The buff books say Mazda is getting a RWD Mazda 6 ready with an inline-six. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/the-next-mazda-6-is-going-full-bmw-with-a-straight-six-engine-and-rwd/ar-BB12Cmm6?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=spartanntp No pics yet outside of the Vision Coupe concept
E36 M3 how did i miss that thread,
thanks!
mr2s2000elise said:
How is that off topic? :)
I've never understood why car makers can't make a luxury looking vehicle, without charging a ton of money.
In my opinion a lot of the current Mazda lineup looks more expensive than it is, so there's that.
Vigo (Forum Supporter) said:In my opinion a lot of the current Mazda lineup looks more expensive than it is, so there's that.
Yes, and that's my point. The link says that Mazda is going for an upscale market with less price tag. It's a great idea. Give me the look of luxury, without the bloated price tag for faux wood grain.
In reply to _ :
Mazda's new brand initiative is called "Drive Beyond" internally. They started rolling it out in 2016 to their top dealers and have been working down the line since.
The idea is a top to bottom rethink of the company and how it operates and markets and sells it's vehicles.
They're working with a company called Strativity to do it. This is the same company that helped turn Mercedes Benz around in the mid 00's.
The idea is to leverage their brand and unique position to build cars that bring a great value to the marketplace while also proving cars that have design and driving dynamics that set them apart from the mainstream Japanese automakers(Toyota and Honda specifically). The idea being they will build their brand recorecognition to not be forced to compete directly on price with the volume manufacturers. They tried for years to chase sales numbers and gain market share but it didn't work and ultimately hurt the company. so focusing on what makes Mazda unique and leveraging it to become a lifestyle brand is the big goal of Drive Beyond and it's working. The dealer i worked at from 2014-2017 just had their remodel finished and it's a HUGE change. It feels like an Audi store and it's really really cool.
This new 6cyl platform co developed with Lexus is going to be awesome. I'm super excited for it.
spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:The idea being they will build their brand recorecognition to not be forced to compete directly on price with the volume manufacturers. They tried for years to chase sales numbers and gain market share but it didn't work and ultimately hurt the company. so focusing on what makes Mazda unique and leveraging it to become a lifestyle brand is the big goal of Drive Beyond and it's working.
You mean like when Subaru realized in the mid 90s that trying to compete directly with Toyota was killing them because Toyota was the best at selling Toyotas, so they should instead focus on selling "Subarus"?
Worked for them.
spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to _ :
Mazda's new brand initiative is called "Drive Beyond" internally. They started rolling it out in 2016 to their top dealers and have been working down the line since.
The idea is a top to bottom rethink of the company and how it operates and markets and sells it's vehicles.
They're working with a company called Strativity to do it. This is the same company that helped turn Mercedes Benz around in the mid 00's.
The idea is to leverage their brand and unique position to build cars that bring a great value to the marketplace while also proving cars that have design and driving dynamics that set them apart from the mainstream Japanese automakers(Toyota and Honda specifically). The idea being they will build their brand recorecognition to not be forced to compete directly on price with the volume manufacturers. They tried for years to chase sales numbers and gain market share but it didn't work and ultimately hurt the company. so focusing on what makes Mazda unique and leveraging it to become a lifestyle brand is the big goal of Drive Beyond and it's working. The dealer i worked at from 2014-2017 just had their remodel finished and it's a HUGE change. It feels like an Audi store and it's really really cool.
This new 6cyl platform co developed with Lexus is going to be awesome. I'm super excited for it.
Thanks for the insight. As one of the resident Mazda fanbois, I like the direction they are moving.
_ said:I've never understood why car makers can't make a luxury looking vehicle, without charging a ton of money.
I think they can, but the problem is they don't because once the vehicle looks luxury it sells for more. Why sell something for less than people are willing to give you?
z31maniac said:spacecadet (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to _ :
Mazda's new brand initiative is called "Drive Beyond" internally. They started rolling it out in 2016 to their top dealers and have been working down the line since.
The idea is a top to bottom rethink of the company and how it operates and markets and sells it's vehicles.
They're working with a company called Strativity to do it. This is the same company that helped turn Mercedes Benz around in the mid 00's.
The idea is to leverage their brand and unique position to build cars that bring a great value to the marketplace while also proving cars that have design and driving dynamics that set them apart from the mainstream Japanese automakers(Toyota and Honda specifically). The idea being they will build their brand recorecognition to not be forced to compete directly on price with the volume manufacturers. They tried for years to chase sales numbers and gain market share but it didn't work and ultimately hurt the company. so focusing on what makes Mazda unique and leveraging it to become a lifestyle brand is the big goal of Drive Beyond and it's working. The dealer i worked at from 2014-2017 just had their remodel finished and it's a HUGE change. It feels like an Audi store and it's really really cool.
This new 6cyl platform co developed with Lexus is going to be awesome. I'm super excited for it.
Thanks for the insight. As one of the resident Mazda fanbois, I like the direction they are moving.
I can tell you my mom bought a MB roadster last summer despite my urging multiple times to get an ND for half price. She didn't in the end, because the Mazda dealerships were all so skanky and the salespeople couldn't be bothered to help her get a test drive in an automatic.
For her, a big part of the decision was the dealership experience. And apparently the Mazda dealers in denver are a bunch of idiots. I hope they can pull off the above.
Mazda dealerships do not have a good reputation anywhere. But hey, what car company does?
I am another Mazda fanboy. I’m intrigued by this I6, RWD 6. And I’m intrigued by their pivot, which they’ve basically been trying to do for decades. My hope is that they retain the fun-to-drive elements. My biggest concern will be that they become a BMW junior. That is, losing focus of driver’s cars and all geeked out on the latest tech or “luxury” features. The reviews of the latest 3 have me concerned. I also recognize that Mazda probably doesn’t think my opinion is very relevant. Time will tell.
I remain hopeful. And I’m glad they’re teaming up with Toyota so they can stay afloat, because almost no one buys Mazdas except the CX-5.
Robbie (Forum Supporter) said:_ said:I've never understood why car makers can't make a luxury looking vehicle, without charging a ton of money.
I think they can, but the problem is they don't because once the vehicle looks luxury it sells for more. Why sell something for less than people are willing to give you?
Because then you sell a billion instead a million. It's free advertising. If everyone loves your vehicle so much, they will tell others. Others will say to them "oh I could never afford one of these", that's when your buyer makes a sale for you by saying "oh, it was only 25k OTD."
Vigo (Forum Supporter) said:In my opinion a lot of the current Mazda lineup looks more expensive than it is, so there's that.
IDK when I was cross shopping the Civic Si I recently bought, the Mazda 3 seemed to be at a higher price point than the cars its comepeting against. It could have just been the market I was buying in.
You're both right.
It looks more expensive than it is, but it's also more expensive than the Civic and Corollas.
When I see a new 3, which is rare, my reaction is "Wow, that car looks special."
My gf has a new 3, in the really dark blue color.
I think it looks great. If you asked me 10 years ago what country it came from, I'd have guessed Italy.
m4ff3w said:My gf has a new 3, in the really dark blue color.
I think it looks great. If you asked me 10 years ago what country it came from, I'd have guessed Italy.
This could be some really high praise or some really awesome shade being thrown.
m4ff3w said:My gf has a new 3, in the really dark blue color.
I think it looks great. If you asked me 10 years ago what country it came from, I'd have guessed Italy.
There is a rust joke here that is just too easy... 
IIRC a lot of the Italian rust issues were because of really cheap Czech steel that was not fully refined - the rust was built in to the steel. Or maybe someone was BSing me.
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