I was thumbing through a tuner mag (turbo or Sport Compact car) and came across a spy shot of the new Mazda3 . In the caption it read that it would be the MP5 's replacement. It kinda looked like it has some Ford Focus lines to it. They say it will be slightly longer than the present MP5. Anybody know anything about this??

 

For 2004, the Mazda Protege is replaced by the Mazda 3.

The 2004 Focus, 2004 Mazda 3 and 2004 small Volvo (S40?) will all share the same all-new chassis. I don't believe the engines will be shared. The Mazda 3 should have a version of the new 4-cylinder found in the Mazda 6.

The thing that confuses me the most is: What will the Protege 5 be called?

 

probably the Mazda 3 WAGON

yes you P5 owners you drive a wagon

 

and proud of it beeyatch!!!

i hope the 3 will be a good looking car. i really have no idea if the pictures i've seen so far are the real deal or not.

it's looking more and more like the 6 is going to be out of my range when the time comes so it's all up to the 3.

 

 

isnt that an atenza wagon?

 

Anyone have pics of the Mazda 3 sedan
or are they gonna drop the sedan and just make it a WAGON

well the pic above is not bad....the front end is similiar to the Mazda6's

(God dammit i really wanna say M6, or M3...but then alot of people will think i'm talking about Bmw...and then they'll be like there was a BMW M6...and I'll have to be like Yeah there is....it was sold back in 1987 - 88....only like 1500 units were sold in the US (number might be alittle off) (But still M1 is one of the greatest BMWs)

sorry for getting a little off topic...well it does relate to the newer names of the mazdas.

all pics that I've seen are of the wagon Mazda3

 

first off: WTF is a MP5?
P5 thank you very much.
and 2nd, it's a hatchback! The wagon version of any car is never shorter than it's sedan version.

 

That's funny, I thought the same thing when I first saw it. No, it isn't. I'm too lazy to find a picture of a 6 wagon and post them side-by-side, but if you do you'll see the difference.

 

I suspect it will offered as a 5-door hatchback or a 4-door sedan, just like the current Protege. Both of these bodystyles have been good sellers worldwide and I'm sure Mazda won't want to mess with success.

I suspect that the Focus/3/Volvo 40 platform will come in 4 bodystyles, just line the current Focus. Given the marketing schemes for each company, here's what I expect to see. Everyone remember this so we can see if my predictions come true.

Focus: 3-door hatch, 4-door sedan, 5-door hatch, 5-door "squareback" wagon (just like the current model)
Mazda 3: 4-door sedan, 5-door hatch, 3-door hatch not sold in North America
Volvo: 4-door sedan, 5-door "squareback" wagon, 5-door hatch not sold in North America

I've been a decent automotive prophet in the past. We'll see if it works this time too.

 

Has anyone looked in the General Mazda Forum? There's at least three or four threads on this subject.

The basics are that the chasis for these vehicles is being developed by Ford, and all the engines will be Mazda's (based on the 2.3L in the Mazda6). Besides that, the Focus and 3 (and the Volvo) are being developed individually by their respective companies.

 

MP5 = Mazda Protege5 ... stop being such a dumbass, you're giving us Canadians a bad name!

 

True hahahahaha

hmmm as long as there is a sedan version..I'm good to go

even though I'm young...I've never really gone fond of wagons and yes I'm not really fond of Hatchbacks either....I know alot of people say us youngsters are fond of hatchbacks but I just ain't...dunno why

but as long as it has a nice sporty look to the sedan version of the 3...then I'm happy...but i don't like this focus sharing idea

 

Okay...for starters.....the REAL FACT IS....its a Heckler & Koch's MP5 submachine gun is the undisputed choice of the vast majority of law enforcement Special Response Teams and military Spec Ops units throughout the non-communist world. It has been so for almost two decades. Slightly revised and re-chambered for the 10mm Auto and .40 S&W cartridges, in addition to the 9x19mm Parabellum round, it now stands poised to surge forward into even greater pre-eminence.

IF you want to know more about what a REAL MP5 is...go to the URL below:

http://remtek.com/arms/hk/mil/mp5/choice/coang.htm

NOW...you REALLY don't want to get the WAGON VS. HATCH argument going again do you? believe what you want....call it what you want....but by definition.....our car...the Mazda Protege 5 fits into BOTH catagories....

I have done exhaustive research on this very question all over the net months ago when this first came up...and just so you know.....there is NO defination of a wagon anywhere that could be found that ever mentions that a wagon version of a vehicle HAS to be longer than the sedan version.....nor does it even make any mention of it.

Merry Christmas! :{D

 

In every country in the world(except the US) where they have the 323/allegro/astina,etc... they always have a sedan version and the other one is called hatchback, it's not a wagon damnit!