Hi kids… A number of you have been inquiring about Mazda 6 pricing. The fact is, Mazda hasn’t released their partner pricing yet (at least not to the point where I can get it). Sorry! If you’re a Mazda dealer and might be interested in some positive promotion for your dealership, drop me an email and we’ll see what we can do….

Well, I was expecting a longer tread-life of the factory-installed all season tires that came with my Mazda 6. Unfortunately, that was not to be. I noticed sliding a bit more in the slick rain, or in light snow (I’m in the Northeast, so snow is a part of living up here). Yes, I know I should get a set of winter tires for my Mazda 6s, but my travels tend to be about 95% highway driving. Highways are cleared quickly up here, so it’s almost never an issue.

I purchased a set of Yokohama AVID V4S from Tire Rack for $104 each. They arrived within 2 days of ordering and I had a local garage mount and balance them for $20/tire. Everything went smoothly and my Mazda 6 now feels like new again. Yay!

The other tire I was considering for my Mazda 6 was the Bridgestone Turanza LS-V. They’re a little softer, more expensive, and the reviews between the two brands of tires were fairly similar. If you’re looking for probably a slightly better but softer ride, and have the money, that would be the other tire I’d consider.

A dealer wrote me a few weeks ago after he had just received his dealer training for the Mazdaspeed 6.

We got to basically beat the crap out of the speed and a few other cars in its class and the speed blew away the competition…. Lots of new technology, including the new turbo (DISI) which has no lag whatsoever.

Mazda corporate will not release the cars to the dealers until they send at least 2 people to the training class.

The training class was held in Dallas, Texas. More information soon…

Seriously, I don’t know how anybody can drive this car for a year and a half, as I have, and not be nearly 100% satisfied with it. It’s like driving a BMW 3 series at half the cost. And twice the reliability (yes, sorry to point out that BMWs and Audi’s are notoriously unreliable, even in this day and age).

The Mazda 6 has been nothing but a pleasure in 43,000 miles. No unscheduled maintenance. Nothing that has broken in the car, no fit and finish issues. No rattles, no squeaks. This is one solidly, well-built car! I love the Mazda 6 and am seriously thinking about the Mazdaspeed 6 in my future.