[Ykobayashi]

So I was driving home from work the other day and realized that I am seeing a lot of the "new" Ford Fusion (the current facelifted model) on the street.

It got me to thinking, so....everyone complains that the old (Gen 1) Mazda 6 was too small and that is why no one bought it. So Mazda makes a special Mazda 6 for the N. American market that is larger and closer to its supposed competitors (Camcord). Once they bring it to market, sales of the Mazda 6 tanks even further.

Then Ford facelifts the Fusion that is riding on the Gen 1 chassis and is pretty much dimensionally the same size as the Gen 1 Mazda 6, adds a hybrid model and the Fusion sells like hotcakes? :jackoff:

Am I missing something here?

 

[MonoxideChild]

cause the current fusion sport looks 100% better then the current mazda6.

and i hate ford, and bleed mazda. and i even have to admit to that fate. the new fusion sports are the hotness. the new 6's look like shit. lol

 

[Ykobayashi]

I wholeheartedly agree about how the new 6s looks. Bloated, fat, no V6 mated to a MTX and kill the hatch and wagon. Take away everything that made the original 6 so special.

However, that still doesn't answer the size issue. Everyone (car mags and enthusiasts) loved the way the Gen1 M6 performed and looked but the argument was "its still a bit small".

So Mazda in their infinite wisdom (not) and desire to make more money, listened to the complaints and made it bigger for North America (albeit less attractive than the original, many would argue MUCH less attractive if not downright ugly) and it's sales got even worse.

Meanwhile, the Fusion which is the same size as the Gen 1 M6 gets heaps of praise from the auto press (and I agree I do like it as well, at least more than the current M6) with nary a mention of the "lack of space" that they lambasted the Gen 1 M6 with. Plus the sales numbers of Fusion vs. Gen 1 M6 much less Fusion vs. Gen2 M6 speak for themselves.

So again I ask, am I missing some key point here?

 

[Mz6GreyGhost]

So again I ask, am I missing some key point here?

Yeah, a BIG one.

The Fusion was ALREADY a larger car than the 1st-gen. Despite the shared chassis, the Fusion was 3.8" longer, 2.1" wider, with a 2.1" longer wheelbase, not to mention 250+ pounds HEAVIER. These sizes are reflected in the larger interior measurements of the Fusion. Sit in the 1st-gen 6 and the Fusion, both in the front and back, and you see the difference.

The 2nd-gen simply caught up. In fact, it's now 3.1" longer, 0.2" wider, and a 2.4" longer wheelbase than the Fusion (yet somehow, it's also 27 pounds LIGHTER), with a larger interior and trunk to match.

Having owned a '04 6, driven a '10 Fusion extensively (both rentals and test-drives), and bought a '10 6, I've seen the difference.

That's why the 1st-gen was "a little small" compared to the Fusion. Because it was.

As for sales, despite the looks (which are purely subjective and can't be argued fairly), the 6 suffers from two big problems:

1. Advertising (or lack of) - I see ads for the Fusion all the time, including their win as MT COTY, as well as "special" financing. The 6? MAYBE an ad a week, and virtually NONE on TV or the internet. If Mazda has maybe HALF the Fusion ad budget, IMO sales would be improved.

2. Packaging (or lack of, again) - Ford has three different engines, a hybrid, and a myriad of different packages, colors, and options, in order to cater to a larger chunk of the car-buying public. Mazda? Two engines, fewer packages, and even fewer options. Plus, when you do decide on options, colors, etc., it's very difficult (at least in Upstate NY) to find and obtain the car. Both of my 6 vehicles were brought in from other dealers for the sale (my '04 was shipped from Buffalo, my '10 from Albany).

Lets also remember the saturation of Ford dealers across the country, while Mazda dealers are merely a fraction of them.

And as much as the 1st-gen "sold well", in truth, it didn't. It still was a weak seller compared to the big-time players in the midsize market (including the Camry, Accord, Fusion, Malibu, etc.), and offering a 5-door and wagon did next to nothing to improve them.

 

[snakoil]

strangely here in canada the 5 door version was a big hit and you see them a lot more often than fusions or accord or camry.
However for the new Gen2...I rarely see any aside from the ones in the dealership show room.
I'm still hoping mazda will bring a wagon version in a year or two and hope my gen1 6 holds up until then.

 

[Spazdog]

One day driving the previous generation of the Fusion left me so jaded that I have no interest in any year model Fusion.

I mean they took all the good things about the Mazda6 and discarded them.

Part of the reason the 6 was more agile than it's contemporaries was it's size. Bigger than a compact like the 2nd gen Altima but smaller than a midsize like the 3rd gen Altima. So Ford adds an inch of width and two inches of wheelbase.

Even the 4 cylinder automatic Mazda6-es allowed the driver to select his or her own gear. Handy for being in the right gear coming out of a corner. The Fusion didn't even have a "hold" button like the previous 626 had. Nope. It's Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Don't EVEN THINK of selecting your own gear.

Although it didn't really post impressive skidpad numbers, the Mazda6 was easily the class leader in the twisties. Test it back to back with any comparable Camccordtima. It wins. Hell, I'd put it up against any 3rd gen Eclipse. It's better. The Fusion? meh.... I would rate it better than the 04-08 Malibu but similar to 00-06 Stratus. The Stratus sedan that is....not the coupe which is a tarted up 3rd gen Eclipse.

Then it's the little things. Like moving the headlight switch from the turn signal stalk to the dash. The Mazda's switchgear snicks and clicks in a typical Japanese fashion. That's a good thing. I mean if you've driven a Honda or a Toyota, you're going to basically know where the wipers and headlights are on the 6 and how they work. Grabbing the end of the turn signal stalk of a Fusion in a dark garage and twisting it gets you wipers, not headlights and the stalk and wiper control feel cheap. The rotary headlight control feels like the same cheap knob on so many other Ford products that periodically just fall off. Sure, you can just put it back on and turn the headlights on or off but it will fall off again. Little things like the mousefur interior, or the pixel starved displays that is that same green color that monochrome monitors were 20 years ago.

So I'm biased. I still think my gen 1 is better than any Fusion. 2006 or 2010.

Unfortunately, Mazda took a lot things that were right about the 6 and discarded them as well. So I will not be upgrading to a newer 6 either.

 

[Ykobayashi]

Yeah, a BIG one.

The Fusion was ALREADY a larger car than the 1st-gen. Despite the shared chassis, the Fusion was 3.8" longer, 2.1" wider, with a 2.1" longer wheelbase, not to mention 250+ pounds HEAVIER. These sizes are reflected in the larger interior measurements of the Fusion. Sit in the 1st-gen 6 and the Fusion, both in the front and back, and you see the difference.

The 2nd-gen simply caught up. In fact, it's now 3.1" longer, 0.2" wider, and a 2.4" longer wheelbase than the Fusion (yet somehow, it's also 27 pounds LIGHTER), with a larger interior and trunk to match.

Having owned a '04 6, driven a '10 Fusion extensively (both rentals and test-drives), and bought a '10 6, I've seen the difference.

That's why the 1st-gen was "a little small" compared to the Fusion. Because it was.

As for sales, despite the looks (which are purely subjective and can't be argued fairly), the 6 suffers from two big problems:

1. Advertising (or lack of) - I see ads for the Fusion all the time, including their win as MT COTY, as well as "special" financing. The 6? MAYBE an ad a week, and virtually NONE on TV or the internet. If Mazda has maybe HALF the Fusion ad budget, IMO sales would be improved.

2. Packaging (or lack of, again) - Ford has three different engines, a hybrid, and a myriad of different packages, colors, and options, in order to cater to a larger chunk of the car-buying public. Mazda? Two engines, fewer packages, and even fewer options. Plus, when you do decide on options, colors, etc., it's very difficult (at least in Upstate NY) to find and obtain the car. Both of my 6 vehicles were brought in from other dealers for the sale (my '04 was shipped from Buffalo, my '10 from Albany).

Lets also remember the saturation of Ford dealers across the country, while Mazda dealers are merely a fraction of them.

And as much as the 1st-gen "sold well", in truth, it didn't. It still was a weak seller compared to the big-time players in the midsize market (including the Camry, Accord, Fusion, Malibu, etc.), and offering a 5-door and wagon did next to nothing to improve them.

Grey Ghost,

Thanks for the response! You have some very salient points here. I did take the liberty of looking up the interior volume of a 2010 Ford Fusion and a 2004 Mazda 6 (thanks to Yahoo Autos and Internet Auto Guide respectively)

Interesting enough the interior dimensions don't differ all that much and in some cases such as hip room the Gen 1 M6 has more than the Fusion.

2004 Mazda 6
front headroom (inches): 38.7,
rear headroom (inches): 37.1,
front hip room (inches): 54.7,
rear hip room (inches): 54.1,
front leg room (inches): 42.3,
rear leg room (inches): 36.5,
front shoulder room (inches): 56.1,
rear shoulder room (inches): 54.9

2010 Ford Fusion
Headroom (Front) 38.7
Headroom (Row 2) 37.8
Hiproom (Front) 54.0
Hiproom (Row 2) 53.3
Legroom (Front) 42.3
Legroom (Row 2) 37.1
Shoulder Room (Front) 57.4
Shoulder Room (Row 2) 56.5

Based on this I think your impressions about advertising, saturation of Ford dealers and packaging are correct. Plus I think that if given a choice most Americans would prefer to purchase a car from the "home team", who wouldn't (I know, I know the M6 is produced in a UAW Ford Plant in Flint MI, part of the reason I felt good buying mine).

As far as the first Gen 1 not selling well, I'm not privy to numbers but in Northeastern Illinois I see many more Gen 1 Mazda 6es out on the roads. True the first Gen 1 had 5 years of sales to account for but in 2003 and 2004 I was in the market for a new 6 and was keenly aware of the numbers of them on the road versus what I see with the Gen 2 today. I admit, it's not all that scientific but its an observation that I have made.

Also I think that Mazda with the Gen 1, went after a more niche market. The first generation 6 was designed to put Mazda back on the enthusiast credibility map and it did just that. It appealed to car enthusiasts, the ones that needed something besides their track Miata to drive to work. The ones that were "stepping up" from their ricey hatchbacks, The ones that would have bought a fast hatch or coupe but had 2 kids to take to school and lumber to haul from the hardware store on weekends (guilty as charged).

Mazda's mistake with the Gen 2 was to wrestle the 800 lbs gorillas on their own turf (Toyota Camry and Honda Accord) with the Gen 2. We all know that a vast majority of Camry and Accord buyers see their cars as appliances; something to get them from point A to point B. To them their cars are similar to a washing machine or a stove and they treat them as such, not a passionate form of self expression that most of us here feel a car should provide. They buy Camrys and Accords because they are Hondas and Toyotas not because they are great driving cars. Therefore, they are extremely brand loyal and getting them to switch to a Mazda which is seen as an "also ran" brand by the unwashed masses.

By competing with the Camry and Accord with the Gen 2 Mazda broke the cardinal sin of marketing, "don't alienate your core market, work to retain the core market and THEN expand market share." As a International Marketing MBA I could go on and on on this one! Long story short, Mazda with its limited capacity and finances cannot go head to head with companies like Honda and Toyota or GM. They should have followed the model that Subaru has pursued of being a niche builder and look at the success Subaru has experienced as the only manufacturer earning a profit through these "darkest days" of the auto industry. Mazda could have been seen as the company that produces cut rate BMWs and sell to an evangelical following (enthusiasts are a valuable part of the consumer audience, as they are the automotive evangelists, people come to them for advice and listen as they are the "car experts" in the office, the family, the group of friends. Think about all the people that come to YOU for advice every time they go to buy a new car! If the enthusiasts favor you, they will evangelize your praises to the unwashed car masses!) but instead they decided to become Toyota. Bad decision!

I'll stop now as I have digressed beyond the original topic of this thread! Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Spazdog]

Also I think that Mazda with the Gen 1 went after a more niche market. The first Gen 6 was to put Mazda back on the credibility map and it did just that. It appealed to car enthusiasts, the ones that needed something besides their track Miata to drive to work. The ones that were "stepping up" from their ricey hatchbacks, The ones that would have bought a fast hatch or coupe but had 2 kids to take to school and lumber to haul from the hardware store on weekends (guilty as charged). ditto

Mazda decided to wrestle the 800 lbs gorillas on their own turf (Toyota Camry and Honda Accord)by creating the Gen 2. We all know that a vast majority of Camry and Accord buyers see their cars as appliances. Something to get them from point A to point B. Similar to a washing machine or a stove and they treat them as such. They buy Camrys and Accords because they are Hondas and Toyotas not because they are great driving cars. Therefore they are extremely brand loyal.

By competing with the Camry and Accord with the Gen 2 Mazda broke the cardinal sin of marketing, "don't alienate your core market, work to retain the core market and THEN expand market share." As a International Marketing MBA I could go on and on on this one! Long story short, Mazda with its limited capacity and finances cannot go head to head with companies like Honda and Toyota or GM. They should have followed the model that Subaru has pursued of being a niche builder and look at the success they have experienced as the only manufacturer earning a profit through these "darkest days" of the auto industry.
...

Awesome.

That is so chock full of awesome that I'm going to read it again.

 

[H15A5H1]

I too have also noticed that the current Ford Fusion is smaller than the current NA Mazda6. I didn't really realize how gigantic the Mazda6 was until I saw the it parked next to a BMW 5 series and it literally dwarfed the bmw. Then the other day I saw one parked next to a Ford Fusion and it dwarfed the Fusion even more.

Personally, losing the 5-door and wagon variants just made it not a Mazda6 anymore. Then making it a Ford Fivehundred, completely neutering the design language it was supposed to have, and going after the Accord/Camry market just killed it for me. If you just look at the current lineup for MazdaUSA.. The NA Mazda6 looks completely out of place next to all the other models. In my opinion, I don't think the looks of the car are debatable.. The NA version looks like ASS compared to the real design the rest of the world got.

And I also have to agree that the current Ford Fusion looks way better than the current NA Mazda6. Hell, even the Camry with the sport package looks way sportier. When I asked a couple of my friends (that are completely not into cars) they thought the Ford Fusion Sport ans Camry w/sport pckg looked sportier by far. When I showed them the pic of the NA Mazda6, they couldnt believe that it was the 2nd gen of my car. When I showed them the gen2 World mazda6, they all thought it was a Lexus IS competitor as far as aesthetics and details go.

 

[Mz6GreyGhost]

Mazda could have been seen as the company that produces cut rate BMWs and sell to an evangelical following (enthusiasts are a valuable part of the consumer audience, as they are the automotive evangelists, people come to them for advice and listen as they are the "car experts" in the office, the family, the group of friends. Think about all the people that come to YOU for advice every time they go to buy a new car! If the enthusiasts favor you, they will evangelize your praises to the unwashed car masses!) but instead they decided to become Toyota. Bad decision!

Excellent post, except for the part I highlighted above. If it's one thing they didn't do, it's that.

Trust me on this one, I've driven a Camry on more than one occasion (including the SE), and it was hard not to :zzz:.

And I also have to agree that the current Ford Fusion looks way better than the current NA Mazda6. Hell, even the Camry with the sport package looks way sportier. When I asked a couple of my friends (that are completely not into cars) they thought the Ford Fusion Sport ans Camry w/sport pckg looked sportier by far.

There's a BIG difference between "looking" sporty, and actually BEING sporty. As stated above, I've been behind the wheel of a Camry SE, and not only does it NOT drive/handle nearly as sharp as the 6, but the interior (the area of the vehicle you ACTUALLY HAVE to look at all the time) is an embarrassment. Materials are crap, the layout of controls are terrible, and fit-and-finish is FAR from the Toyota of old. The 6 has NONE of these problems, with excellent controls, quality materials and fit-and-finish, and is driver-oriented (as it should be).

The Fusion Sport, OTOH, definitely looks the part. The upgrades to the suspension are excellent, and it handles well IMO. After spending a weekend with one, I almost bought one, but to me, it just felt a little uneasy compared to the 6. The handling was accurate, but the feeling through the steering wheel wasn't as reassuring, with less feedback, and the brakes weren't as impressive as well. The interior was also nicely done, but a little too button-happy on the center stack. The blue display for the radio wasn't very bright, and was easily washed out by the sun. As a whole, the interior felt one step below the 6 overall (but still a HUGE improvement over the previous Fusion).

I'll agree that the 2nd-gen is not as "sporty" as the 1st-gen, but compared to the rest of the current midsize market, it's still IMO the best Drivers Car, followed closely by the Fusion Sport.

 

[MonoxideChild]

(I know, I know the M6 is produced in a UAW Ford Plant in Flint MI, part of the reason I felt good buying mine).

a little off. there made at auto alliance. which was a ford plant until 88 when it became a joint venture with mazda so ford could use mazda's GD chassis to build there fords. and its in flatrock michigan. not flint. ive actually toured the plant myself a few years back.

 

[Ykobayashi]

Excellent post, except for the part I highlighted above. If it's one thing they didn't do, it's that.

Trust me on this one, I've driven a Camry on more than one occasion (including the SE), and it was hard not to :zzz:.

There's a BIG difference between "looking" sporty, and actually BEING sporty. As stated above, I've been behind the wheel of a Camry SE, and not only does it NOT drive/handle nearly as sharp as the 6

I'll agree that the 2nd-gen is not as "sporty" as the 1st-gen, but compared to the rest of the current midsize market, it's still IMO the best Drivers Car, followed closely by the Fusion Sport.

Grey Ghost,

You're right! I think I got a bit too overzealous in my post. Mazda has NOT become Toyota. Toyota is in the business of selling "appliances" to non-car people. Mazda, thank goodness, is not...yet, but I think that their recent actions may point to the fact that they are taking steps in that direction (deleting hatch and wagon 6, V6/manual package from the 6 and moving into that strange "Nagare" styling direction that seems to be generally deplored by the enthusiasts, Toyota seems have gone in some odd non cohesive look as well.) However, as you had pointed out, the Gen 2 Mazda 6, in comparison to the Camry is by far the "driver's choice". Here's a short article from Car and Driver that speaks to the Fusion vs. Gen2 Mazda 6 issue.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q4/2010_ford_fusion_sport_awd-short_take_road_test

That being said, Mazda continues to offer the MazdaSpeed 3 and the Miata MX-5 (or whatever its being called this year as it seems to change on a yearly basis) which are wonderful enthusiast cars. I find the Mazda 3 a bit cannibalistic to the Mazda 6 line, of which I cannot quite comprehend what their product marketing people are thinking. Which I think brings Mazda's issues to bear, Mazda is marketing products vehicle by vehicle and not in a unified way under the Mazda umbrella. They are trying to be too many things to too many people. For a company the size of Mazda, that is a strategy that is doomed to fail.

So I stand corrected, they have not become Toyota but I am afraid for people like us that Mazda is pointing their corporate ship in that direction and will forget its enthusiast roots and play to the mass market. I suppose there's always the Germans that we enthusiasts can go to!

 

[Ykobayashi]

a little off. there made at auto alliance. which was a ford plant until 88 when it became a joint venture with mazda so ford could use mazda's GD chassis to build there fords. and its in flatrock michigan. not flint. ive actually toured the plant myself a few years back.

D'OH! I stand corrected once more! You're right, it is Flat Rock, not Flint. Not sure what I was thinking. Thanks for the catch!

Yoshi

 

[daztd]

The "world" Mazda 6 is awesome looking.....I need to import one here. I hope it doesn't get ship recked that happen a few years ago to all those Mazda's....RIP

 

[Mz6GreyGhost]

...and moving into that strange "Nagare" styling direction that seems to be generally deplored by the enthusiasts...

Apparently, Mazda is listening, and they've abandoned the "Nagare" theme are are rumored to go in a new direction. Hopefully, we'll get a taste of it when the auto show season starts up...

So I stand corrected, they have not become Toyota but I am afraid for people like us that Mazda is pointing their corporate ship in that direction and will forget its enthusiast roots and play to the mass market. I suppose there's always the Germans that we enthusiasts can go to!

True, but not all the Germans. VW has apparently done the same thing as Mazda and has apparently "mass marketed" the new Jetta. People aren't happy about it either.

And on a personal note, thank you for instigating and keeping up on an intelligent conversation about the 2nd-gen, unlike the countless "2nd-gen SUKS, 1st-gen RULZ!" posts that quickly ruins other threads.

 

[Spazdog]

. I find the Mazda 3 a bit cannibalistic to the Mazda 6 line, of which I cannot quite comprehend what their product marketing people are thinking. Which I think brings Mazda's issues to bear, Mazda is marketing products vehicle by vehicle and not in a unified way under the Mazda umbrella. They are trying to be too many things to too many people. For a company the size of Mazda, that is a strategy that is doomed to fail.

In Mazda's defense, they did kinda' have the rug pulled out from under them by Ford when Ford announced they would no longer share platforms with Mazda. They're going to have to find their way or disappear from North America like Isuzu and Daihatsu already have or like Mitsubishi appears to be doing.

Great, Mazda gives Ford the Car of the Year design and Ford discards them.

Mazda lends their engineers to develop the current Fiesta and Ford shoves them aside.

Volvo gives Ford the current Taurus which is infinitely more interesting than the last few generations of that car and they sell them off to Geely.

Jaguar gives Ford the basis for the current Mustang platform and they sell them off to Tata.

This and Ford's previous track record with selling their European models in the US seems doomed to fail. They either make good cars no one wants, ('70s Capri, '80s XR4Ti) or horrible cars that actually sell for no reason ('81-'90 Escort, Contour)

Ford might be a bit miffed that they said that their then current European market Focus platform was "too expensive" to sell in North America but Mazda did it for years at roughly the same price as the outdated NA Ford Focus platform.

 

[karlt10]

Then Ford facelifts the Fusion that is riding on the Gen 1 chassis and is pretty much dimensionally the same size as the Gen 1 Mazda 6, adds a hybrid model and the Fusion sells like hotcakes? :jackoff:

Am I missing something here?

The new/current Fusion is a sharp car. The new/current 6 is not only ugly in terms of the headlights and front fenders, but overall it looks too much like a skinny cross country runner and less like something muscular. The Fusion in Sport trim with the right color and wheels can easily be a sharp car with some attitude. I've yet to see a 6, in person or this site, that has any attitude and is able to get past the 'soft' image the car was designed with. Short of getting rid of the smiley face front, odd-ball front fenders, and butterfly tail lights, I don't see how it ever could. Mazda has out-Camry'd the Camry. That being said, even the current Camry is SE trim can have some attitude.

Also, Ford has a much better overall quality rating and image than Mazda does. Doesn't matter if these particular cars share much of the same parts underneath. And Mazda has done nothing to shed it's shit quality image. Hell, look at the crap on this forum that Mazda refuses to address. I can't picture I'll ever buy a another Mazda. I consider myself lucky as hell that nothing serious has happened, and that I'm more than capable of taking care of the small things that have.

 

[Freak4Dell]

And on a personal note, thank you for instigating and keeping up on an intelligent conversation about the 2nd-gen, unlike the countless "2nd-gen SUKS, 1st-gen RULZ!" posts that quickly ruins other threads.

I'll fill that obligatory role.

The 2nd gen 6 does suck, both here and around the world.

Okay, fine, I'll admit, it's still a nice car to drive. I drove the 4-cyl, and it wasn't too bad at all. I imagine the 6-cyl with it's dramatically increased power is pretty nice as well. However, it's ugly. And no, the one the rest of the world got isn't any better. Rosie O'Donnel would not be hot if she got skinner, and the Mazda6 can't pull that off, either. I think most people have realized by now that when it comes to cars, I'm a form over function kind of guy, and looks are very important.

I will say, though, that after a few mods, the new 6 has potential for sure. Take p-dro's car, for example. That thing is HOT! The issue I have with it is that it actually takes mods to make it look good, unlike the first gen, which looked great off the lot. The Fusion is like the first gen 6. It looks great stock. Honestly, I hate Ford cars (I like the trucks), and I was very reluctant to buy the 6 because of it's close ties to Ford, but the Fusion is a pretty sweet car. If I was in the market for a budget midsize car again, I'd definitely give it a look. The new 6? Not so much.

 

[Cameron23]

I too have also noticed that the current Ford Fusion is smaller than the current NA Mazda6. I didn't really realize how gigantic the Mazda6 was until I saw the it parked next to a BMW 5 series and it literally dwarfed the bmw. Then the other day I saw one parked next to a Ford Fusion and it dwarfed the Fusion even more.

Personally, losing the 5-door and wagon variants just made it not a Mazda6 anymore. Then making it a Ford Fivehundred, completely neutering the design language it was supposed to have, and going after the Accord/Camry market just killed it for me. If you just look at the current lineup for MazdaUSA.. The NA Mazda6 looks completely out of place next to all the other models. In my opinion, I don't think the looks of the car are debatable.. The NA version looks like ASS compared to the real design the rest of the world got.

And I also have to agree that the current Ford Fusion looks way better than the current NA Mazda6. Hell, even the Camry with the sport package looks way sportier. When I asked a couple of my friends (that are completely not into cars) they thought the Ford Fusion Sport ans Camry w/sport pckg looked sportier by far. When I showed them the pic of the NA Mazda6, they couldnt believe that it was the 2nd gen of my car. When I showed them the gen2 World mazda6, they all thought it was a Lexus IS competitor as far as aesthetics and details go.

Thanks for the enlightenment haha I honestly have never even heard of this smaller version and I have been trying to figure out why I seem to hate the new look for the Mazda 6. I actually really like the "rest of the world" Mazda 6 an now I know why. Its too F****** Big!!!:swearin:

 

[Spazdog]

The more I think about it, the more apparent it is that Mazda followed Honda's lead on the current Mazda6.

Honda has a specific Accord for the North American market. It is for all intents and purposes a full-size car. The rest of the world gets a different model (badge engineered here as the Acura TSX)

The North American Accord is bigger, heavier, and softer than the rest of the world's model. Sound familiar?

I think Asian market Camrys (Camries?) are essentially the same as North American market Camrys. They might be a bit narrower due to Japanese tax and legal requirements on the width of the car.

But back on topic; the first gen of the Fusion left me so jaded that I just can't see myself driving one. About the only variant I would consider is the Lincoln MKZ. And it would have to be an exceptional purchase price.