They made less MSP's (I believe) and we all know what happened with those prices...
Obviously it's a superior car... as it should be! (considering the car is newer by 4 years) It's also a lot more expensive... Considering the MSP came stock with an upgraded stereo, it may not be fair to compare it to the MS3 sport model costing $23k (roughly $3-5k more than the MSP) but it also wouldn't be fair to compare it to the xenon headlights, leater seated, navigation GT model costing $26k either.
I personally feel, all things being relative, that this car may very well suffer the same fate the MSP did. Maybe it's just wishful thinking but... think about it.
When the MSP came out it's main competiton was the SE-R and later, the SRT-4... and others. (The WRX was $3-5k+ higher so that was in a different league) If it hadn't been for the SRT-4, I'd venture to think the rebates and amazing deals may never have come about. Sure, mazda didn't promote this sucker... but the true enthusiasts (like us) didn't need to see it on TV when we could read about it online or in magazines. many like to blame poor promotion but I feel it's the SRT-4. Costing about the same, the crowd that Mazda intended to sell this car to flocked to Dodge dealers and bought the hell out of those POS Without that car, where would they have turned? Spend the extra dough on a WRX? maybe.... but that's a pretty significant bump in price. Go with a car with similar performance, but relatively no exlusivity factored in? sure, SE-Rs would still have sold well but Mazda's limited amount of MSPs would have as well. (at the price they wanted to sell them at mind you... which was a good deal!)
Fast forward a few years and... it's like dejavu all over again. Right on the heels of the MS3 is the SRT. While the gap in performance clearly won't be nearly as wide, the potential for it to be 'wide enough' is there. Before you dogpile that comment... remember that the car hasn't come out yet and nobody has tested it. Sure, it weighs more but... since the MS3 needs 3 gears to get to 60... if Dodge's new SUV can muster that in only 2, it'll best the ever-so-important (to this crowd) 0-60 time and gain an edge. Combine that with the fact that mopar will undoubtely back this sucker the same way they did the previous... with tons of affordable upgrades to maket this thing an even bigger monster than it is... and Mazda may see their sales beign stolen away yet again.
Before anyone discounts what I'm saying by mentioning how fugly the Dodge is (which is subjective) let's not forget the same was true with the msp vs srt. interior not as good? That didn't seem to matter to this crowd either.
It's a strange position to be in... being a fan of Mazda, part of me wants to see them do well with this thing. The other part of me wants to see the opposite occur so that I can get a deal. pretty F'ed up... but hey, you gotta look out for #1
