Went to LA this weekend and time constraints prevented us from driving down. We drove to the airport in the RS. On the other side, Hubby's uncle and aunt picked us up in a rental Mazda3. 2-point-slow with slushbox and wind up windows/manual locks. We took over the helm as uncle was not familiar with SoCal. The throttle waaaaay too touchy, the brakes offering up their best bite with a jerk and then nothing more. The amenities we could live without, but with 4 of us (none big people), manually changing the gears did nothing but alter the amount of noise made by the engine. Next day we swapped to the all new Mazda6 - the previous gen a favourite rental of ours. A larger engine, but with so much more car to haul around, not much difference despite a 5 speed rather than 4 speed trans. In addition, whatever chassis feedback we'd had with the 3, was gone.

Great weekend, lots of sights seen, etc.

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/3127/img_0973.jpg">

While driving home from the airport in the RS, we began to reflect. Were we really that jaded that we found cars that many people drive without complaint, so dull? Or is that just what people have come to expect, and don't know any better? Or is it that they don't even want that range of subtlety to deal with on a daily basis - just off-on switches for brakes and throttle? It wasn't that the RS was faster or could stop better - it was the linear throttle, the easy to modulate brakes, the honesty of the chassis. This isn't the exclusive province of the RS of course - I'd have been just as happy to be in my 21yo Alfa. There have been and continue to be cars that offer those qualities. But why is it that volume sellers have to suck so badly? Is it that in having to appeal to so many, no character can be left that might offend?

the Avenger will trigger a deep, hurtful pain as you doubt ability of the US to produce a decent car. It was just sad.

"Clark, you think you hate it now. Just wait until you drive it!"

Anyhow, it is easy to get spoiled on our cars. I purposefully recall my first several cars often so that I remain thankful for what I have. And if I ever had to go back to commuting in a 67 VW Squareback, I hope that I would still enjoy it.

I had the privelage of driving a chevy cobalt in Baton Rouge last week. holy crap what a POS. Worst turning radius ever, especially given it is such a small car. I love these new commercials on TV about how people are sick mentally because they have importitis, and the US auto makers are saying its all untrue how imports are better. Well in my opinion US made cars lack good tasteful styling (see Ford Flex, what a crap design), are un-original (see ford flex, all retro cars like challenger, mustang, charger, camaro). I hope the US car companies do go down in flames, and are forced to rebuild to be more competetive. I would love to buy american but hate everything coming out of Detroit. Nothing there to compete with Audi, BMW, Lexus, even Toyota and Honda still in my opinion are far more stylish and pleasant to drive cars. Oh lets not forget the wisdom to rename the ford 500 back to the Taurus. please, bury that POS once and for all! US companies just love to live in the past. They need some fresh blood in designs and engineering. And not just one guy to come in and learn from the vets and get assimilated. They need to ****can all the vets and start from scratch.

How much harder is it to make a linear throttle opening? Clearly they have a reason for making it the way it is, but don't people find it annoying the way it is? Same goes for the brakes. Super-touchy initially, but offering no further bite the harder you push. Hence I pointed out that I have a 21yo car that lacks the same level of suspension control and NVH control, but totally eclipses the Mazda when it comes to control of major systems like engine and brakes. 21 years is plenty of time to figure things out. Mazda isn't even Toyota or Honda - they are supposed to have a sporting element to their product!

By referencing the RS4, I meant to say that I'm glad not all car makers have neglected these things. You have only to drive some other overtly sporting products to realize that the philosophy at Mazda is prevalent in most places. A few weeks prior we rented a Hyundai Sonata, and while the controls were similarly devoid of feel, they did not have the coarseness of feel present in the Mazda. I used to forgive the coarseness in Mazdas in exchange for the extra feedback and systems communication. Now there is nothing gained by the exchange. Over-promise and under-deliver.

I could have climbed back into the Alfa instead of the RS after the weekend and gone beyond appreciation to a pat on the dash and kind word before firing her up;-P

...it's an excellent car for what it is. I owned one for a couple of years and while an RS4 it's not, it's about the best you can get for around $20 grand.

and if their prior products were not honest and enjoyable cars to fling around. This just felt like a betrayal of Mazda core values.

I understand that cars are built to a price, and design corners are cut to meet the price. But it seems that in some of these projects there is no high point where engineers who really cared, poured a little passion into their work. I can put up with a lot of dreck if a car has pinnacle that I as the end user can appreciate;-)

Heck! The Mazda6 didn't even have the internal trunk pull down handle molded into the carpet - hands outside on the trunk lid to close!

We rent cars maybe a dozen times a year. I dread the thought that we may meet up with a current Chrysler product!

is a much better car. Why can't the base car have some of the same goodness baked in, sans the extra urge of course?

Even a base 2.0T A4 has some modicum of control finesse.

One of my favourite rentals of all time was an 82hp gen 4 Tercel with a 4spd manual and no tach. Everything was manual. Gutless but hugely entertaining in a budget kind of way. It was happy being flogged. Not all cars are willing participants in such hooliganism;-)

any number of private agendas, and very little attention has been to actually building competitive cars.

Personally I'd like to see them file for chapter 11, get rid of some of the more onerous union obligations, kick out 2/3rds of the corporate deadwood, and create executive pay packages that reflect not just quarterly stock earnings (which has been the emphasis and bane), but long term health of the company.

anything american except the full size cars (fords are last two experiences and at least didn't complain about higher speeds or wander off line) have been torture.

Vehicle Price
2009 Mazda3 GX $15,895.00
Exterior: Arctic White $0.00
Interior: Beige Cloth Included

Vehicle Total: $15,895.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Price
Freight &amp; Pre-delivery Inspection (PDI) $1,395.00
Mazda Added Protection $0.00

Other Total: $1,395.00
Total Vehicle Cost: $17,290.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deductions Price
Down Payment $0.00
Trade In $0.00
Graduate Reward $0.00

Deductions Total: $0.00
Total Vehicle Cost Less Deductions: $17,290.00

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Taxes and Fees Price
Tax for Fuel Conservation (TFFC) $0.00
Federal Air Tax (Incl. GST) $0.00
Tire Tax $22.40
PST $1,210.30
GST $864.50
Battery Tax $5.25
PPSA (RPDRM) $36.64

Total Tax $2,139.09
Total Vehicle Purchase Price incl. Tax: $19,429.09

The 2.3 base package has all the normal creature comforts (auto windows/doors, keyless entry, etc), and 205/17's, so it's pretty good for an econobox.

At the time, I think the 2.0 was under $16k, and comes with no creature comforts.

You cant track it..right?

Thanks again for those tickets..appreciate it.

So The Mazda you drove fits the bill for that. I have a nephew with a tricked out MazdaSpeed 3...verrry fun car to drive! Torque steer like mad...buts his first new car out of engineering school and I'll be working on him to go German next time out....

Passion. That's what is missing. Goodness should be baked into the most basic version, and performance goodies merely icing on the cake. Again, this only applies to cars with sporting intentions. Mazda sells itself on having sporting intentions. If it was a Corolla, the lack of driving oriented refinement would be expected.

An ace of base MINI stickers for $19,200. While a somewhat smaller car, it also sells based on a sporty image and comes with better fuel economy, power windows, power locks, trip computer, traction control, stability control..... but an automatic will add $1250 to the bottom line.

A basic automatic VW Rabbit is $17,325 with auto. It offers many of the same goodies as the MINI in a larger package, and having driven the Jetta version, I might not love it, but I can respect it.

While not the super-sedan powerhouse that is the RS4, Honda, Mazda, and Toyota due offer sporty vehicles. The Honda S2000 is a fantastic machine. The Mazda RX8 is also a very nimble, nicely put together vehicle for the price. The Lexus GS350 isn't a bad car by any stretch of the imagination. Still, each of these vehicles is in the $30-40K price range which leads me to believe that this is simply the price level at which performance begins to get good. Below that its all about simple point A to point B with maybe some amenities thrown in in the high 20's price range.

Bottom line...yes ...driving your RS4 has spoiled you rotten.

has driving a 21 year old 1/4 million mile Alfa Romeo Milano Verde spoiled me rotten? :) That is my daily, and I was sure pining for it while driving the Mazda(s). The throttle responds precisely what my foot tells it to do, building thrust with rpms, and you can tell exactly when the brakes start to bite, adding more and more bite the harder you push. Some cars respond to finesse. Others to being flogged. Just didn't seem to be any sweet spot.

The Europeans build some cracking good little cars we never see. Even so, the base MINI is no slouch. A Rabbit ain't half bad, and certainly gives finer throttle and brake control.

I agree that extra refinement in all things is very expensive to engineer. That last 10% costs much more than 10% of the development budget. I think I was allowing for that in that I expected some coarseness. Being a Mazda, I just expected a little more RX8 DNA in the driving controls.

And in it's day it was not cheap. A car like the Mazda 3 is built to look sporty, and that's about where it ends. The Mazda 3 is Mazda's "budget" vehicle. Take a top-end Mazda 6 for a spin and the performance may be within the realm of what you find acceptable. But again, remember that the difference between a bottom end Mazda 6 and a top-end Mazda 6 is huge. Still, these are the "modern mainstream" cars that you refer to. Camry, Altima, Accord, Mazda 6, Ford Fusion, Chrysler 300 (SRT excluded). all these cars in their higher-end versions would, I bet, be acceptable to you to drive. But comparing a Mazda 3 to any purpose minded sports car, be it an RS4, or even a 20 year-old Alfa just ain't fair.

Putting it another way, I don't think Mazda designers ever even remotely considered the notion that the Mazda 3 should be able to provide an acceptable driving experience to the average Audi RS4 (and alike)owner.

to get a linear throttle and brakes. A MK III Jetta 2.0 beats feel if not outright power!

That Mazda can't match let alone exceed the feel of an 80's niche sports sedan is sad, given the specs aren't all that far apart (Milano 2.5 had 154hp). Past Mazda6 in rental form were not bad either. Not fast, but transparent. In fact I've enjoyed early Sonatas, Tercels, and various other rental cars. They weren't sports cars, but there was an honesty I find lacking in the current crop of Mazdas. A pity because they were my top rental choices.

True, but I know people that have no passion for cars at all, to them its just a bland machine. But I agee that Mazda sells a sporting image, they should do better all around. The Corolla S is a wind up toy that can be fun with a few mods. For kids coming out of school, the RS4 or even a S4 can be a very long stretch. So there has to be cheaper cars for them to buy, some are funner than others.

are you saying you didn't like the new Mazda6? Yeh, it's larger and more civilized. They've tried to make it more like a Camry or Accord in size and manners. Still, a nice car, nice effort by Mazda. The old 6 was weak in a number of ways.

that they even offer the 2 engines(2.0 and 2.3) in the Mazda3. Fuel economy is just a couple MPG difference.

I've driven both of them, both 5 spds. The 2.0 isn't slow for that small and light car. Of course I'd go for the 2.3, but I just can't understand the 2 different engines being used in the first place.

in good times the unions force thru deals that bleed the big 3 dry over time(excessive pay scales and extravagant pensions). In bad times they want to make no consessions and threaten strikes.

That's been the main reason why the big 3 winds up making relatively crappy cars just to get within $500 of the competition. I think we've seen with the Ford GT and GM Vette and CTS-V that American car companies "could" make cars with the best of them if they weren't so hogtied by a belligerent labor force here.

Audiophiles would joke about my setup, but it's something I need but don't care about, like my toaster.

Don't forget though, if you aren't interested what you drive, you probably aren't interested in how you drive. Beware the Toyota.

P.S. nice post April, hits the spot well

bloated and out of touch.

if not all of the playfulness that was present in the previous versions.

It's weak in details however. They haven't even molded a handle into the trunk lid liner, meaning you need to put your hands on the (dirty) painted outside to close it. While the plastics inside were even in texture and sheen, the moldings lacked the more expensive complex 3 dimensionality found in some other cars of the class. The engine note unrefined when revved - as it must often do to attain forward progress. The ride was a bit better than Camry IMHO - it didn't wallow.

They certainly haven't beat Toyota or Honda at their game, nor are they sufficiently different to make a compelling argument in other ways.

you make some good observations. That's been Mazda's weakness, somewhat cheap and unrefined characterisitics. The styling has Camry and Accord beat though, IMO. Also, the Camry interior is Rubbermaid-esque.

if the big 3 decided to just trump the Japanese and Koreans with their engineering, price be damned. They would have to transform themselves away from high volume car companies though. I don't know if Chrysler could pull it off, but Ford and GM could.

It's intially risky, but a risk worth taking, IMO. They could then be profitable based on selling better cars then the Japanese, Koreans, and soon to be Chinese. A lot of autoworker jobs would be lost, but no tears shed for them here. The long term trend points to that conclusion anyway. Why not do it now before it's forced upon them at the brink?

with fat paycheques based on quarterly performance and stockholder profits. They don't give a fig for long term company health. They are just manipulating things enough to squeeze a bit more profit each quarter, at the expense of long term planning. The folks below them designing the cars know this, and company moral is low. They know how to design good cars, but that almost never makes it even into the CAD designs on their computers, thanks to cost cutting both at the design, production, and materials phases.

where executives often jump ship to the competition and even Japanese car companies. That's not the problem as I see it.

If Ford, under Mullally, really brings over its European Fords, they will kill the Japanese and Korean competition(American market models). They are significantly better cars. But Ford will need to make a permanent committment to the "one" Ford idea, and will need to assemble these designs/models at US factories.

There's really no obstacle. They will be putting out very good bread and butter cars with European design, quality, and road manners. What's not to like? They may have to become a lower volume car company as they will NEED to sell these models at a profit...which will make them more expensive than the Japanese and Korean cars...a la VW.

But it can be done. VW experienced a real boon here from about 1998 to 2004 with very hot selling New Beetle, Golf, Jetta, and Passat. Then they inexplicably made them ugly and went into the dumper.

is made to produce the vehicles here. I doubt Ford of Europe is tooled up to meet the volume, and shipping them here is probably cost prohibitive anyway.

You are right that the only way out of the mess is to fix the product. The thing is that there is a lot of vested interest by people who are too short sighted to see the ship is sinking and that they will need to give up something. They know it's going down, and they are grabbing all the silverware they can.<ul><li><a href="http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1208&amp;u_sid=10450744">http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=1208&amp;u_sid=10450744</a</li></ul>

When you have a stock price of $1.90, I don't think the shareholders are going to insist on status quo. They want the company turned around and profitable. And shareholders are usually on the side of downsizing and streamlining(i.e. unlike the employees). So not exactly an issue.

Absolutely Europe doesn't have the capacity to produce these models for US market, especially considering their main assembly plant is a large but antiquated one in Koln(Cologne). My guess is that initial production capacity would come from possibly Belgium, where many Volvo models are now built, or maybe Czech or Eastern Europe. But it all becomes moot if Ford sets up the tooling and assembly lines at Factories here in the US. They are constantly converting factories over to new models and designs anyway, so why not for the Euro models?

As far as stubborn corporate types or board members with pull not willing to go along with change, it's still a family run company(Bill Ford, etc) and that's exactly why he turned over the day-to-day operations to Mullally recently...with full knowledge of and support for the new direction Mullally wants to take Ford.

Mullally wants it to become a global Ford, with all models in all markets. He also wants 6 European Ford models, beginning with the Focus and Fiesta, to be sold here asap. I think the man has a brilliant plan. Get your best products out into the marketplace where they can compete and win. It would be a transformation of Ford in the US, with no looking back. I hope they have the guts to still do it and that they don't wind up handicapping Mullally due to the present dire situation.

Ford is already retooling 3 truck plants to soon produce the new European Mondeo, Focus, and Fiesta for the US market.

These are new models currently in the process of introduction in the European market. All that's needed is a redesign of the front bumpers from Euro spec to US crash impact regs. It involves reinforcement behind the bumper skin.

I have refused to even consider buying anything made by Ford but a Ford truck for several years now. That may change...

Glass half full?