Quote from Car And Driver

[Leonardo]

Feb. 2005 issue in their quick preview (first impression) of the Mazdaspeed6. Actually, they say it is a quote from Mazda: The MS6 is "the highest performing, best handling sedan Mazda has ever built." Their estimated 0-60 was 6.2 and C& D had this to say about their short drive: "the defining trait of the MS6 is understeer", "it's hard to think of this car as nimble", and "more tire footprint might help handling". While they did have some good things to say about the MS6, they did not seem impressed with their first drive. They even closed the article with a slight jab at Mazda, saying "maybe Mazda should use a lower-case z" in Zoom-Zoom when referring to the MS6. While I had already heard the disappointing performance numbers (especially for the 28K price tag), i was very surprised to read the remarks abouit the handling, which is a Mazda strongpoint. Anyway, getting back to my point, I am curious to hear what other MSP owners have to say about the whole "highest performing, best handling sedan" stuff after reading this.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

got a scan of it?

 

[Puckpimp71]

The in house crew at Mazda doesn't seem to understand how to market to a performance crowd. The Mazdaspeed Miata was a disappointment to all but Miata enthusiasts it seems. Most Miata lovers have already built theirs up and the S2000 made more effort to appeal to the performance enthusiast. The Protege has a hardcore following, but that didn't fly off the lots. It looks like the MS6 is going to fall into the same category. The MS6 might have a slight advantage because it's only a little more than a base 325i and it's got more power and AWD, but it's no BMW. It's around the same neighborohood as a fully loaded Altima SE-R, so I don't think it's too far out of it's league. As long as Mazda doesn't send it to Callaway for some half assed tuning, I think it'll do better than it's Mazdaspeed predecessors. There's some time between now and it's release date, too.

 

[spicynamja]

It comes in sexy colors though. ^_^

 

[Puckpimp71]

Are they bring back Spicy Orange? That'd be weird on a 6... hell it's even weird on a Protege.

 

[LinuxRacr]

The only reason the MSP had half-assed tuning is because Mazda decided to dial down the tuning that Calloway did. The problem was Mazda, not Calloway. I guess I will have to go read this article. I like the SCC reviews better than C&D.

 

[Leonardo]

no, sorry, no scan. I'll see if i can get it scanned tomorrow.

 

[M=SP^2]

I read the article, it was pretty useless. All the car magazines did a couple of laps around some Mazda track in Japan, then wrote practically identical articles about their impressions, this one is no different. I'll wait for a real review before jumping to conclusions. For some perspective, let's not forget that MS6 is a midsize car not a sport-compact, and spec-wise I think it stacks up pretty well against its direct competition.

 

[Dr.Sound]

............As long as Mazda doesn't send it to Callaway for some half assed tuning, I think it'll do better than it's Mazdaspeed predecessors.

WTF r u talking about.
please dont speak out of your ass.

callaway did an awesome job......given a tiny budget mazda gave them.
callaway ES, a prototype for a MSP, was 200whp at 9psi.
much better ECU, Hard Pipes.....and more.

mazda (ford) cheaped out and stuck their own ECU into it because it would have saved them money on production. same with hard pipes.......which was "blamed" on not passing crash tests......whatever.

anyway, know your facts before u make a statement.

 

[spacemonkey]

Best handling is pushing it too much. Although its probalyl as good as most mid-size sedan gets.

I have to agree with the marketing stragegy...it sucks. they are gettign whooped by the whole "SRT-4" and mopar concept.

The sad thing is not many people care about handling. In a land ruled by Drag racing, NASCAR and so called "street racing" (striaght line)...people look for HP numbers...not lateral Gs. HP numbers sell...not confort and handling...sad but true.

Thats why I think the Lotus Elise wont do good in america. Priced at the same range as a Corvette...people will say, "Corvette is the faster car." Which is lame...I would take the Elise over the corvette.

 

[blynzoo]

Best handling is pushing it too much. Although its probalyl as good as most mid-size sedan gets.

I have to agree with the marketing stragegy...it sucks. they are gettign whooped by the whole "SRT-4" and mopar concept.

The sad thing is not many people care about handling. In a land ruled by Drag racing, NASCAR and so called "street racing" (striaght line)...people look for HP numbers...not lateral Gs. HP numbers sell...not confort and handling...sad but true.

Thats why I think the Lotus Elise wont do good in america. Priced at the same range as a Corvette...people will say, "Corvette is the faster car." Which is lame...I would take the Elise over the corvette.

Actually, I hear the Elise is going to be cheap has hell! With the lack of demand, if they pump enough in, they will go for under $30!
Although this might have been an old article about the 2004 release. Lotus redid the motor for 2005. Hmmm....brain's on the fritz.

 

[FSDET]

WTF r u talking about.
please dont speak out of your ass.

wow ive never seen Dr.sound this aggresive on the forums before ...

 

[KpaBap]

3600 lbs.

 

[Dr.Sound]

wow ive never seen Dr.sound this aggresive on the forums before ...

yeah, well it just gets me mad seeing how people just say s***.
seriously, Puckpimp i have nothing against you.

callaway is a world class company, they are one of the best in their industry.

i've seen the ES > MSP that they've designed.
it's driving arround san diego.
that car will hand most cars on this forum their ass, including mine........and it's stock.
i would pay $1500 for calaway ecu alone. not to mention hardpipes.
i'm proud to have as little of callaway in our cars as we do.

i'm done,
/threadjack

 

[TheJohnny]

What Dr. Sound said.. and then some. I heard all about that before. How Callaway had the MSP hooked the FARK up... then the cheap ass corporate guys said "NO GO!". What's funny, is that I bet you they could of offered it at the same price but making 200 whp and having all the goodies that it was meant to have. Damn the world of corporate takeovers and paychecks....hahahahaha!!!!! BWAHHHHH

 

[Puckpimp71]

WTF r u talking about.
please dont speak out of your ass.

callaway did an awesome job......given a tiny budget mazda gave them.
callaway ES, a prototype for a MSP, was 200whp at 9psi.
much better ECU, Hard Pipes.....and more.

mazda (ford) cheaped out and stuck their own ECU into it because it would have saved them money on production. same with hard pipes.......which was "blamed" on not passing crash tests......whatever.

anyway, know your facts before u make a statement.

No s***... It's Mazda's fault that's well known to anyone who spent time on the Forum, but Callaway still tuned it. Mazda put money and time restrictions on Callaway I understand, but they still couldn't deliver a decently tuned car under those restrictions. I know they do amazing work and I've read all I could an what they've done for Vette's. The fact of the matter is though we're still driving a car that has crappy tuning and Callaway tuned it. Not knocking them, but given time anyone can turn out an amazing product, it's the people that can deliver that same product with less time and money that get the real credit.

 

[Velocifero]

yeah, well it just gets me mad seeing how people just say s***.
seriously, Puckpimp i have nothing against you.

callaway is a world class company, they are one of the best in their industry.

i've seen the ES > MSP that they've designed.
it's driving arround san diego.
that car will hand most cars on this forum their ass, including mine........and it's stock.
i would pay $1500 for calaway ecu alone. not to mention hardpipes.
i'm proud to have as little of callaway in our cars as we do.

i'm done,
/threadjack

WORD! I would love to get one of those ECUs.

Originally Posted by Puckpimp71
............As long as Mazda doesn't send it to Callaway for some half assed tuning, I think it'll do better than it's Mazdaspeed predecessors.

WTF r u talking about.
please dont speak out of your ass.

callaway did an awesome job......given a tiny budget mazda gave them.
callaway ES, a prototype for a MSP, was 200whp at 9psi.
much better ECU, Hard Pipes.....and more.

mazda (ford) cheaped out and stuck their own ECU into it because it would have saved them money on production. same with hard pipes.......which was "blamed" on not passing crash tests......whatever.

anyway, know your facts before u make a statement.

Again, I totally agree, I like everybody on this forum for the most part, but know what you are talking about.

 

[Puckpimp71]

To put my point into perspective, look at the talented artists that came out of Cuba, Russia and China in spite of strict government supervision and little funding... Rudolf Nyuryev (sp?), Jose Marti are a few that come to mind. Here's a car-related example, too... My SHO... It was originally designed in 1988 for a 1989 model that Ford decided to build on whim. They contacted Yamaha and needed pretty quickly as one year is not much time for engine R&D. I know they're not selling SHOs anymore and they were only given a 10 year run, but that engine was the reason it was named to C&D's 10 best. How durable is that original design? Ask Toyota who's using the same basic idea of the heads to power the Matrix XR (Vibe GT) and the old Celica GT-S or Ford, who still used that design in the SHO V8 even though half the building was done in house, then there's Volvo that's using the same design but bored out to 4.4l, I think in the XC90 V8. My point is, those people busted their asses to turn out quality products or performances regardless of the schedules and funding they were given. If Callaway cared a bit more, they could've done better. I don't blame them for not caring since we're driving Corvettes, but they didn't do as well as they could've. The way I see it isn't that Callaway's a bad company at all. I'm just saying that it looks as though they let disagreements with Mazda NA get in the way of the work they turned out. That's probably why their employees aren't supposed to talk about the MSP.

 

[Protege52003]

This months Motor Trend had an article on the Mazdaspeed6. Looks nice and they seem to like it.

-R

 

[jred321]

you're missing the point puckpimp, callaway did it right, mazda changed it after they designed it before it got to production. like mazda changed racing beat's suspension, they changed callaway's engine. they were asked to deliver a product, did it, and then their hands were no longer involved, it was mazda after they delivered