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The Mazda 6 is everything the press says they want in a car. It looks great and is the best handling of the FWD family sedans. The issue here seems to be the tight back seat and jittery ride. Altima may be bland, but it is roomy and smooth. Camry (until this year) was also roomy and smooth. Buyers in this class seem to want an appliance that gets them to their destination safely, reliably, and comfortably. A great driving experience is not high on many lists.
The Mazda 6 has a new challenger now. The base KIA Stinger is about the same price and offers much better driving experience with its rear wheel drive design.
The auto press is absolutely crazy about the Mazda 6 and the Stinger. The Mazda 6 sells in pitiful numbers in the USA and Canada (to the point that I wonder why Mazda bothers to keep it around, making me think that it must sell well enough elsewhere that its development costs have been paid for and Mazda believes that it needs to maintain a presence -- even a ghostly presence -- in the North American mid-size market). Time will tell how well the Stinger sells.
If the Stinger also sells in low numbers, it will be further proof how far removed from reality and how irrelevant most of the auto press is.
The auto press is absolutely crazy about the Mazda 6 and the Stinger.
it will be further proof how far removed from reality and how irrelevant most of the auto press is.
Assuming we are talking about the legit automotive press such as Car & Driver, Motor Trend, Top Gear, and Road & Track as examples, they are not in any way out of touch and irrelevant. These publications write for their audience who subscribe to their magazines. These subscribers generally are going to be automotive enthusiasts or people who have a passion about cars (regardless if they own or do not own a car that is for enthusiasts)
Publications like Carscoops, Jalopnik, Autoblog, and people like Alex on Autos are not exactly legit, they are not fake but they are not really accredited, however they slant their critic to their audience (if they realize what their audience really is looking for) Consumer Reports who are legit panders their narrative to their subscribers. Newspapers car journalism is kind of irrelevant (but was once important) in their critique as most just simply follow the norm.
At the of the day, every piece of journalism has a bias. It's just being able to view what the bias might be which can be valuable to the reader.
Assuming we are talking about the legit automotive press such as Car & Driver, Motor Trend, Top Gear, and Road & Track as examples, they are not in any way out of touch and irrelevant. These publications write for their audience who subscribe to their magazines. These subscribers generally are going to be automotive enthusiasts or people who have a passion about cars (regardless if they own or do not own a car that is for enthusiasts)
What Sulu is refering to, though (and I basically agree with him) is that the automotive press and much of their audience don't really reflect the majority (or reality) of the American market, which continues to buy huge numbers of so-called "non-enthusiast" vehicles that publications like C&D, MT, R&T, etc..... would find are too appliance-like for them. That is simply the reality of the market.....not the image that auto-enthusiast mags are trying to portray. Even right here on Car Chat (though I am one of the exceptions), a lot of our posters are clearly more sport-oriented than the general automotive public.
Publications like Carscoops, Jalopnik, Autoblog, and people like Alex on Autos are not exactly legit, they are not fake but they are not really accredited. Consumer Reports who are legit panders their narrative to their subscribers. Newspapers car journalism is kind of irrelevant in their critique as most just simply follow the norm.
Alex Dykes, IMO, is the most legitimate auto reviewer of all. He thoroughly reviews vehicles from bumper-to-bumper....every nook and cranny, not just 0-60 times, skidpad/slalom figures, or braking distances. Yes, he does mention performance figures, but they are clearly not the gist of his reviews. He represents what most of the buying public wants to know. In fact, Alex on Autos, as a web site, prides itself on being information-oriented, not sport-oriented.
What Sulu is refering to, though (and I basically agree with him) is that the automotive press and much of their audience don't really reflect the majority (or reality) of the American market, which continues to buy huge numbers of so-called "non-enthusiast" vehicles that publications like C&D, MT, R&T, etc..... would find are too appliance-like for them. That is simply the reality of the market.....not the image that auto-enthusiast mags are trying to portray. Even right here on Car Chat (though I am one of the exceptions), a lot of our posters are clearly more sport-oriented than the general automotive.
You completely miss it all. Car & Driver or Motor Trend are not trying to sell people a car. They are trying to sell subscriptions which determines what they can charge advertisers. It just happens to be a car enthusiasts magazine.
Your favourite magazine CR is also not trying to sell cars they are trying to sell subscriptions. . CR does not disclose their true raw data, otherwise inferences can be made about everything on their site. . There is nothing wrong with CRs opinions, however, they are biased just like Alex on Autos who needs clicks and views to make his money.
You completely miss it all. Car & Driver or Motor Trend are not trying to sell people a car. They are trying to sell subscriptions which determines what they can charge advertisers. It just happens to be a car enthusiasts magazine.
Your favourite magazine CR is also not trying to sell cars they are trying to sell subscriptions. . CR does not disclose their true raw data, otherwise inferences can be made about everything on their site. . There is nothing wrong with CRs opinions, however, they are biased just like Alex on Autos who needs clicks and views to make his money.
CR is not necessarily my favorite auto magazine, though their reliability data is useful.
So Alex makes money? Everyone needs to make a living. At least he earns what money he makes.
Anyhow, we were originally talking about how the auto press views the thread-topic Mazda6, not how much money reviewers make.
It's a good thing that the Mazda 6 is around as an option for sedan buyers. It would be a boring world if it was not. Mazda as a whole does not sell in the gigantic numbers that other automakers do. That doesn't mean it's a bad brand or doesn't make good vehicles. It's merely another choice in the market for people who want that type of vehicle.
If people want appliances and are not interested in sporty driving dynamics there are lots of choices, and that's a good thing too. Much of the car press tends to cover things that are more aspirational. You're not going to mortgage your house to go buy a Ferrari, but maybe you're curious and so CD or some other magazine does a test of interesting cars like that.
Mazda definitely does things differently with their approach to motoring and having owned two 626 sedans back in the day, I can attest to just how nice they are for a sporty driver while still providing a good ride.
I think the biggest part of Mazda's problem is marketing and perception. People forget that they exist. You can't sell cars if people don't know you're there or sell a vehicle in that segment. I mean the Mazda 3 sells very well(maybe better back in the mid-late 00's when the economy was crap and people wanted small cars), but its like people forget they sell a larger car too.
Also I think there is some preconcieved and completely false notion that Mazda makes 2nd rate, chintzy, poor quality cars. That is rubbish IMO, there are plenty of 10-15 year old Mazda 3's out on the road, a friend is still driving her late 90's Protege with no problems and over 200k miles, and there are still a ton of 90's Miata roadsters out there. Only ones that were crap were the rebadged Ford Ranger trucks and first gen Tribute(rebadged gen I Escape)
Mazda has been mulling a RWD replacement for the 6 sedan (a la Stinger, Dodge Charger), after this last update for 2018 (supposed to be place-holder to develop all-new 6). Tentatively scheduled for MY 2021, in an effort to increase profitability on lesser volume. I am not certain on how good of a gamble it is, but this was supposed to hint at it somewhat last year. While it seems out of the left field, Mazda has been trying to go upmarket and study the possibility of RWD models as a semi-premium/premium product below luxury brands for years, which is why they've rejected the idea of Mazdaspeed versions of current models. They are more focused on gradual ascension of the brand, in execution and model philosophy. They have never really let go of the "Amati" proposition, since Ford made them can it 25 years ago. Would a production-approved version of the Vision GT, suffice in $27k to $43k range, with the requisite high output turbo-4 at the top end?
The last few Mazda concepts have been real stunners. Would love to see them get an opportunity to come to fruition. Until then, nice to see the Mazda6 get a powerbump to compete better in this highly competitive segment.
03-18-18, 02:53 PM
