http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...3/DSCN0107.jpg

I feel like a ricer for liking this car.

love the buddha beads

theres a rumor that the visually tweaked mazdaspeed 3 for 2010 will come in awd and 2.5L turbo, also sedan and hatch styles

RWD would be nice for racing but FWD is better in the snow. I'm going to give it a thumbsup as a sweet car, but I don't know if you'll be able to get past the FWD when autocrossing it Scott.

Who says I'm autocrossing it?

There is a disclaimer on the back side of the visor "For Street Racing Use Only".

Yeah this is his replacement for daily driver when he gets rid of the SVX

You implied it.

Yes and no... just because I'd like a car that would be a decent autocross car, doesn't necessarily mean I will actually autocross it. I'd just like the option to do it if Reno SCCA ever gets its head out of its ass and go back to putting on fun events. But for now, the last place I want to be is out at Stead because it means a day of busting my ass to help everyone else get their 4 or 5 runs while I end up too tired to have fun driving myself.

I plan on going to one autocross weekend this season, the event that MattR and I are putting on... it we ever find a location for it.

I'll be interested to hear what you think after the test drive. Do they have one of those, "try it for 3 days and return it if you don't like it" offers? :devil:

You think the last of AWD will be so pronounced that the car won't be any fun and after a few days I'll want to get rid of it? :(

To be honest, as a daily driver I likely won't even notice torque steer at all because I don't push it on the street... and I'll only really miss AWD the one or two days out of the year that there's a bunch of snow on the ground... during which I'd probably just drive the truck anyway, since its tires are taller than the curbs I might slide into.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like a new STi more than a MS3... but when you factor in tax and title, etc... the STi is like $15k more out the door. The STi is *not* $15k better than the Mazda... not even close. AWD is nice, but it's not god's gift to automobiles. Keep in mind, the MS3 puts down more WHP than the STi does, and has a boost limiter, traction control, and LSD to keep it to the ground as best as possible. Granted, it'll take more finesse to drive than an STi, but it's not really significantly slower. So, especially as a daily driver where the STi's advantage is less important, it's obviously the better car for the money... especially since it's not like I don't also have a WRX still.

:lol: No, not at all. I just think it would be fun if 2 of those days happened to be June 7th and 8th...or the 28th and 29th...

That's the thing, this car looks to be a killer bang for the buck. I haven't seent he interior or driven it, but it looks nice and I agree with everything in your post above about value of AWD, etc. The only significant downside would be if you wanted to autox it...the FWD has the potential to really piss you off. I was just thinking that the 3 day deal is a great way to put the car through it's paces at a venue that was designed to do so. :)

Just buy it already , jeebus...We'll decide if it's cool or not at some other time.

+impluse+

I gotta sell the SVX, and get the WRX running again before I'm willing to start paying on another car. Hell I probably should pay off the truck 1st too (I still owe like $10k on it)... but I think it'd be better to put $10k towards the MS3 'cause the rates are higher now than they were when I bought the truck... my loan on the truck is the lowest interest rate I've got!

http://www.motivemag.com/pub/feature...obalt_SS.shtml

Cobalt SS is faster than the MS3, but I know Scott likes the hatches. Personally I'd be interested in test driving the upcoming sedan Cobalt SS.

http://www.motivemag.com/Content/upl...lt_ss_side.jpg

~$23K with a 6-speed automatic and 260 turbo'd ponies, yes please. Take the SS badging off and you've got a near sleeper.

http://www.motivemag.com/Content/upl...lt_ss_rear.jpg

http://www.motivemag.com/Content/upl...edan_front.jpg

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/09/2...ok-and-pricing

gah the rear end looks horrible. it's ok otherwise.

^yeah I agree. I wouldn't mind having one but it reminds me too much of a grandma car with handicap plates.

Yeah it's kinda rental car looking. :(

Scott would be forced to kick his own ass if he bought that piece.

+1

I've got all sorts of respect for the Cobalt SS for it's performance. Same goes for the SRT-4 Neon. And while I'm down with souping up econo-cars (WRX anyone?) the Cobalt and the Neon just seem too cheap. The look too much like their pedestrian brethren.

Maybe if that Cobalt went to finishing school in Australia and came back looking like a Holden, or to Europe and came back looking like a Opel or Vauxhall.

On another note, Lisa and I dropped by Reno Mazda after dinner to look at an '07 Speed3 Sport on the lot there. Only 10,000 miles, but it's my least favorite color and the dealer told me it was $25k. :lol: I should be able to get a brand new Speed3 GT for $25k out the door, and when I told the guy that he refused to believe me. 'Course, the salesman didn't know squat about the car either (like even the trim levels of the Speed3 which is pretty basic info). So, it's unlikely Reno Mazda will be getting my business... but I was planning on shopping in Carson anyway after Debbie's advice.

I find it ironic how often car salesmen don't know squat about the car they are selling other than "Oh yeah it's real fast" or "Yeah it's got the premium wheels."

^ I stopped in at Allison Mitsu when the new lancers first hit the lot and a salesman ran up to me and started talking about the evo X and how it wasn't going to be in the tuning scene anymore because its going to be a twin turbo and cost around $43k.

In the retail auto sales world, knowing something can get in the way of making a sale. Most people who are smart enough to know something about cars find a job where they can use those smarts, not hock cars.

Well, not knowing something but pretending you do is grounds for walking away from the dealership to me. I'm not interested in listening to someone tell me I'm wrong when they don't have the slightest clue what they're talking about. Spend all of 30 minutes on the Mazda forum and you'll learn more about those cars than that sales-tard knew. It's your job for chrissake, crack open the brochure and at least figure out the name of the trim levels of the car you're selling.

When I did a two month stint in sales at CompUSA they threw me in digital cameras and MP3 players, despite tons of experience and product knowledge with hard drives, motherboards, monitors, and practically everything else to do with building computers (minus having an A+ cert). I was always looking up shit on the web because I didn't know what the things could do, and I made a lot of sales because I would do the quick comparison online (often on CompUSA's own site but sometimes on the manufacturer's site) and tell the customer the real poop. I hated having to sell them on the extended warranties, though. I think I only was able to successfully sell them on MP3 players because they are prone to being dropped or have non-replaceable batteries.

I would expect sales people at a car place to know all their vehicle bullet points at the very least, and not to feign product knowledge if they do not in any respect. The proper way to do it is to look it up and give an honest answer, and learn it so you don't need to look it up in the future. This way you can earn the trust of your customers and hopefully get repeat business, but I guess they are doing the opposite. They're doing the sales equivalent of the tourist-trap restaurant-- zero repeat business allows misleading service.

I just read on Autoblog that the Cobalt is likely to be replaced by the new sport compact vehicle coming out from Chevy next year.