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Mazda has released official pictures of what will likely be the best-selling car in the United States, should it ever be sold here; the 2014 Mazda6 Wagon, which will be available with the new Skyactiv-D engine and a manual transmission.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Mazda6 wagon equipped with the diesel engine and the three-pedal gearbox would solve the needs of all crossover, pickup truck, sports car and Volkswagen TDI buyers. Take-rate for the manual will likely be in the neighborhood of 99 percent, save for the handful of customers with medical issues affecting their left leg. Industry analysts expect this vehicle to demolish the currently healthy CUV segment should it debut in North America sometime in late 2013.
101 Comments on “Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Wagon To Outsell Ford F-150 In United States...”
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“Mazda6 Skyactiv-D Wagon To Outsell Ford F-150 In United States”, he said, tongue DEEPLY inserted into his cheek!
Man, April Fool’s Day has come late this year.
Well played Derek. Any news on whether the wagon will actually make it to the US? Also any rumours about a future MazdaSpeed 6?
The wagon is a confirmed “NO.” Sorry. :(
There was a pres release 2 or 3 weeks ago where they said that it was not coming to North America.
thanks, I suppose they assume the CX5 covers the market segment.
That’s right. The US version of a wagon is a CUV.
It’s a shame because from what I’ve seen so far, this wagon looks better than the sedan. (And that’s not something I usually think.)
Hopefully the diesel gets released before too long. While saying “I’d buy one” is common on the internet, I’m actually planning on getting one of these if everything checks out.
I WANT to believe.
I’m in the market for a new Subaru. This is better looking. I’d buy an automatic FWD version.
The 3 is too small and teh CX-5 is too tall.
Exactly. I’m looking at the possibilities for when my ’03 H6 wagon craps out, because I’m not a big fan of the newest generation of Legacy platform cars.
Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
I read the title and was thinking, this isn’t April Fool’s day is it?
It’s not rear wheel drive. Any TTAC commenter knows that to outsell the F-150 it has to be a REAR DRIVE, manual, diesel, wagon.
Jmo is correvt. It’d have to be rwd and have a tow rating above 3500 lbs. What’s the tow rating on VW tdi wagon?
All SAAB 9-5’s have tow rating of 3500 lbs for the US. And it’s not the brakes are holding a higher rating but the automatic transmission. Owners manual says to pull over and cool off if trans light comes on. My manual transmission 9-5 has towed 4200 lbs for close to 600 miles with just gas stops in 90F heat.
You’ve got balls to tow that much more than the rating.
So, this as a diesel w/ manual.
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2011/02/09/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1997-ford-crown-victoria-station-wagon/
This is the same guy who claims 25 mpg towing 4000+ and 45 mpg empty.
No balls required with an imagination like that.
US tow ratings, at least aside from from full sized pickups, are pretty conservative. It seems like 10 runs at 80mph up and down the Grapevine in 110 degree heat is a minimum requirement, despite the fact that most of the country is, most of the year, cold, and mostly flat.
In many less lawyer infested parts of the world, if the hitch weight doesn’t flatten the rear suspension (and tires!) and point the headlights at the stars (which is a problem when the driven wheels are up front :)), it’s good to go. Just a bit slower and more carefully.
There’s a decent chance we’ll see an AWD version.
So, just to be clear, we’re making fun of the people who want practical and entertaining and generally excellent cars, not the people who ignore them, right?
I laugh at the notion that one type of car (manual diesel wagon) can somehow fit literally every type of vehicle purchaser. If anything, we should make fun of THAT.
Yes, it’s not the first time I’ve gotten a distinct impression that the editors wish they had readers and commenters who properly appreciate the virtues of a Camcord/fusion rather than an interesting car like this or a BRZ.
Alas, it’s enthusiasts like us who read and hang out at car sites, though.
Lol.
Watch them actually bring it here and sell a grand total of 700 of them. 20 years later they’ll all be in the hands of college professors, repeating the fate of every other sensible car (like diesel 240 wagons, mid-90’s Camry wagons, original Insight, and soon Mazda5).
700?
It’s Mazda… cut that number in half.
The only car manufacturer more confusing as to why it exists than Mazda, by the way, would be Suzuki. Or Mitsubishi. Honestly, they’re all in a similar category IMO.
tuff- I disagree, Mazda has been consistent that it builds cars that are fun to drive. Their lineup demonstrates that. You may say it is a niche proposition but you can`t say they are confused.
700 cars is a pretty high number since there are only 12 people who want them in the whole country.
“700 cars is a pretty high number since there are only 12 people who want them and can actually afford it in the whole country”
FTFY.
No. There are only 12 people who want them. I have no idea if they can afford them, but my guess is they’ll buy used, anyway.
If this makes it to the States, I plan to start complaining that true enthusiasts want it in right-hand-drive.
Best. Title. Evar.
Awesome. I’ll take two please.
I know the entire article is sarcasm, but I know close to a dozen people who would love this very vehicle. Our little motorcycle group tends to buy cars, with manual transmissions, loves wagons and would love a diesel engine. How this venn diagram came to be is a surprise to me as well.
I want another diesel car someday (manual yes, wagon not so much), but I don’t want to take my chances with another VW. It would be nice to have options, but so far no good.
With a diesel you could quite handily tow a bit of weight behind it as is done in Europe. Add a panoramic sunroof and a roof rack system, ensure it has enough ground clearance to at least maneuver on rough roads and I’ll be standing at the door to the dealership with the title to my Saturn Astra and a loan agreement in my hand.
If I were to trade my sensible Mazda 5 on this and I’m not a college professor, what does that make me?
A person with terrible taste.
That’s just like, your opinion, man
He asked a question that needed an answer.
AM I the only one… Who gets that reference?
His Dudeness
I’m the dude… so that’s what you call me.
@indy… you’re not the only one I was stuck at work or I was going to say…
This article like really pulled the blog together.
What the f*** are you talking about?
what’s so hard about making such a low volume car available by special order?
What other hurdles need to be cleared other than logistics?
Cost.
The cost of separate EPA, crash testing, and DOT certification for some.
Do you need to run separate crash tests for an engine and transmission swap? I can see EPA testing, but I’d imagine that’s less expensive than crashing a bunch of perfectly good cars just because you changed out the engine.
So split the cost among the few people who want one. I am willing to pay.
The take rate for such special order cannot be so low that the extra cost would be unreasonable.
As far as I understand the process of developing cars, this would add astronomical costs to the sticker price of the hypothetical U.S. spec Mazda6 Skyactiv wagon. There are so many minor little differences to make a car meet U.S. compliance that this is often a 7-figure expenditure. Money that Mazda, which is on the financial ropes, doesn’t have.
In 2004, Mazda sold about 72,000 Mazda6s in the US, its best year ever. How many were wagons? I can’t imagine more than 15 percent. That’s 10,800 wagons, and how many of those would be diesel? Maybe 30 percent? So 3240 units. And then the manual option take rate?
Based on this back of the napkin number crunching, I think it’s very hard for a cash-stapped, minor player automaker like Mazda to satisfy the obscure tastes of a view people, no matter how fantastic said vehicle may be (and based on Mazda’s track record and the prototype drives that have been conducted, it will be very good).
NOW, on the other hand, Cadillac needed to sell 5 CTS-V wagons to break even. So it happened.
To my fellow readers who work for an OEM or just have an idea. What are the rough approx costs (in millions) of EPA, crash testing, DOT and others for adding another engine or wagon bodystyle to a car that is already destined to come here?
Audi has lot’s of A4/5’s. Mazda had 4/5 doors and wagons in the last gen. Current Chevy Impala had 3 different 6 cyl’s and a V8. I can keep on going on.
VW and GM have massive economies of scale, Ford had Mazda to help share the cost with last time around. Economies of scale, right now, is the ONLY way to profitable make cars. If it don’t make dollars, it don’t make sense.
@vvk
OR
Instead of adding $10,000 to the cost of each of the three hundred and fifty Mazda6 Wagons they’d sell, why not just buy a German wagon? Same price range, only they already exist.
@tuffjuff
What fun would that be?
Derek’s napkin logic is flawed… it assumes the only buyers of the hypothetical diesel-wagon version of a Mazda6 (OK, they gotta offer an automatic) would be only those predisposed to Mazdas in the first place.
I submit that mainstream diesel (sedan and wagon) offering could poach from the millions of Accord/Crosstour, Camry/Venza, Altima, Sonata, CUV, etc. buyers. Gas won’t see $3 again anytime soon.
The point is, a Mazda6 diesel would be darn near a market exclusive (MB too expensive, VW also pricey and unreliable). If they could poach only 2% of mainstream midsize sedan/crosover buyers, that would be a very healthy volume for a small firm like Mazda. Why not diesels in the whole lineup too? Why not ONLY diesels?
A diesel-only strategy would give Mazda a marketing schtick, an identity, which they sorely need. Look what the AWD schtick has done for Subaru. Their’s are not perceived as me-too products and they have a loyal customer base.
The large firms operate with a herd mentality and produce bland products that strive to offend no one. On the other hand, a small firm can turn-off 90% of the buying market as long as they resonate, really resonate, with the remaining 10%.
There was a time when styling and design ruled the day. The sameness in today’s marketplace leaves an opening for any firm bold enough to go against the tide with an aggressively positioned niche strategy.
@DK: IIRC the US sales on the prior Mazda6 wagon was 200/month, and a good chunk of probably were not to individuals as the 6 was half fleet at the time.
@Richard Chen
The last time Mazda sold a wagon in the US, there were a fair number of wagons to choose from. And that generation of Mazda 6’s problem was that it was a 1/2 size too small, and expensive compared to the competition. Now in this price range there is the VW Jetta and the VW Jetta. Plus this car is a LOOKER – I think they are being very short-sighted not bringing it here. A wagon is a way to stand out from the crowd of CUV-things.
@hriehl1
There was a moment in history when Mazda said, “Hey, we’re only gonna offer cars with THIS type of engine!”. Look how well that turned out, they barely escaped death by gas crisis and were only saved by starting to offer goode ole piston motors again.
That said, Mazda has always been known for innovative, if sometimes quirky motors. Millenia S, rotaries, etc. A high-efficiency diesel would not be unexpected and would resonate with the brand quite well.
As much as we’d all like to see it, Mazda would simply be better off taking whatever amount of money it would cost to offer it for sale in the USA and applying that money to the next-gen Miata development project.
@krhodes1: and then there’s sunk costs from what would be internecine competition. US CX-5 sales are over 24K YTD, and the perennially slow-selling Mazda5 at 8K YTD it’s still far beyond that of the old 6 wagon. There’s also the CAFE factor: both the CX-5 and Mazda5 are classified as trucks, with a lower MPG target than a wagon.
Disclaimer: 5yr Mazda5 owner, wouldn’t give it up for a Mazda6 wagon.
There’s another flaw in the logic of not bringing the wagon to the US: They are considering making a coupe, which means more development budget, time, and testing, but the wagon is already done. It just needs to be fitted for the US. All this and the coupe isn’t likely to sell more than the wagon.
That tells me that it isn’t the development/testing budget that is keeping the wagon away.
not a college prof, but my daily driver is a V50 wagon, manual
this may very well be my next car, it looks gorgeous!
If this does well and isn’t too large, I could see my mom eventually replacing her V50 with it. As long as it still felt that it had the power like her T5. The 2.4i was too slow for her!
She’s been able to convince a few people to get rid of their larger SUVs and minivans and downsize because they love hers so much.
Will it be available in brown?
That! That was what was missing. I’ll have wet dreams tonight. Thanks :)
Good stuff. The new Mazda6 looks great, but, of course, the manual transmission will almost certainly be available only on the low-end stripper models. Michael Karesh has noted this lamentable trend.
Well played Derek.
And for the record, I want one.
I don’t even know where to begin. Is this weird editorialization about the new press photos? I’m lost before the first comma.
“Industry analysts expect this vehicle to demolish the currently healthy CUV segment should it debut in North America sometime in late 2013.”
What are you doing? PLEASE don’t make joke news into a trend here. Don’t ruin it, Derek.
….you must be new here.
This is the site that formerly annually named the Ten Worst All Time vehicles….and enjoyed every nano-second of 7th grade humor that could be wrung from the corresponding acronym.
This is the site that managed to define schadenfruede more than 200 ways when the GM Deathwatch series absurdly swashbuckled its way across these pages.
Coming here for serious automotive news?
That’s what Motor Trend is for….
I want to print and frame this response. Priceless!
HA. nice try. but it isn’t rwd, therefore the internets will dismiss it with much whining. *this* close.
Such a tease!!! Not nice at all.
Maybe in 2-1/2 years when my GLI lease is up they will be here. Had a VW Sportwagon and would love to see the 6 Wagon back and with a manual to boot.
Just wait until Mazda announces the 12 speed AT diesel Miata.
…Miata Station Wagon?
Excuse me…I have to get a kleenex and some hand lotion.
With the right marketing this thing could really sell.
Now that Mazda has separated from Ford they don’t need to worry about stealing sales from profitable SUVs and pick-ups.
Yep, put me down as wanting one, even an automatic.
I would love to own one these one day, wagon or not–Now that the new accord did away with the double wish-bone suspension, I believe this is only car in it’s class left with one.
I can’t wait until Mazda gets more manufacturing out of Japan and the costs go down, the high cost of the yen is killing them.
Marching in the wrong direction, is Mazda on that one. They just built their last car in Flat Rock, MI….
Nope, I believe that Mazda ditched DWB in the new 6. Same excuse as Honda–co$t, weight, EU “prevention-of-Darwin-award” pedestrian crash-regs, etc.
Fortunately, it seems as though 95% of the Honda goodness is still there. We’ll see about the 6–that wagon is a looker (and the Sedan is a well-executeed evolution of the current one–even the new design language up-front is OK).
They may have missed the boat just a bit on the interior–the dash looks a little last-gen-Camry-esque for my taste.
I’ve read lots of negative comments on the interior, typically calling it dated.
I actually like it. I’m not sure how that idrive-like knob is going to work out from a functional standpoint, but the rest looks clean and straightforward. Not over styled and busy like newer Fords for example.
Sorry. I gotta keep coming back to this site, because FOXNews has a BIG picture of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz on their webpage this morning, and everytime I click on FOXNews, hoping that it will be gone….
It scares the shyte out of me.
+1,000!!
BAH! It’s not brown! I don’t want it!
(yes I do! It’s a good-looking car!)
What’s that? You’ve got sexy thin A pillars and pretty thin D pillars?
I call for a Vellum Venom article on this car immediately. Failing that, could somebody explain why auto manufacturers are having this massive boner for flattening fender flares into this odd, flat shaped fender semi circle? God it looks terrible no matter what car you put it on. Impreza, I’m looking at you.
Reduced frontal area reduces drag. I would suspect that’s why we’re seeing it pop up all over the place.
Its meant to appear “sporty” and what not, because we really want that for our regular grocery getters.
I just want to know why the hoods so long while the rear-cargo space looks a bit small. I thought that once of the big benefits of sideways engines were shorter front ends.
I read somewhere the skyactiv exhaust header take a lot of space, resulting in the long hood.
Only if they can get it to like $20k, which should be easy if they offer a stripper model with all the unnecessary crap removed, right?
Are you kidding? It’d be over-priced at $20k! They could obviously make money selling it for, oh, $14k?
I have the cash, I’d call up the local Mazda dealer right now and put down the deposit if this car were actually coming here. Seriously.
I bought a wagon from Acura, best car buying decision I ever made.
What happened to “zoom-zoom” and the unique product positioning that Mazda touted? This makes perfect sense for the enthusiast owners that Mazda covets in the US.
Derek’s right… Mazda is getting burnt trying to appeal to people who get more of what they’re looking for for less money in the used market. Hell, they know it, it’s no secret:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/04/mazdas-enthusiast-howl/
Given the rave reviews the CX-5 received here and elsewhere, why would Mazda cannibalize it? Especially when the upside is little more than poaching all those Acura TSX SW intenders.
As for the diesel, I’m about to start giving up on that. Haven’t had the chance to read the final CAFE rules, but with CARB leading the way and Ze Germans unhappy with the preliminary rule, I wouldn’t bank on a big diesel comeback anytime soon.
I could never bring myself to start a Mazda Deathwatch (Bias Enforcement agents: please note subtle admission of guilt), but the firm is definitely in a struggle for survival. The truth is simply that it’s too small to remain independent forever, and right now it doesn’t have the margin of error (scale) to bring risky products to market.
All that said, I would totally buy one. If I, um, needed one. And had the money. And couldn’t find anything cooler on the used market. And, and, and…
From the same observations I draw totally different conclusions.
Mazda cannot afford NOT to do something drastic to REALLY distinguish themselves with some signature architecture, or feature set, or whatever. To succeed here, they only need to click, really click, with 5% of the buyers and close half of them. While the big boys pursue sameness, they should seek differentiation.
Otherwise they’re just 10 years behind Isuzu and 5 behind Mitsubishi and Suzuki… dead men walking all.
An earlier poster cited the rotary engine strategy… it was the right kind of bold move needed today, but was simply a poor choice for their signature differentiator.
As far as I’m concerned, Jack and Brendan’s reactions to the CX-5 do distinguish themselves fairly drastically from typical CUV reviews. It’s now the number two selling Mazda after the 3, and Mazda’s US exports are up almost 50% YTD (YoY). If the new 6 and forthcoming Kodo-look 3 are as well-received, Mazda may well turn things around, at least in the US.
In other words, a 6 wagon won’t really change the equation for this market. Really, if you want a 6 Wagon badly enough, buy a loaded 6 sedan and then harass Mazda on social media. Industry types flatter journos into thinking their opinion on product decisions matter, but owners and serious intenders are who really matter (at least they should).
At the end of the day, Mazda is revamping its core lineup with much better design and improved efficiency… its two great weaknesses. Hyundai didn’t need a Wankel or Wagons to effect its turnaround, it just improved its core offerings. That’s the sustainable approach, and I’m glad Mazda’s taking it.
I understand the points Derek and others tried to raise to show how economies of scale makes a case against such vehicles, coupled with additional fee for EPA, crash-tests and what not.
Does the same hold true for Canada? Will this be available in Canada? Reading the articles and comments on this and some other websites gives me an impression that Canadians are still willing to buy wagons and hatchbacks, unlike Americans. Is that true?
Are the costs to get appropriate certifications and checks to be able to sell a vehicle in Canada comparable to that in the USA?
The green card queue in the United States is backed up so much (10 years in certain categories) that I am seriously considering moving to Canada. Canadian provinces actively looking for skilled workers doesn’t hurt either. Now, if I could buy manual, RWD, diesel wagons and hatchbacks from more than one manufacturer, my interest would increase tenfold. Or at least that is what this site has lead me to believe. I have never driven a vehicle with this forbidden fruit combination. Not have I driven a Panther, but I have been drooling over them for a while. :)
Sadly, for the most part, whether or not we’d buy it, the Canadian market is dictated by the American market. The regulations are close enough that, unless a manufacturer can justify federalizing a car for the American market, we aren’t likely to see it (the profit from our collective ~1.5 million cars a year just isn’t worth it).
Out of everyone who begs for this car, probably only 0.2% of them would actually buy it new if it came, there would be no market and it would go away.
Ok, as one of the few people with a legitimate medical issue with my left leg (no, really…), I am insulted and offended by the suggestion that my desire for a paddle shifted version of this…. Ooooh, Pretty.
It won’t…because it also needs to weigh 2500-2700 lbs, and be AWD or RWD. Either way, the new design language is fantastic.
Almost ALL of VW’s Jetta Sportwagons sold in the US are diesels. Mazda has taken note of this, yet they are still too timid to give VW a run for their money?
If they DID bring the diesel wagon here, I bet they could sell 10s of thousands/year, maybe half of them with manual transmissions. Imagine, a diesel wagon with a better reputation for reliability.
IF they don’t renege on Skyactive-D, and IF it is a sales success, maybe they’ll reconsider. But I’m still doubtful the Sky-D is going to show up in the US, ever. Hope I’m wrong.
Sincere request to the TTAC staff – Please review a manual Jetta Sportwagen TDI. The last JSW review I saw on this site was from September 2008 (https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2008/09/2009-vw-jetta-sportwagen-se-review/).
Being the face of the interweb’s manual diesel wagon enthusiast community, please do our minority-group justice by reviewing the one piece of forbidden fruit that is available on the market.
PS: I checked the VW configurator. The JSW TDI manual is available in Brown. TTAC will be able to garner support from the Brown Car Appreciation Society as well ;)
I watched Jeremy Clarkson rip the BMW X3 a new asrehole and then said what I’ve said for years,”what’s the point of these things? when a proper estate (wagan to us) can do as much and ride/drive better!
You know -such a car did existed- the Peugeot 504 station wagon. It was diesel, available with a stick-shift, and rear wheel drive. And available in brown too!
It sold in droves …. in Botswana.