Um, what makes you think that? I don't remember Mazda ever saying anything about the 4th gen 7 yet...

Good point.

I took at the mps protege and i noticed that the intercooler and turbo were very small and the boost wasnt very aggressive. Id much rather spend the extra money and get a reputable aftermarket turbo and have more flexibility as far as tubing size and boost and accessories (boost controller, blowoff valve, wastegate, exhaust plumbing. etc..).

I guess its all due to the degree of how you like to hook up your car. If you are pretty conservative and really value your waranty then mazdaspeed versions are beneficial. But if you do change the boost setting on something like a protege you can kiss your warantty goodbye all the same.

Iguess it all depends on personal preference and money value per parts.

I don't have the link anymore, but I think it was on Autoweek and they quoted a Mazda exec at one of the auto shows stating that they are researching and planning on having a FI rotary vehicle. They were looking into both supercharging and turbocharging options, but had not committed to one or the other.

Personally, I prefer the turbo route. I love the feel of getting pinned to your seat from my 3rd gen RX-7 when the turbos kick in. Also, turbos are easier to tune. No swapping of pulley wheels. Of course, from a manufacturer's stand point, I think superchargers are a more attractive option. Smoother power delivery and more difficult to modify. As a result, Mazda would have more control over their product.

On the other hand, a car that's easier to tune would garner more aftermarket support and bigger aftermarket following will be created. Take for example, the Civic. Boring product made highly desirable due solely to its aftermarket support.

I don't see the Civic being any easier to modify than other cars out there. It did not become highly desirable due to the aftermarket support. Aftermarket support doesn't just appear out of thin air and make a car popular, aftermarket support appears AFTER a car is popular.

---jps

That's not to say that after market still makes cars popular however. I would think that the recent popularity seen in civics and integras is due to the huge aftermarket support.

A chicken and the egg sort of thing. I belive the car itself, let say a civic created a huge aftermarket following for being a cheap car to buy, and then to mod. After awhile, it built status as a mod car and purpetuated itself though the aftermaket.

I agree... the only reason the aftermarket support started for the Civic is because there are tons of cheap civics around.. and imo the earlier versions of civics were quite sporty and not boring for the price.

I agree. I used to own an '86 Civic Si hatchback and a '93 EX coupe. Both were really fun to drive and looked good to me. The last couple of generations of Civics have strayed from Hondas simple and fun to drive concept. Actually, the entire line of current Hondas are extremely boring to me, though, not as boring as Toyotas.

Alas, we had to sell the '93 for an SUV (wife's car) and the '86 was just simply a death trap if I had gotten into an accident. In addition to my assertive driving and poor drivers out there, that was not a good combination for a tin can like the Si.

Though, the Si didn't have much HP, no power anything, and no AC, it was very practical and fun to drive at the limits. It ranks high on my list of cars that I've owned.

Cheers