The Mazdaspeed6 (or is it a Mazda Speed6 or a Mazda Mazdaspeed6…? Nobody knows) is a souped up version of the pedestrian Mazda 6 sedan, an attempt by Mazda to create an EVO/STi competitor. Mazda, however, exercised restraint in the size of the rear wing, use of external pink emblems and silliness to create a […]
The Mazda MX-5 Miata isn’t a car for everybody. If you are too large or if your family is too large, fuggedaboutit– you’re not gonna fit. But for all the people who want a convertible with a driving experience that is sublime, you need to at least consider a Miata. Obviously, the latest generation (ND) has the best combination of styling, performance, etc…but if you want the best bang for your buck — look to the NB generation Mazdaspeed MX-5. It was a limited production version that added a small turbocharger, Bilstein shocks, and a limited slip diff to 5428 versions equipped with the 6-speed manual for the 2004-2005 model years. Expect them to be collectible in the future, but for now, they are affordable. Find this 2005 Mazda MX-5 MazdaSpeed offered for $7,800 in Temple City, CA via craigslist.
I’m going to post this next car with a caveat that Brooklyn isn’t a good place to buy a car…or probably much of anything. The Big Apple is notorious for crappy roads, sketchy parking, bad weather, and well…New Yorkers. Everybody who isn’t trying to actually pick your pocket is probably trying to muscle something outta […]
There was a time when Mazda was just another entry into the world of cheap Japanese economy cars. Most Mazdas built in the ’80s & ’90s had all the reliability, charisma, and fun factor of a dollar store enema kit, but sometime in the early ’00s (that’s pronounced “oughts” like “I oughta smack you for […]
Mazda is like the Dodge of Japan. Honda and Toyota fight like Ford and GM over bragging rights to the “best” volume sales cars and the “fastest” supercars, but Mazda just drops some crazy fun cars like the inexplicably named Mazdaspeed 3, which combined the best attributes of a small front drive family economy car […]
When I was growing up, a car that rolled over 100,000 miles was something to take note of. Flash forward twenty five years and it is common place see cars with plenty of life at 200,000+ miles. The 2007-2009 Mazdaspeed 3 was the first real hit for the brand. Mazdaspeed’s first go at things with […]
Last week’s Sunday piece featured a unusually clean Mazdaspeed Protege. In the comments, it was bemoaned that Mazda never saw fit to give the Mazdaspeed treatment to the Protege 5 wagon. Nearly all car enthusiasts (DT readers included) share a common love of the station wagon. An enthusiastic Protege fan took it upon himself to […]
The 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege was the first offering from the Mazdaspeed name plate. It was to be Mazda’s hot rod shop ala Mercedes AMG, BMW M-series, Ford’s SVT, etc. The Mazdaspeed was spawned from the righteous handling 2001-2 Protege MP3 model. The MP3 name was derived from the audio MP3 file (think Napster) which was […]
The Mazda MX-5 Miata was a perfectly good car before the guys at Mazdaspeed slapped a small turbocharger on the engine, but the Mazdaspeed MX-5 is the renaissance man’s car, a well balanced combination of usefulness, style, and fun. It isn’t a cave man (Mustang) or a Machiavelli (Ferrari), but it is the Leonardo Da […]
Today’s Mid Week Match-Up request is from a friend of DT Michael who needs a replacement for his Acura TL. In his words: The transmission on my 2005 Acura TL grenaded on my way home from work on Friday. With 187,000 miles on the clock and a body riddled with hail damage (the car, not […]