Mazda Appoints New CEO, Prioritises USA - Wonder If Any Immediate Impact On CX-5

Kaps is implying they're going the BMW route. Sacrificing driving experience for higher sales volume.

Take an M2 for a spin sometime. 350+ HP in a little Mazda3 sized coupe, 6 speed with a clutch pedal, big brakes, flared fenders, carbon fiber accents,etc. A friend of mine has a 135i and the thing is insanely fun to drive. I can only imagine the M2.

 
Take an M2 for a spin sometime. 350+ HP in a little Mazda3 sized coupe, 6 speed with a clutch pedal, big brakes, flared fenders, carbon fiber accents,etc. A friend of mine has a 135i and the thing is insanely fun to drive. I can only imagine the M2.
You mean the "starting at $54,500" M2? Yea, no thanks.
 
You mean the "starting at $54,500" M2? Yea, no thanks.

Yea, not to sound snarky, but price points are pretty different between the two brands and comparable models. It's like the X3 M40i vs Macan Turbo S debate in those forums...
 
Well I think at least they finally realized the lack of CarPlay and Android Auto was affecting sales. And that’s stupid easy to fix..... just makes you think there was some out of touch leadership.
 
He's now chairman so not completely gone
Yeah, Masamichi Kogai now is going to be chairman of the board, a big profit collector but no longer be a decision maker. His biggest failure to me is the promise of improving brand's low customer-retention rate to 60% in the US.

IMHO I don't feel Akira Marumoto can do much better than Mr. Kogai based on his performance in the US as the head of Mazda North American Operations. Sales volumes on all models available in the US are down dramatically othe than CX-5. And that's mainly because the overall US sales on compact CUV is up significantly.
 
It's not all CX-5.
Mazda 6 sales for April up almost 30%. That car is going to bring back more sales.
CX3-5-9 sales all up YTD by 12.6-51.6-16.5 respectively.
The new 3 should turn things around for that car soon, hopefully.
I'm optimistic about Mazda's future, especially with Ford dropping out of the ... car market? I'm still in shock over that.

Mazda April Sales: https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/press-release/april-2018-sales/
Ford to stop making cars in 2 years: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-change/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.15334d2ee494
 
Take an M2 for a spin sometime. 350+ HP in a little Mazda3 sized coupe, 6 speed with a clutch pedal, big brakes, flared fenders, carbon fiber accents,etc. A friend of mine has a 135i and the thing is insanely fun to drive. I can only imagine the M2.


First of all, I was simply explaining the gist behind someone else's comment. His humor is often lost on others.

Secondly, it was the success of the X3 and X5 that gave them the extra dough to pour back into their stale car line up and M variants. Same with Porsche's SUVs. They'll never be a true Porsche like the 911 to some enthusiasts, but they're cash cows and enable kick ass R&D.

As noted the new CX5 is slower, heavier, more complicated, etc. But Shareholders like profits, and the new CX5 is selling quite well.

(cheers)
 
It's not all CX-5.
Mazda 6 sales for April up almost 30%. That car is going to bring back more sales.
CX3-5-9 sales all up YTD by 12.6-51.6-16.5 respectively.
The new 3 should turn things around for that car soon, hopefully.
I'm optimistic about Mazda's future, especially with Ford dropping out of the ... car market? I'm still in shock over that.

Mazda April Sales: https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/press-release/april-2018-sales/
Ford to stop making cars in 2 years: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-change/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.15334d2ee494


Yes and there has been recent news that GovMo will be stopping production on certain car models as well.
 
If this move brings back the Mazdaspeed models or at least enables the offering of optional higher powered engines in every Mazda model, then I'm on board. The problem with roads in America, is that most of them are straight. It is even more evident in Texas, where the roads are wide, flat and straight. For those kind of roads, more horsepower can add more fun to the daily drive.
 
I think they REALLY need to bring back Mazdaspeed. Sure it can be more mature than before but they need enthusiast halo models to keep the credibility behind adds like feel alive and driving matters. Otherwise it’s posturing like Toyota.
 
You mean the "starting at $54,500" M2? Yea, no thanks.

I thought we were talking about the driving experience, which has definitely not been sacrificed. BMWs have always been more expensive than Mazdas, that's no secret.

...And I agree, Banjos. The X5 is the bread and butter and the M models are the main course. Mazda, take note and make that RX-Vision.
 
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Take an M2 for a spin sometime. 350+ HP in a little Mazda3 sized coupe, 6 speed with a clutch pedal, big brakes, flared fenders, carbon fiber accents,etc. A friend of mine has a 135i and the thing is insanely fun to drive. I can only imagine the M2.


I love Doug DeMuro's reviews. Usually the insane cars I will never own but very entertaining and informative.

Focusing on NA sales isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Honestly, I think their biggest issue here is marketing. I probably see 100 Honda / Toyota commercials for every Mazda. Most people barely know of their existence. I actually stumbled across the CX-5 when I was researching Volvo XC40 competitors.
 
Doug DeMuro fan here as well. That dude is hilarious!

The Straight Pipes is another good one if you’re looking for entertaining car reviews.

Maybe Mazda should hire them to do their ads!
 
Hopefully this doesn't alter their product design/engineering much and has more to do with things like customer retention, dealerships etc.

The last thing I want is for them to go the bigger, heavier, worse handling, more automatics and CVT's route that we've seen other manufacturer's go down to 'appeal to Americans'.
 
Doug DeMuro fan here as well. That dude is hilarious!

The Straight Pipes is another good one if youre looking for entertaining car reviews.

Maybe Mazda should hire them to do their ads!

Yep. The visor test!

And The Fast Lane can be OK sometimes. I actually stumbled across a vid by them where they were comparing the CX-5 to three luxury SUV's when I was researching Volvo:

 
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