Zio

Why the hell do I have to buy a $3,000 package just to get my car with leather? All I want is the car bare bones with leather and upgraded audio, but I have to buy some stupid package just to get those things. Will Mazda ever be selling the cars without all the packages or should I give up and look into buying another car.

dying_here

im pretty sure you will have to get the whole package..but you also get power driver seat, HIDs, DSC and anti-theft alarm..
did I get the package? no :P

babylou

Every car company packages like this. Why can't people understand this and move on?

mac

Just because everybody does it doesn't mean that it's right. Since Mazda can only import X number of cars per year, they are betting that they can sell the large majority fully loaded (more profits). If the car isn't selling well, they may start offering a wider range of packages to appeal to a wider range of clients. This may happen with the RX-8 in Canada, there are a lot of the pre-order still not allocated. Personally, I would rather have the GS MT with traction control and possibly moonroof. We should also be able to custom order the interior from a fixed selection (ie I love the titanium grey but blck and tan seats? No thanks, will go with the blue).

babylou

Mac,

There is no "right" on marketing a discretionary product. My point is all the car companies are on the same page and bitching about it is a waste of time. I too would love to pick and choose options. I would ditch the airbags, lighted vanity mirrors, ABS, TCS, VDC and a few other doo dads. But I do not own a car company so I live with it. Come to think of it even if I did own a car company I would do what it takes to maximize the meager profits that can be had in the auto industry.

bdclary

Yes, car companies do package for convenience, but there is a difference in the amount of customization available.

I'm a bit disappointed in the lack of options for the car, but it's not yet in full production and I hope (expect) that there will be more options in the future.

For an example of what I'm hoping for, check out www.miniusa.com

Brian

Zio

Maybe all car companies do this, but It's bad marketing. All I want is leather, but to get leather I can no longer afford the car. Maybe someone has to have leather and they can't afford the car with leather, then they don't buy it. I was really looking forward to getting this car, but if I can't get leather by itself, I might not buy it.

RotorGeek

Zio

what about the rotary, transmission, handleing, 4 seater, freestyle doors. Iam sure the first thing that made you want the car was not the leather. Look at everything you get

justinm2

There are companies that almost every dealer in existence are hooked up with to add leather to a car. you can buy a base rx8 and have leather added, no big deal, plus this way you can pick out the exact color scheme you want in the car, on top of the fact that alot of the aftermarket leather is acutally nicer than the factory leather. We use a company called "Classic Soft Trim" I think it's a national company so it's probably available in most markets. They do amazing work, have high quality leather, and don't charge an arm and a leg. On a car like the rx8 you could probably have leather added for about a $1,000 +/-. Assuming I get my finances straight, I plan on ordering a black sport package rx8 and having black leather added, with the carbon fiber leather added to the center inserts, and side boltsterings for grip (It's leather strandes woven with carbonfiber strands, sounds kinda ricey, but actually looks really good in person, plus is very grippy)

jonalan

What's the big deal with leather seats? I want to keep the cost of the car under $30k, so I'm getting cloth seats. Get some of the nice extras with he touring package and you're still under $30k.

I thought I would be in a very small minority not getting leather. But, there was a poll a while back asking about cloth vs. leather. Surprisingly, it was closer than I expected, with leather being just over half.