality of life I'm afriad.

When the base model is only $38k (+ ORC) for the same car in Japan, I find the $56k (+ ORC) here to be an insult already.

I here you on that safety issue too. The power brookers will always try to spoil initiative. Then when asked why they have killed off industries & forward thinking companies, they hide behind the "safety" flag in amongst the grey areas

 

Oh yeah - I know the reality (all too well in fact ). I was wondering wehn it was going to start to happen. Now I know.

 

...on the topic of sun roofs...

as someone at the grand old age of 36 and loosing hair around the back of the head as it were, I'm not sure a sun roof is really something I'd be keen on, regardless of the fact that I'd hit my head on the roof [ without the racing helmet on thanks Hymee! ] - I'd be needing to apply bloody sun screen to my scalp each time I went for a daytime drive ( perhaps this is why I'm subliminally drawn to Nightly Drives * grin * ).

--dez;

 

DEZ

Regarding your balding , heres some one liners that may help.

BALD MEN GET MORE HEAD .

Grass never grows on a bussy road .

I am not bald its a solar panel for a sex machine.

I bet my head is smoother than your bottom .