http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...._code=02067768

Best part: "Mazda engineers grin when they say this chassis can take 'a lot more horsepower.' " :D

 

The guage/guage pod and steering wheel look very similar to the rx8's. Love the fender flairs on the 3 too.

 

another great mazda product

love the stick , gauges, console in that thing, great frekin vehicle
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grandma Cam

 

nice car. like a stubby version of the 6.

santino

 

wow its the same dash as 8

 

Hope they will make a 3 door (real hot hatch) version and lighter. The new 3 is a great looking car but a bit heavy. 3000lbs for a hatch is pretty heavy IMO.

 

wow. the seats, door sills, steering wheel, guage layout, central controls, dash layout, etc... the RX-8 truly is the new halo car, until the next one

 

+ the same versions for the mazda6. looks like good times for mazda. now if they would just straighten out their dealerships, they could sell a shitload of cars

 

Yes and that's a very bad thing. One of the main qualities of the RX-8 was its unique interior and particularly the dash and instruments. If Mazda simply take the whole idea and drop it onto a much lower priced car for a totally different market sector then it devalues the RX-8. The 3 is a nice looking car but at the expense of the RX-8! The 8 is now just a big 3.

 

or you could look at it the other way round lensman. perhaps it will increase the perceived value of the 3 for the price. "wow it's got some of the same cool stuff as the rx-8 that i just looked at but can't afford! "

 

I wouldnt go as far as the 3 is a smaller rx8

 

All I'm saying is that Mazda might be in danger of making their range of cars too similar in styling. Obviously the 3 and the RX-8 are very different in performance and intent and no one would mistake them for each other but seeing the 3's interior feels like seeing the interior of an Enzo in a Fiat Punto. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with it but it would diminish the allure of the Enzo in quite a significant way. Perhaps I'm just pissed off because even before I get my RX-8 it's unique styling is no longer unique. It's just part of the Mazda range now. It doesn't make it any less of a car but it's a shame that's all.

 

It's VERY common for items for the Halo car to trickle down into the lower priced models. Especially styling cues. Immitation is the best form of flatery.

Everybody wants the real thing, but most can not afford it.

 

good point puppy
I didn't think of it that way

 

i think its good that mazda is making their entire line more apealing

nice solids would be good too in leather, like blue leather, pretty sure that was on one of the prototypes, looked frekin SICK
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Bmw Headquarters History

 

I'm interested in the mention of an AWD version in 2005...

 

As the Mazda 3 is basicaly a next gen focus then I guess AWD is a posibility, and ford will be developing a cosworth version ( 300~bhp, 4wd).

 

yeah, i could see Cossie and MazdaSpeed versions of the Focus and 3 (respectively)... that'd be pretty wild: hatch-backed Evo and STi killers??

 

Well it is afterall the same company. The designer use the same theme look for all of their cars. Mazda's future product lineup all have similarities with the 8.