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Lets put it this way, the Protege 5 is 97% Japanese parts, 3% US/Canada parts. All assembly in Japan. I don't think Ford had any part in the design or construction of the car. From all I have read, Ford's control over Mazda has been limited mostly to guidance and financial help...they want...

Those torque numbers are WAY over what Mazda is showing for the MS Protege. 170+ AT THE WHEELS for the BEGI kit...whereas the Mazda site shows 140 ft lbs at the flywheel. That's a big difference. Also, HP is just torque at high RPM. That BEGI kit dyno retains ALL stock exhaust (even the...

They all are in the US anyway. If they are supposed to be in Canada as well, perhaps the dealer did a switcheroo with a Protege sedan (which I don't think have leather wheels)? I'd call them up if that was the case...

I am fully aware of that, which is the reason I got the Stongard. :) I got one chip the first week, and decided I had enough. My previous car (a '97 Nissan Altima, black) looked sandblasted on the front end, easily 100+ rock chips. I didn't want that to happen to my first brand new car. Been...

Thanks for the compliments! Well the kit itself runs $400 and you could get it and install it yourself, but I think the install is a big part of the final appearance and I wouldn't want to try it myself. FWIW the Stongard covers way more than the hood. Covers the whole front of the car...

I have Stongard on my P5 and so far am VERY happy with it. Kinda costly ($650 installed for full kit including lights and tax) but I don't see how anything else can protect the paint as well and be so relatively invisible. See pics here: www.nramsey.net/protege5.htm As for that dealer...

I always fill at 1/4 tank, so I usually get 280-300 city. I haven't done any long trips so the most I have gotten on a tank is about 340 or so. I seem to be averaging 26-28 day to day mostly all city driving. Pretty good in my book!

FWIW I haven't had this happen on my car. 2002.5 w/ 2600 miles. Just did several 1st gear runs to 6500-7000 RPM yesterday and had no problems getting it into second. I don't shift it super fast though...aka I don't slam it into gear. Not sure how you guys are shifting though.

I am quite satisfied. I have had my car almost 2 months now and have about 2500 miles on it. The "newness" has worn off, and I am still very glad I bought it. It drives great, a little stiff on the freeway, lots of fun in the corners, decent power for around town stuff, feels more expensive...

Thanks for taking the time to answer Rishie. I still don't know what exactly happened here, just trying to get info from both sides. It appears this issue has been resolved, so there isn't much point in continuing this discussion :) I still take issue that a customer isn't allowed to cancel...

Rishie, thanks for posting your comments. I still question how you can expect your buyer to understand your terms of service when you don't publish them. I really would be benificial to get a web site up if at all possible. In fact, you don't even seem to list your Yahoo photo page in your...

Yeah, my P5 does this with the stock exhaust, as did my '97 Altima. My dad's '96 Olds does this kinda loud/deep, almost sounds like a little backfire or something but quieter. It is the exhaust making the noise, but why it does it I don't know. I believe it's perfectly normal and doesn't harm...

That is rediculous. I have ALWAYS had the option to cancel my order if something is on backorder everywhere I have ever bought stuff. It's not like they won't be able to sell the exhaust they ordered for you to someone else. Either this is a misunderstanding or some pretty poor business in my...

Thanks for the info!

Oh same here! Please tell us what you used. I'd like to use the factory rack to carry my bike if possible. I don't really want to use those Yakima Q tower deals... Nate

Not really. Unless they are real two/three piece rims. I am not a fan of wheels with fake fasteners "holding them togher". If they didn't have those fake bolts, I think they'd be very nice...like the styling otherwise.

On the other hand, Mazdas (Miatas, MX6s etc) equipped with HLAs (hydraulic lifters basically) tick often on startup or after hard driving. Sounds horrible, does no harm. :)

In all honesty, this is a very minor problem. 1) it doesn't hurt anything supposedly, 2) it is only an audible problem (ie doesn't affect drivability) and 3) it goes away once the car is warm. I am not saying Mazda shouldn't fix it, but I don't think this problem warrants mass mailing Road and...

I agree. Thin paint doesn't mean it sucks. It also doesn't make it nessisarily less prone to chip. Paint chips, that's life. My last car was a '97 Nissan Altima and the front end of that thing looked like it was sandblasted...but the paint seemed thick. :rolleyes: I decided to prent...

Actually I find my cover stays pretty clean. It dulls after a little while (couple months) but all it takes is some Mother's metal polish and 5 minutes to shine it up. Even when it's dirty it looks better than stock I think :)