Mazda Popularity

[ColoradoDriver]

Yes.

Here we go again with why do people buy the cars they buy.
Heres goes me again citing the post I always cite when this comes up. It's 3 years old now but I doubt things have changed.
#1 Reliability.
#2 LOOKS
#3 Brand Loyalty
#4 Reviews\Reputation
#5 Ride\Handling
#6 Price
#7 MPG tied with #7 Safety
#9 Quality
#10 AWD

https://www.nydailynews.com/autos/bu...icle-1.2552707

Looks sell cars. I walked around my office once and asked people why they bought the cars they did.
"Legroom" or "Trunk space" were... not once mentioned.

I AM a car enthusiast and I never knew that until I was doing research to buy one.

100% agree my friend. Not one person I know is in the market for a CUV if their main concern is cargo space. These people instead have big full size SUV's.

And I am so tired of people saying "Everyone thinks Ford still owns Mazda". Ok, first of all? NO, they don't. Second, Ford quality is better today then it's ever been in history so thinking negatively of a brand because it's associated with Ford...well that would just be dumb today. Last, I am willing to bet pink slips even WHEN Ford did own part of Mazda at least 60% of the buying public didn't know it then. And I bet that's a low guess.

Look, you and I know what the deal is and I personally wouldn't say "everyone thinks this" because I know that's not the case. But just like the average person thinks Honda is the Honda of many years ago, anecdotally around my circle of friends/acquaintances/family, Ford is still thought of as that crap brand they used to be, and again...anecdotally, many people I have had conversations with assume Mazda is still owned by Ford. This wasn't just one person, but many I've talked cars with.

I prefaced to say this is just anecdotal to me and experiences I have had talking to people about it in recent times (last few years), and again I wouldn't say "everybody thinks this", but don't pretend it's not still out there. The average person I know thinks FORD stands for Found on Road Dead.

[7eregrine]

OK, most, not EVERYONE.
Because I also did that experiment many months ago. Documented here somewhere.

Asked all my co-workers who owned Mazda. 3 of the 20 did say Ford had all or part of it. Most said independent.
One said... VOLVO?!?!?! lol

But yea, that's not why Mazda isn't selling as well as some IMO. It's just flat out never been a mainstream brand. And hopefully never will.
And let's not also forget Mazda did very well for 3 years almost straight shattering Mazda sales records month after month after month.
That was bound to taper off.

O yeah, speaking of which. New month. Here's October:



https://insidemazda.mazdausa.com/pre...sales-results/

[Avoidin Deer]

Yes.

Here we go again with why do people buy the cars they buy.
Heres goes me again citing the post I always cite when this comes up. It's 3 years old now but I doubt things have changed.

Interesting that there's nothing on the list that alludes to the advertisements that tell you how that car will make you feel. Maybe that's embedded in #2Looks, as you can see people eyeing a vehicle over and bonding with it. It's almost "Animal Planet."

Maybe that shows how good the advertising is. It works, yet no one is conscious enough of it to include it on their list of reasons. Or maybe they're too embarrassed to admit that the story of a rescued dog is what brought them to the Subaru dealership to spend over $30k.

I find the topic interesting, because until I was nearly 40, I always bought used based on price, solely for transportation (although I ended up with some nice cars.) Most expensive car up to that point was a $1,100 '76 Grand Prix Ltd Edition (t-tops, velour electric bucket seats, 400 4-barrel), but all others were $500 or so. Drove them each for a few years then sold them & got my money back. I didn't care about make at all. I guess I got that from my father (Nash Metropolitans, Vauxhalls, Simcas, Travelalls.)

[ColoradoDriver]

OK, most, not EVERYONE.
Because I also did that experiment many months ago. Documented here somewhere.

Like I said, it's just anecdotal to me and the people I've talked to.

[Avoidin Deer]

Since Ed posted Mazda's October figures, I thought I'd grab the data for every manufacturer tracked in the US for context.

The manufacturers are listed in descending order of YTD Market Share.
Names in red show a YTD 2019 decline over YTD 2018.



https://www.marklines.com/en/statist...esfig_usa_2019

[Monterra]

So the CX-9 doesn't sell because its perceived unreliable, doesn't look good or win positive if not rave reviews/tests? No, it doesn't sell because its not big enough, whether a general automobile poll flat out refutes that or not doesn't make it the least bit untrue for me. Bottom line- it all depends..

[7eregrine]

Like I said, it's just anecdotal to me and the people I've talked to.

and I'm agreeing, it's anecdotal as mine is.


Volvo only having .7% shocks me.

[Monterra]

^^Not me- coworker just dumped his S60 T5 that was falling apart @95k, he got smoked on trade in but bit the bullet and did himself right..2019 3 AWD hatch- you're welcome Mazda!
Said never again, and maintenance costs sucked too.

[7eregrine]

Bottom line- it all depends..

Absolutely it does. But that list is "What people buy the cars they do" not "Why cars don't sell".

I think the CX9's big issue is marketing. The average person doesn't even know this car exists.

[Avoidin Deer]

and I'm agreeing, it's anecdotal as mine is.


Volvo only having .7% shocks me.

Volvo had .7% in the month of October 2019.
Year-to-Date is .6%.

It is a shocker. I would never have thought Mazda would sell over 2.5x the number of Volvos sold.

I wonder what Volvo's long-term sales trend is.

edit to add: According to this site, between 1980 and 2018 Volvo's average market share was .6%.
Best Year (2004) .82%
Worse Year (2014) .34%

[CX-5um]

Volvo had .7% in the month of October 2019.
Year-to-Date is .6%.

It is a shocker. I would never have thought Mazda would sell over 2.5x the number of Volvos sold.

I wonder what Volvo's long-term sales trend is.

Can't remember last time I drove past a Volvo dealership.

[Avoidin Deer]

Can't remember last time I drove past a Volvo dealership.

I use DC as my *Go To* place for these things because of the population and the $$$ in that area.

According to each manufacturer's website, there are 9 Volvo dealers and 13 Mazda dealers within the same distance of DC.

Ed mentioned the number of Mazda dealers in Cleveland. There are only 3-4 Volvo dealers in the same area that has 9 Mazda dealers.

That really surprises me.

Man, I wonder what discussions they are having regarding poor marketing over in the Volvo forums???

[Monterra]

Space, while not an end deciding factor is an essential initial factor so while people won't typically cite roominess as a reason for purchase, the reason the CX-9 is invisible to most 3 row shoppers because its sheer lack of roominess takes it off the table for many I feel. Put another way while roominess and I'm going to throw in resale (to a lesser degree) aren't necessarily reasons people ultimately buy what they buy, they are most definitely reasons people don't/won't buy! If you don't fit in Miata, you're probably not buyin a Miata. If your family +luggage doesn't fit comfortably in a CX-9 that probably doesn't work as the 3 row family hauler you're looking for and consequently sales are meek.

[banjos-n-beer]

CX9 suffers from American stupidity. Americans are ingrained to believe a 3 row crossover needs at least a 6 cylinder engine.

How many 2.7T I4s Silverados is Chevy selling?

[Avoidin Deer]

Space, while not an end deciding factor is an essential initial factor so while people won't typically cite roominess as a reason for purchase, the reason the CX-9 is invisible to most 3 row shoppers because of its lack of roominess takes it off the table for many I feel. Put another way while roominess and I'm going to throw in resale aren't necessarily reasons people buy what they buy, they are most definitely reasons people don't/won't buy!

A lot of the things that have no real-world impact still make for good sales fodder.

Honda guy: "...and the CR-V has 21% more cargo room than the dinky CX-5!!!"
Customer: "Oooohhhhhh, I'm glad you pointed that out!!!!!"

No thought is given to the actual amount of space needed...they just know they get more in case they need it. And there's really no way to actually quantify the maximum amount of cubic feet you're gonna need. It gave me pause when I was looking, and I'm a single guy. When I go to the beach for a week, I haul a lot of crap with me.