The new Mazda3

[AMRAAM4]

Holy crap, this car is burning up the charts!! Now, it is a bit too simple and low market for what I want to drive everyday, but if I was in a crunch and needed a nice little car I would buy it. However, this car is getting rave reviews and winning much praise from people. I was just looking at numbers today and found this shocking...

Mazda's Mazda3 sales in May = 8866

Mazda's Mazda3 sales for the year-to-date = 32,890

[GAGTSCTGuy]

Thats a lot.... I guess thats what happens when you have an affordable car that has some decent specs.

[Vintalage]

Not to mention some exclusive features. The mazda 3 is a very nice car and it's about as fast at accelerating as the GA, if not faster.

I like the 3 with a spoiler.

[AMRAAM4]

Not ot mention it will have a huge aftermarket in no time.

OK...OK...I can't hold back any longer, I gotta say it......this car blows away a GA SE or GT in quality and maybe even all-around performance. And it's less than $19k I believe

[Vintalage]

Hope mazda brings the Mazdaspeed version over here. It's been confirmed that britian is getting one with 240hp and AWD for 2006.








Hotness!

[iceman]

I was checkin it out at the detroit auto show. Great car, however I am too big for it - I feel very cramped in it.. More for the 5'8 and less crowd without broad shoulders imo.

[AznGA]

mmmm Mazda 3, 6, RX8....that company is hot nowadays. 5 years ago, I honestly thought they were gonna phase out.

[Vintalage]

Originally Posted by iceman

I was checkin it out at the detroit auto show. Great car, however I am too big for it - I feel very cramped in it.. More for the 5'8 and less crowd without broad shoulders imo.

You should sign up for mazda rev it up. They have one this weekend in Philly. Then you'll be really checkin' one out along with their other vehicles.

[iceman]

nah.. don't like the rx8, 3 is too small, and I can drive my buddies' 6s whenever I want

[Dr_Kyle]

I am seriously considering the Mazda3 for a second car right now. All around, it's tough to beat. How many other cars starting under 20k offer xenon and navigation as options? Stock it's performance is close to the GT (manual tranny of course).

[hotgt]

how ironic, i was lookin for a parking space near my dorm room and somethin caught my eye..somebody just bought a new black Mazda 3, very attractive car, comes with Navi too...somethin you dont really see on compact cars

[VTECSiGAH8R]

Their association with Ford turns me off, but I love everything else about the 3. The 6 is nice looking I suppose, but disappointing performance-wise for it's class. RX8 is nice too.

[Slim]

I had a chance to drive a new 6 sport last Friday. I have to say I was extremely impressed. The ride was smooth yet sporty at the same time. I'd say the handling was comparable to my GA with H&Rs. Power was good too. I was driving a 5spd (oh how I miss it). The gearbox was stiff, but the car only had 1-1/2 miles on it. The part that surprised me the most was the price. I could pick up a fully loaded (minus Nav system) 6 for only $1,000 more than I paid for my GA. I'll seriously consider getting one when my lease is up.

I checked out the 3 and was very impressed with it too. But with me being 6'3", it was a little small inside. Like a few people said though, for the money, it's hard to turn down. The dealer I was talking to told me, in Canada, 3 sales surpased Civic sales last month.

[iceman]

Yeah they really need to make the affordable, sporty cars, also tall people friendly

[Slim]

Originally Posted by iceman

Yeah they really need to make the affordable, sporty cars, also tall people friendly

Yup... I agree. Most cars are designed for the average schmoe, plus a couple inches. Average schmoe = 5'10" I think. So if you're over 6'0, it's hard to find a roomy car and still have back seat room.

Also, more cars need to be made with telescoping wheels. I'd love my GA to have it. I need to put my seat all the way back for my legs to be comfortable, but then the wheel is a little bit too far away. I settle for somwhere in the middle of those two.

[iceman]

Come on dude, you gotta master the gangsta lean!!


Also, with the 6... damn stereo integrated with the dash. I hate how one little detail can keep me from getting one car.. That's up there with the neon and no power rear windows

[Slim]

Originally Posted by iceman

Come on dude, you gotta master the gangsta lean!!

I tried that, but I've got short arms and a really long torso so it doesn't quite work. I end up with a gimp-gangsta lean.

Also, with the 6... damn stereo integrated with the dash. I hate how one little detail can keep me from getting one car.. That's up there with the neon and no power rear windows

Yeah... I noticed that too. I don't really care though. The stock system sounded pretty good. Just needs a little more bump and some better front speakers. Nothing a quick swap of my Quarts wouldn't fix.

[Vintalage]

Yeah, the price of the 6 is pretty nice. Auto climate too. Pretty impressive. The stereo being intergrated doesn't bother me. That's the way the auto industry is going nowadays. And it looks cleaner. Changing the radio will be a problem but the aftermarket will figure it out. Replacement faces have already started to show up.

If Mazda comes out with a speed version of the 6, i'm there.

[Mike3800]

Originally Posted by AMRAAM4

Mazda's Mazda3 sales in May = 8866

Mazda's Mazda3 sales for the year-to-date = 32,890

That's cause it doen't look some quarky POS like the Ion. (GM should be glad they are building Cobalt)

Looks sell.

As far as room... I am 6' tall 205lbs... I was a little cramped in the GA (wy it was my wife's promary car and mine was the GTP)... however, some economy cars had more leg room than the GA ever had...

I might just have to go check one out. I have to fight off the Ford smell, but it looks like it could be nice.

[AMRAAM4]

More info since some of you have brought the topic up.:

I have been doing a lot of readin lately and it seems pretty sure that the 2006 RX7 idea has been scrapped It seemed pretty obvious to me because there have been NO real spy photos nor has there even been a prototype at auto shows last year or this year...and it is supposedly 1yr 2mths away (2006 models) . They would be marketing it by now, remember the RX8!! With that said it seems the reason for this is because Mazda will be focusing on their MazdaSpeed collection. Mazda now owns MazdaSpeed and they are working on versions of it for the 3, 6, and RX8. The RX8 has already been out, and you can buy parts of it, but it is not produced in quantity or for sales. It seems the MazdaSpeed6 will be out first and may have near 280HP. Following that will be the MSP RX8 and MSP 3. To show how the RX8 is doing, Mazda's rotary plant that has been making remans for 3rd gen RX7's (cuz we know they are needed) has temporarily SHUT DOWN!! D'OH! (there are over 100 people on an indefinite waiting list for engines) Reason they have shut down is because there is an increase need for Renesis rotaries and they need to up production. Once they reach a goal they will cross back over to doing remans.

P.S. I am thinking of an RX8 come late August or Sept.