wannawankel

You betcha. Chevrolet is king for this - sell the Chevy Cruze nearly at cost (almost no margin) to make up for this on a Silverado full-size pickup truck. The only reason Lordstown assembly is in business is to keep pumping out high MPG cars to offset the king of sales and margin - the pickup.

hornbm

iTrader: (1)

EPA Admits Defeat On Toothless 54.5 MPG Decree

so much for the 54.5 MPG cafe standards!!!

77mjd

Looking at that fine list, I swear I read somewhere that low volume companies, like Porsche, weren't subject to the same standards as everyone else. I believe they were still required to show efficiency improvement over time, but just with less strict standards. Unless the fines were for not even meeting the lower standards.

77mjd

No matter what the CAFE standards are, I think any new RX would be low enough volume that even if it had mpg as bad as the 8 (which we know it won't) it would barely effect the fleet average.

ASH8

Yes, I noticed the back-flip 24 hours later.

What a joke these CAFE standards are, "oh gee we sell so many trucks/SUV's, so we can not have this"..

Make up their minds, do these idiots have any idea what they are doing?

The ''system'' around the world (cough politics) is a huge mess, bureaucrats being paid a small fortune to do nothing and when they do they get it so wrong.

wannawankel

Volume is important - BMW reached this threshold a few years back and one solution was to put those 4-banger turbos in the new Fxx line of cars like the F30 (3 series). Balance the electrics and smaller 4 bangers and BMW is allowed to sell all those SUVs worldwide.

ASH8

What the heck is wrong with you guys and Mazda

Another sales plunge of 8% in a market that is rising (over 1%), this is only happening in US for Mazda, the best car line up they have ever had and they are going backwards in US.

AutoNews Now: Mazda N.A. boss on sales drop

Excuses and more excuses and it is the same for everyone else in the Mazda family, Moro, simply not good enough, you need to get your hands dirty.

40% of the 634 US Dealers are duel showroom franchise!, there lies the problem.
You have to have a stand alone showroom to be a Mazda Dealer here and just about everywhere else in the world, otherwise no franchise agreement. Simply a Dealer and a car salesmen will sell whatever has the most margin in it for them, 'a' customer comes in sees two different brands competing together on same floor, which one do you think the salesman is going to push to sell?.

+ you need some performance cars...like Mazdaspeed (MPS), a Turbo Mazda 3 and 6, an RX-?

Bladecutter

From what I've heard, Mazda dealers are not dealing on cars as much as they had in the past, so the customer walks away, feeling like they can't get a "deal" on a Mazda, when you compare it against other brands.

Say someone is shopping for a Mazda 3 type of vehicle.
If they go into a Dodge dealer, the dealer practically pays you to take the vehicle away. Same for the Chrysler 200. Go to a Chevy or Ford dealer, and there are rebates aplenty on cars. Even Hyundai offers a crap ton of ways to give you money off of their cars.

Mazda, if they ever wanted to increase sales, would only have to do a single promotion, a conquest sales event. Just simply announce that if you currently own a non-Mazda product, you get $1500 off if you buy an in stock car. Boom, instant sales increase.

But, Mazda likes having their current profit per vehicle high, like it currently is.

As for the whole multi-dealership stores, here in the Denver region, it's mostly single brand stores, that just happen to be right next door to a competing brand. Why? Because all car dealers are located in the same sections of town.

The Mazda dealer closest to work has an affiliated Ford dealer across the street, along with their Maserati, Austin Martin, Lamborghini and Jaguar dealers (all Sil Ter-har owned stores).

Mazda of Lakewood is on Colfax Avenue, with just several competing brands right down the street from it (VW, Nissan, Audi, Porsche), not to mention all the used car dealers.

There was one dealer that had a Mazda and Hyundai location together, but they closed that site, built the Hyundai a brand new shop much closer to the major interstate (I-25), picked up a Fiat/Alfa dealer and built them a brand new facility right next door, and dropped Mazda like a bad habit (Go/Autonation). If a major company like Autonation is willing to drop Mazda, and pick up FIAT instead, what does that tell you about how much Mazda is liked by the dealership groups?

So that's just two dealers that are stand alones.

I bought my CX-5 at Shortline Mazda, which is next door to Shortline Hyundai. Down the block is Ford, Chrysler, Jeep, Toyota, Scion, Subaru, VW and Nissan.

I bought my RX-8 at McDonald Mazda, and they are a stand alone Mazda shop.
Directly next door to them is McDonald Volvo, McDonald Audi, and McDonald VW.
CarMax is on the next street, and you can buy nearly every brand of car there.

Why would a potential customer really want to have to hit 12 different dealership brands, and drive all over everywhere when they can just go to a major place, and test 5 brands in one shot?

Hell, just about every Porsche dealer in the state has either VW or Audi built into it.
If Porsche, the masters of per vehicle profit, don't have an issue with multi-brand dealer sites, then why does Mazda?

If the vehicle is better than the competition, then let them compete.

But, it's Mazda NA's sales tactics (lack of), branding, and advertising that doesn't get customers to show up at the door.

BC.

yomomspimp06

qft.

77mjd

I know this has definitely become true over the last year or 2. They don't want to deal anymore. I'd bet anything this has to do with Mazda trying to convince themselves and others that they are a premium brand. I've said right from the start that this strategy of attempting to go upmarket would backfire on them big time. Even now, when it's time to start clearing out the '16s their incentives are nothing to get excited about at all.

Bladecutter

Even the premium brands offer discounts.

BC.

FunRun8

iTrader: (5)

Boring models, need some new offerings, with the exception of the Miata which is limited by it being a 2 seater none of the other models are distinguishing themselves from the crowd since they no longer have rotary sports car to market.

ASH8

Compare a current Mazda model (bread and butter stuff) and it wins hands down against the competition, (yes it may cost a little more, but you get a lot more too) only have to read what most motoring journalists say around the world when comparing Mazda's to others. (I read them all the time and it is eye opener sometimes to how crude many of the other auto brands are, particularly the French and Italian jobs, what they don't offer, fit and finish, quality, reliability).

Mazda Dealers in Australia and Great Britain were told decades ago (1980's) that stand alone showrooms and service departments were a requirement to hold a Mazda franchise.
Mazda Australia supported the dealers who opted in and helped with the financial cost of upgrading and or moving to a suitable site or brand new premises.

The long term outcome now is success in sales and customer retention, a growing success story every year from 12th place in the market to # 2-3 today.
Brand loyalty is way higher than the USA, which is actually the lowest for any Mazda Distributor anywhere in the world.

I participate in other US car forums for Miata/MX-5 and US Mazda 3, I am astounded just how bad many US Mazda Dealer and Service Departments are (the outright BS and lies) and how poor MNAO is @ distribution....I think Moro will turn it around, but it will take many years, BTW that is what O'Sullivan was supposed to do.

The issues for Mazda owners is the poor advice at Service Department level and poor structure in Admin for customers (don't get me wrong I never said all US Dealer were poor, just too many), some are really excellent.

The reason 'Stand Alone Showrooms' and 'Service Departments' work is because of what I said before from a new car sales point of view, BUT, a fixed operations Service Department is more important than the showroom and if or when the customer might come back and buy same brand again.

You can not have same technicians (mechanics) working on say a GM or FCA product and then have Mazda's in the same service shop.
Why?, you get no expertise in Service Advisory Staff, poor product knowledge and retention, poor back up and follow up of customers issues, particularly the software/data stuff of today, more and more lack of knowledge in infotainment is dragging down Car Owner Satisfaction surveys, let alone poor renewal and fixing of mechanical problems by Service Techs..
Plus normal ECU/PCM updates and the many electronic Modules which have tripled since the last RX-8...like.
BCM, SCBS, ASCBS, LDW, BSM, ABSM, AFS, ALH, ALR, CMU, CPU, DAA, DRL, DRSS, EBD, EPS, ELR, ESA, ESS, FOW, GPS, HBC, HLA, MRCC, PLG, RBCM, RCTA, IDS, TCM, TPMS, CMP, EMOP, OCV, CPP, SAPV, TAU, TCC, WU-TWC just to name a few modules in current Mazda's.

77mjd

Was getting an oil change on my 8 this morning and browsing the showroom while waiting. After salesman came up and started talking, I told him Mazda has to get me an RX-8 replacement to get repeat business from me. He then tried to convince me I'd be just as happy in a new Mazda 3. Must be having a slow month. And of course had no idea what the RX-Vision concept was.

zoom44

here's why the Mazda 3 really isnt a "just as happy" car as the 8. of course it is slightly less fun to drive but look at the trunk space!. seriously i can fit more in my 8 than in a Mazda 3.

don't get me wrong could see myself driving a new 3( havent decided if i like the look of the sedan or hatch more,) they are fun, they are decently sized , great looking, great mpg, the price is actually quite good considering equipment levels. fantastic all around but not something you really can get an 8 driver into as a replacement.

now take a new 6, chop two doors but leave the rear seats, make it rear wheel drive or awd and make it a new rotary - then you've got something

delhi

For June 2016, Mazda Canada also sees a drop but only in the MazdaX segments. Their CX-series are all up.

Mazda enjoys a good brand loyalty in this sensible country. Still holding out for a Mazda6 wagon. I do hope the CX-4 would make its way here at least.

The_Bark

I got a rental Mazda 3 while my car is in the shop. While I like the exterior styling, the window angles in the back make for difficult viewing. It's a very competent car for what it is and, imo, a step up over some of the Fords I'd drive (Focus/Fusion) belonging relatives - but there's simply not much acceleration when hitting the gas. It might have good handling, but there's nothing exciting about it and I'd probably pass out holding my breath trying to pass someone on a county route. With so many other manufacturers going turbo, I think they'd be crazy not to. I actually looked at getting one last fall, but as Zoom said, it's hard going from an 8 to a 3 and with the depreciation it would take over the first four or five years, I opted for a used G37x coupe well below book value from its original owner (not to mention the 3 wouldn't have had, at the same price, anywhere the options.) I still miss my 8 at times, particularly the manual vs standard automatic pairing the AWD, but I'm hoping Mazda will have something in a few years when it's time to move on from this.

andreezy227

As a trader myself, don't forget to buy Mazda stock while the price is still low because when the RX-9 is revealed in 2019 and sold in 2020 it will be a huge success. First and second year RX-8 sales saw Mazda stock jump, history repeats itself gentlemen

NotAPreppie

wannawankel

Now I know the RX-Vision is coming soon. The local Mazda dealer wants to give me 120% of KBB for my 2010 GT MT and I can trade up (to the Vision). What a deal!

sinkas

Step away from the crack pipe....

andreezy227

Mazda RX-9 locked in - motoring.com.au

Motoring confirms Mazda RX-9 for 2020, reveal in 2019. My stock is already rising so SMD haters.

redcivic

Hey do you want to buy some ocean front property I have for sale in Arizona?

andreezy227

Sorry I'm too loyal to Rhode Island, where theres real ocean front property to invest in

77mjd

Looks like a photoshopped FR-S to me, especially the back end.