Are you still buying the same model tires it came with as original equipment? I had that same issue with my Protégé 5, but I just bought some more reasonable ones when I needed to replace them and the problem disappeared.
Nope. New ones from Goodyear. Though I have been getting the cheaper ones they offer… maybe I should pay a little more this go around.
I just had a rather remarkable exchange with Mazda.
I emailed the head of Mazda USA’s product marketing division about when or if the Mazdaspeed 3 or 6 would be reintroduced anytime in the near future. He responded with a personal email with half an hour! It was clearly not a canned response. He couldn’t answer my question, though. 
So if any of you want to influence Mazda, it seems they will at the very least read your message, as the guy said to me in the email. Go ahead, tell them you want a new Mazda Whatever.
I’ve come across several similar articles like this one about an upcoming Mazda6. It’s utterly gorgeous and to my eye looks like a 50-100 grand sports sedan, but will supposedly be in the same general price range as the current model. Which means a decently equipped model in to mid-20s and topping out in the mid 30s.
Unfortunately there are so many factual errors in this article that it makes the whole thing questionable. But the car is apparently real, at least as a concept car, and I can’t wait to see what ends up on the showroom.
That’s not the 2017 6 sedan. It’s a new-for-2017 coupe version, and the production model likely won’t look nearly as good. The concept car is a four-door, but the rear doors are just for show.
Whoops… forgot the third aspect of my Mazda experience… I had a Ford Ranger from about 1999-2006 and it had a Mazda M50D manual gearbox. Not a terrific transmission, to say the least.
My first 3 daily drivers were Fords and I had great luck with them, but back in 2008 Ford didn’t have much that appealed to me. My ideal car would be a 4-door sedan or hatchback, 6-cylinder, and manual transmission.
So I looked at other brands, and settled on a 2008 Mazdaspeed 3 since it was sort-of a Ford (shared platform and parts.) I like it a lot, quite fast, looks good without being too conspicuous, and I like that it’s a hatchback. Only thing I wish it had is a sunroof. Mechanically it’s been great. It had the smoking turbo problem but that was fixed under warranty, and Mazda was nice enough to fix it even though I was slightly over the warranty mileage.
Right now I’m at 104,000 miles or so and still like it every time I drive it. Well, I wish it cleaned itself but other than that.
That’s interesting. The 6 is so big it’s hard to imagine it as a coupe. It would make a lot more sense to have a coupe version of the 3.
I just read a review of the CX-3 the other day, which likes it but said most people would be better off getting the regular 3 hatchback, which has a fair amount more passenger and cargo room than the crossover. The opinion was that the only people who would rationally choose the crossover were in places with a whole lot of snowfall and who absolutely need AWD. And consequently there is no reason at all to buy the 2WD version of it.
I had a 2004 RX-8 for about 12 years. While I loved the car, it turned into a money pit. The rotary engine died just past 100,000 miles, so I bought a “new” (rebuilt) rotary engine to replace it at over $6000. That engine lasted less than 60,000 miles, as rotary engines lose compression after a while.
After that second engine blew out, I had had enough. It was a high-maintenance car and after well over $50,000 spent,I said goodbye to my baby.
Probably not relevant anymore but I had a 1980 (maybe ‘81) Mazda GLC. It was a pretty good little economy car although the alternator went pretty early on and the was the days before those long warranties. It met its demise by being totalled when it was rear-ended by some kid driving his parents’ Saab 9000.
I’m in the same boat. Ford dropped the Fusion with a manual. So now there are really only 3 midsize cars available with a manual. One of which (and the best choice IMHO) is the Mazda6. I’ll be buying one for the wife once the babes are out of the “milk and toys all over the back seat” age.
For just a second I thought you were talking about an owner’s manual instead of manual transmission, and thinking “WTF? No owner’s manual is a deal breaker?”
It kind of would be! I’ll amend my statement to include all kinds of manuals. Lack of them is a deal breaker. 
I was thinking you were referring to a book on paper. So much stuff now is online. Would a pdf version be a deal breaker?
Sounds like some kinda Tesla tech-bro bullshit!
Of course a .pdf wouldn’t be acceptable!
I need the carbon sequestering provided by the dead tree book to offset my ICE car’s emissions.
You are truly wise!