2012 car sales

[dud]

http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html

as much as everyone hated the old civic, it seems it sold well.

Looks can be deceiving. My brother bought one of the 2012s even with the negative ratings because Honda "encouraged" him to by HEAVILY discounting his car. He paid (OTD) about $3K less then I paid for my wife's 2007 Civic 5.5 years ago! According to my brother there was no negotiation involved ... he got an advert in the mail with the insanely low deal ($14K) and he bought, despite the negative publicity.

For that price I would probably have bitten too ...

 

[dud]

Ding ding. It was horrible back in the day. The new crop 3/6 has been better, but it's not Honda/Toyota.

Part of the problem could be that Mazda is partly owned by Ford.

 

[KentState]

the reliability rankings for mazda haven't been all that great. hecho in japan is not the same as reliable (look at mitsubishi) (that said my mazda3's been better than my sentra was). until the mazda6 and mazda3 were released about a decade ago there wasn't really much to commend on their normal passenger cars.

There where some nicer cars, but it was more of the niche/sports vehicles like MSP, Protege5, Miata, and RX7 for example. The problem was that the 626 was not a good competitor, expensive to repair and troublesome.

 

[foghorn67]

Part of the problem could be that Mazda is partly owned by Ford.

lol, no.

 

[phucheneh]

If Ford still has a stake in Mazda, it's a low single-digit percentage. They're on their own, but they've got good platforms. The question is whether other stuff (engines/engine accessories, mainly) will hold up, and what their general reputation is/will be. They're still a 'niche' maker like Mitsubishi...but they've found a much better niche.

So long Mitsu, it looks like this is the end for you. I guess four additional Japanese brands (everything after Honda, Toyota, and Nissan) was too many. Suzuki's already pulling out of NA and I think Mitsubishi is going to follow. Can Subaru and Mazda capitalize on that?

Mitsubishi cars is still a division of the much bigger Mitsubishi corp, right? I think they'll be around for a while (the company); the question is if they will eventually just deem their passenger car segment a bust.

 

[BeauCharles]

the reliability rankings for mazda haven't been all that great. hecho in japan is not the same as reliable (look at mitsubishi) (that said my mazda3's been better than my sentra was). until the mazda6 and mazda3 were released about a decade ago there wasn't really much to commend on their normal passenger cars.

I've owned two Mazdas (both Proteges - 1999 and 2002). They were very reliable and are still in the family - my sisters are running the wheels off them now. I bought them because of reliability rankings showing them as being in the same league as Honda or Toyota back then. Maybe the US built ones weren't as good, but the ones that came out of Hiroshima are great.

As far as Mitsubishi goes it may be the same thing. The Lancer (built in Japan) is very reliable. While we don't have much of a sample in this country since they sell so few here, a British firm that tracks warranty claims ranks it as the most reliable vehicle over the past 15 years. Mitsubishi is a fairly popular brand there.

I have a 2010 Lancer Sportback GTS and its been perfect in the two years I've owned it - nothing but oil changes. I'd buy it again given the deal I got.

 

[power_hour]

Never understood why Mazda doesn't sell more. Reasonably priced, reliable, fun to drive, nice looking, full product line, been here for decades ... and they sell half as many as Kia.

Well up here in Canada, alot of people were upset with the extensive rust issues on the earlier 04-08 models of Mazda3s. Add the crappy exterior redesign and presto, you have a dog. I miss my 04 but it wasn't exactly reliable and the rust was starting to show.

The new SkyActiv version is not bad but if I were in the market for that class of car, I would still consider a Civic first. And speaking of Civic, the SI model is not bad at all either.

I think alot of people who bought the '12 at the heavy discount price scored an amazing bargain.

 

[ShawnD1]

Looks can be deceiving. My brother bought one of the 2012s even with the negative ratings because Honda "encouraged" him to by HEAVILY discounting his car. He paid (OTD) about $3K less then I paid for my wife's 2007 Civic 5.5 years ago! According to my brother there was no negotiation involved ... he got an advert in the mail with the insanely low deal ($14K) and he bought, despite the negative publicity.

For that price I would probably have bitten too ...

Smart move on their part. Then they can keep saying year after year that it's the most popular car in its class.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...-10-cars-and-trucks-in-canada/article5749362/

 

[ElFenix]

Part of the problem could be that Mazda is partly owned by Ford.

except that ford was pretty much always better than mazda on the reliability surveys when they owned mazda, like in 2009:
http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/news/pressrelease.aspx?id=2009043

2008:
http://www.autonews.com/assets/PDF/CA5253288.PDF

2007:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/j-d-power-2007-vehicle-dependability-study/full/#photo-346679/

2006:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/08/autos/jdpower_dependability/

2005:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/29/j-d-power-releases-long-term-vehicle-dependability-study/


edit: lol@nissan trading on toyota and honda's reliability record

 

[Zap]

Mazda has some interesting cars, the CX5 crossover is a hit, while the Mazda 5 mini minivan is a bust.

I wonder how much of that is perception. Cute-utes are really popular right now as an entire class of vehicles while truly mini minivans are not. For instance the Kia Rondo didn't seem very popular either, even though both it and the Mazda 5 seem to pack a lot of functionality into a small package.

 

[vi edit]

I wonder how much of that is perception. Cute-utes are really popular right now as an entire class of vehicles while truly mini minivans are not. For instance the Kia Rondo didn't seem very popular either, even though both it and the Mazda 5 seem to pack a lot of functionality into a small package.

Mazda itself had very little interest in pushing the Mazda 5. It's own internal sales projections are very small. And it has *NEVER* been marketed here. Have you ever seen a commercial for it? Mazda in general is a low marketing company having really only marketed the CX-5/9 recently.

The 5 has a couple things that hurt it's sales a bit.

1) It's still a Minivan. Look at vans in general, they've lost A LOT of ground to SUV's. People have a serious ego issue buying a car with sliding doors as if those doors have circumcised their livelyhood or something.

2) MPG & Performance + size compared to full size. On paper the Mazda 5 really didn't get any better (if not even worse!) milage than a full sized Odyessy. Factor in a somewhat doggy 4 cylinder and a major step down in size and a lot of people just didn't want to bother with them.

Now if Mazda would take the time to "Skyactiv" the little bastard and give you a vehicle that could carry six people, was fun to drive, had the turning radius of a tricycle, and when needed storage space that would humiliate most cute utes....AND give you 35-40MPG on the highway...that would be something special.

As a previous Mazda5 owner, they are very cool little cars. I loved mine.

 

[BeauCharles]

As a previous Mazda5 owner, they are very cool little cars. I loved mine.

I looked at one when I was shopping in 2011 (they'd just had a pretty big refresh). I'm 6' 4" and even with the seat all the way back my knees were brushing the bottom of the dash. Never had been in a car with so little leg room.

 

[dud]

Mazda itself had very little interest in pushing the Mazda 5. It's own internal sales projections are very small. And it has *NEVER* been marketed here. Have you ever seen a commercial for it? Mazda in general is a low marketing company having really only marketed the CX-5/9 recently.

The 5 has a couple things that hurt it's sales a bit.

1) It's still a Minivan. Look at vans in general, they've lost A LOT of ground to SUV's. People have a serious ego issue buying a car with sliding doors as if those doors have circumcised their livelyhood or something.

2) MPG & Performance + size compared to full size. On paper the Mazda 5 really didn't get any better (if not even worse!) milage than a full sized Odyessy. Factor in a somewhat doggy 4 cylinder and a major step down in size and a lot of people just didn't want to bother with them.

Now if Mazda would take the time to "Skyactiv" the little bastard and give you a vehicle that could carry six people, was fun to drive, had the turning radius of a tricycle, and when needed storage space that would humiliate most cute utes....AND give you 35-40MPG on the highway...that would be something special.

As a previous Mazda5 owner, they are very cool little cars. I loved mine.

I rented one on a business trip a few years ago and found it to be a nice little??? Is it a car? Is it a minivan? It was nice but a vehicle in search of an identity.

Definitely a niche vehicle ...