Hit: Subaru Announces Revised WRX for 2009
For the 2008 model year, Subaru released an all-new WRX. The Subie fanatics could hardly believe it-a kinder, gentler, softer WRX was the long-awaited replacement. To make matters worse, the car carried the same engine as before. Subaru acted fast, and in the summer of 2008, announced plans for a revised WRX. More power. More aggressive exterior styling. Sportier interior. Tauter suspension settings. Essentially, all of the things the 2008 WRX should have been, but wasn’t.
Miss: We are Missing Something from the Mazda6
I have always loved the Mazda6. It was the sportiest family sedan coming out of Japan. The 6 marched to the beat of a different drummer, which I found endearing. Pictured above is the new 6 Wagon, one of the sportiest looking wagons money can buy-a car we cannot buy. Mazda fans will also recall a 6 five-door hatchback. Mazda still builds one too, just not for our market.
Mazda took a hard look at its US sales figures, and made a business decision. As much as us car geeks loved the 6 wagon and hatch, demand here was weak. Mazda, with its new, larger 6, is making a run at the Camry and Accord in a major way, and as such, all we are getting is the four-door sedan version. The new 6 boasts more powerful engines, but if you crave a manual, you will have to settle for the 170hp 4-cylinder. The new V-6 is available only with an automatic, whereas last year’s car was available in both manual and automatic.
I don’t doubt that the new 6 is an improved car from the last generation, but the ‘Zoom Zoom’ company took away from us some attractive, alternative choices. How Mazda expects the small but dedicated number of fans of the wagon and hatchback to buy the larger, heavier CX-7 is beyond me. And taking away the option of a manual tranny in the V-6 model also runs contrary to what Mazda purports itself to be. In other words, what could be a hit commercially, can be a miss to the enthusiast.