http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/01/bac...0502flint.html

found this article on autoblog.com

i always knew mazda as the underdog. i never thought they made exceptionally fast cars. pick up a porsche or corvette and your rx-7 used to play ketchup. but lately ive been very impressed with what the underdog offers, and ive come to appreciate their history of cars. too bad majority of buyer decisions arent based more on that level of excitement that mazda gives.

 

I <3 Mazda

 

that's a very biased and one sided article, made to APPEAR unbiased by throwing some compliments in amongst the gloom and doom.
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check out Mazda's WORLDWIDE sales, and also their annual profits. Mazda is VERY alive and well and is showing growth

 

yea, that dude had a rather bleek outlook, but mazda the only part of ford posting a nice earning in the fiscal reports. while its true that mazda will never make the next civic or camry, mazda owners are still driving away with more smiles and a better deal. i also kinda thought it was funny the way he said mazdas are targeted for the similar BMW crowd, at a much lower cost hehe.

 

I am now on my 4th Mazda Protege and I can't seem to get away from the value they are in an older used car. However, this article does not sound at all biased. It actually sounds legit. It's also a legitamate company(Forbes)putting the story out. It's laden with facts/numbers for the reader to confirm elsewhere, if he/she wishes. Mazda is a company that has to struggle against the bigger guys. However, they aren't struggling to stay alive at this moment and the author is clear about that. They are making money. He is talking more about how stagnant sales are. They don't increase while the competition's does. If competing companies keep raking in huge profits and not just profits, they can use that money to make better cars and market them better. Struggling, yet, profitable companies end up having to cut corners. Those corners are evident now. My 95, though a good deal, was a good deal because of the problems here and there. It's the same with my current 96. I will give paint as an example. I also own a Nissan Altima from 95 and my dad owns one from 97. The paint is perfectly fine here where the sun bakes away paint. Both my 2nd gen Mazdas have had the paint gloss peeling away and peeling bad. My dad also has a Mazda MPV from 94 and the paint itself, and not just the gloss, just peel off with no contact. There are other issues from 95 on up. Both my 94's were super reliable but no dealership could take away the vibration problem. (For more on this see thread called Bad Vibes). Well, hopefully with a Japanese at the helm, maybe he will have a different direction to take the company in. Maybe it's happening already. I just love how the Mazda3 & Mazda6 look. I hope everything else about the car is good too.

 

I dissagree with the article to....i live in Salem Oregon and everywhere i go i see mazdas.....everyone and there mom is buying them... in my apartment complesx alone there are 9 mazda 3s.... 7 mazda 6s.... and 2 trucks.....its almost depressing....im just glade they arent buying RX8s....