Hyghgynx

Mazda=Japan. Ford=USA. I know that! What I was trying to convey is that Ford has stake in Mazda. AS it does in Volvo. AS it does in Jaguar. AS it does in Mercury. As it does in Land Rover. etc. etc. etc. I had an '84 Ford Mustang and that was a POS. I nicknamed it "Girl Friend" because it kept sucking up my $$$$$$. I will never buy a Ford again. Hence my quote "Mazda = Ford. EeeewwwW!" Comprende?

Biznox

I agree.

tC is nice looking but not very unique. The Mazda deserves credit for being distinct. You don't mistake it for anything else. The tC looks like a Saturn ION from behind, a Volvo S40 in the front and about 1000 other cars from the side. Like I said, it's nice looking but just not terribly creative. The tC looks more like it should have had a Toyota badge on it rather than the same badge as cars like the xA and xB which really stand out.

Biznox

That makes no sense at all.

vegasdriver

It is not a wagon.
I call it a 5dr hatch.
If it was a wagon it would have a longer stretched look.
Would you call the Golf a wagon. The Golf and Mazda3 are very similar.

WingspanTT

I think the 2 hatch is inferior in looks to the sedan. Personally, I prefer the front and sides of the tC, but the back of the 3 sedan (night lights!). I am not a fan of the giant round-shaped pure red lights

NARCOSOMNI

as much as i like the mazda 3 ide have to agree the hatch looks way to much like a mini wagon, awesome car overall though

Hyghgynx

What's not to understand? ANYTHING Ford has stake in, I won't buy. Try reading between the lines, tc Hater.

vegasdriver

quote]
What's not to understand? ANYTHING Ford has stake in, I won't buy. Try reading between the lines, tc Hater. [/quote]

Well, just because Ford owns 1/3 of Mazda for example does NOT make them a Ford.
The Mazda3 is made in Japan, designed by Japanese. Now if some financial decisions are made with Ford so what? Big deal!
I can only see your point if you are looking at it from an "ethical" point of view, as in "I will boycott Fords because the company has done this".
Granted many Fords are crap, but applies mostly to domestic autos (not even trucks)!

just my .2c worth

intakeonly

well, we are comparing the looks in this thread.

and that is a subjective matter.

if you put factory looks on top of everything else that should mean everything else about a car seems to be less important

just go with which ever car you please to purchase.

+ if you dare to be different and looks are really important to you, scions allow you to change the looks very easily based on your preferences

Biznox

What did Ford ever do to you?

I guess I just find it a little strange to hate the Mazda3 because of some imagined association with Ford. What little Ford had to do with it clearly had no effect on the car because it's an excellent vehicle. If only Toyota would make the Corolla half as much of a drivers car as the 3 is.

Kind of reminds me of people who like blatantly hate Honda and put "clever" stickers on their car about how Honda sux and they make lawnmowers etc.

I don't hate the tc. I hate Toyota for selling a plain vanilla, resolutely ordinary looking car as a Scion and f*cking up the formula. It should have been sold with a Toyota badge on it. Call it the Solara Jr. naybe, and make sure its available in that lovely shade of Camry beige (desert sand mica). I'd have no problem with that. I just think the Scion brand should be reserved for edgy, new designs. That was supposed to be the whole idea of the brand, I thought, to distance itself from the rest of Toyota's painfully bland lineup, not emulate it. Just MHO though. I think the tC is a nice car though. If they made a station wagon version and it looked a little more interesting, I might be interested in it myself, actually.

vegasdriver

^^^^
well said!

hotbox05

biznox if you hate toyota and it's bland cars and scions not edgy enough , leave.

Hyghgynx

Imagined? Go to the Ford website http://www.ford.com/en/default.htm and look at the MAZDA moniker along with all the other brands. A lot of those brands have come under fire because of reliabilty issues. In my earlier post, I said I had reliabilty issues with my Mustang. A former boss had a problem with his Jaguar. Co-worker had a problem with his Land Rover. I could go on & on. These could be isolated incidences? I know that no one brand is perfect. Ford's motto is/was "Quality is Job 1", but lately Ford's quality has been taking some hits. (Mine included.) Maybe now this makes a little more sense to you guys.

Just trying to prove a point. Don't take it personal. At least we all drive sweet Scions now!

Biznox

Your logic is seriously flawed.

WTF does a Mustang, Jaguar or Land Rover have to do with a MAZDA product built in Japan by MAZDA?

Here's a clue: Not a goddamn thing.

Completely irrelevant.

Check Mazda's reliability, then get back to us. The 3 is an excellent car and only an idiot buys a Mustang expecting reliability.

WeDriveScions

Biz.... You REALLY need to relax...

I have the feeling if I pulled up in my bland tC, tuned to fox news, you'd have an aneurysm....


XM Channel 121 Forever!!!!!!!


Golly....

Biznox

You have a point there. I do need to relax. Sorry.

vegasdriver

Agree with you 100%.
WTF are they talking about?

Biznox

Right???

user1234

ok, so what do we have here ? an "educated" tC owner I presume ? let's see if the tC is really a better value shall we ?

Base Scion tC is $16750 no haggle pricing. Now let's compare it to Mazda3 S grand touring with the sunroof package which is SOLD FOR INVOICE PRICE of $19500 (if you don't believe that, check out mazda3 forums. Some people even pay less than invoice). So we have a price difference of $2750. But the Mazda3 grand touring has a "few" more featues which would cost extra on the tC. For starters, side and curtain airbags ($650 option on the tC). Second, fog light ($425). Next, HID Xenon headlights, which is not even an option on the tC - good luck on finding an aftermarket HID kit and installing it for less than $500. Mext, automatic climate control - not available on tC and probably not possible to install after market. Same goes for tire-pressure monitoring system, rain sensing wipers and automatic dusk-sensing headlights. Next, LEATHER INTERIOR - that would cost you at least $1000 aftermarket to get leather in the tC. Next, heated seats - not available on tC but usually cost $500 extra on other cars. Also, the Mazda3 S grand touring comes with a body kit - side sill extensions and special sports bumpers - this is equivalent to the tC "ground effects kit" option which costs $995. Now let's look at the autdio system - the Mazda3 has a 222W Bose stereo deaturing a 6-cd changer and 7 Bose speakers including a subwoofer. An equivalent upgrade to the tC would cost you AT LEAST $500. And finally, the Maazda3 comes with a security system which is a $469 option on the tC.

So let's sum up how much the tC would cost with all the options:

Scion tC base price = $16750
Airbags = $650
Fog lights = $425
Xenon HID = $500 (aftermarket)
Leather interior = $1000 (aftermarket)
Upgraded stereo and speakers incl sub = $500
Heated seats = $500
Auto climate, auto headlights, auto wipers = $500
Scion security = $469
Ground effects kit = $995

Final price = $22289

Mazda3 S grand touring invoice price is $19500 . Again I know you could get it for that price easily because I got mine for less (in fact a lot less because of loaylaty rebates, zoom-zoom coupons and year end discounts, not to mention available college grad rebates and others that I didnt have). So what a surprise, the Mazda3 gives you a lot more for a lot less.

So yeah, maybe simple minded people think that tC is "cheaper" by a couple of grand but look closely and you'll see the Mazda3 has like $5000 worth of additional equipment.

user1234

Alternatively, you can compare the tC to the Mazda3 S Touring trim which costs $18000 (incl sunroof package). This trim doesn't have leather, xenon and other expensive items but it still has everything (160-hp, 17" wheels) the base Scion tC has ($16750) plus it has the side airbags ($650), fog lights ($425), security system ($469), and a 6-cd changer ($260). If you add up all these options, you'll see that a similarly equipped Scion tC would cost $18554 , so it's about $500 more than the Mazda3 S-touring.

You might want to rethink your "best bang for the buck" theory. It's funny how mis-informed some people are. It's even funnier when said people think they know everything when in fact they don't.

All the above figures are for manual transmission models, but if you want an automatic the Mazda3 offers a 5-speed auto with manual shifting ("automanual") compared to the tC 4-speed automatic with no manual shifting. Both cost the same.