Alfa/ND Mule spotted in Michigan

[project.r.racing]

I hear they just missed the 1000kg aim with the soft and hard convertible versions.

i "hear" they didn't get even close... around 2400lbs (1090kg). It's just too exxy to reduce weight with expensive materials and make the car bigger.

No turbo, just skyactiv 1.5 or 2L engines

Close must equal Mazda PR spin then.

guessing we'll have to wait til Detroit to see it. These NC + 6 front renderings are driving me crazy.

[rjastra2]

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/alfa-romeo ... t-jeopardy

No Alfa spyder based on mx5....

[markwid]

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of the Fiat Group, announced that he would “no longer be the CEO of a company where Alfa Romeos were not produced in Italy.”

All a bit silly really. The fact that it was going to be made by Mazda in Japan is a big plus. Italian styling, rorty engine with Japanese build quality is a good thing.

[Vat]

Sounds like it'll turn up in the Fiat group somewhere else, most likely (as suggested in the article) as a Fiat. Can't see it fitting in elsewhere in the Fiat group other than Alfa, but then you can buy a rebadged Chrysler 300C as a Lancia Thema and the Chrysler 200 as the Lancia Flavia, not to mention the Chrysler Voyager as a Fiat "Freemont" (Freemont?? Really?) so all bets are off.

The Fiat rebadge of the Voyage does my head in every time I see one. We did about 2000km in a Dodge Grand Caravan (it was neither Grand nor a Caravan) and I'd be hard pressed to think of something more American in its approach to mass-produced motoring (big, dumb, soft, cheaply assembled and so on), so the concept of it running around with Fiat badges is dumbfounding.

[rjastra2]

The Fiat rebadge of the Voyage does my head in every time I see one.

Just an aside.

The Freemont is based on the Dodge Journey. Which is on no way related to the Voyager/caravan.
The Dodge Dart is based on the Alfa Romeo Guilietta

[JayMo]

If there was no need for an MX5 heritage, I would really like this.... Heck, I still do. MX5 meets Kodo in this interpretation.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/mazda/mx-5 ... -more-edgy

[Lokiel]

^
That looks like something produced by Chrysler/Dodge (they look too bulky to me, apart from the Viper) - I expect an MX5 to look better than that (ie. svelte).

These quotes from the article give me some hope though:

"What the model won’t do, though, is follow the family look successfully introduced by the 6,3 and now the Hazumi concept, revealed at Geneva, which is essentially the new Mazda 2.

“You wouldn’t be able to put it next to one of those and say it’s a smaller version of that,” confirmed Birtwhistle. “It’ll have an MX-5 face.”

- that picture looks like they've just slapped a 2/3/6 front on an NC.

[Vat]

The Freemont is based on the Dodge Journey. Which is on no way related to the Voyager/caravan.
The Dodge Dart is based on the Alfa Romeo Guilietta

Oh yeah, different platforms. There you go. Shows how much interest I have in Chrysler/Dodge product, I guess.

[JayMo]

^

- that picture looks like they've just slapped a 2/3/6 front on an NC.

Yeah, that is what it looks like... It is just an interesting exercise in creative photoshopping. But had they done this I think more would have sold than the nc3 or nc2.5 or whatever it is.... Basically 50 grand on road for no real changes... I don't mind it on its own but it does nothing for the heritage

[Vat]

^
That looks like something produced by Chrysler/Dodge (they look too bulky to me, apart from the Viper) - I expect an MX5 to look better than that (ie. svelte).

Agreed - the heavy front end is way out of proportion with the slim body. You can do that on a tall hatchback but to make it work on the MX-5 you'd need to really slim down the grille. Have a look at the 6's treatment compared to the 3's - because the 6 is longer it isn't as visually as tall as the 3 so the grille is slimmer to better balance the body.

If they do go down that route it will mark the first time the MX-5's had an "above the belt line "grille, which would be a pretty major styling departure.

Picking through the various 'renderings' on the web it's pretty obvious no-one has any idea what this will actually look like.

I guess it's a little sad there isn't the range of sports models in the Mazda line up there was 15 years ago. The NB has definite family elements from the RX-7 and MX-6 (the round V6 model) in it, with some nice 'roadster' elements in there, particularly the Jaguar style hips. That said, there are some really nice elements in the Kodo design language that if handled well could (and from the sound of it, will) work out really well in a roadster format.

[Red Dragon]

This is another rendering just out

http://www.carsguide.com.au/news-and-re ... 6_20140218

[zero00]

If they don't price it right it won't sell - simple as that, and unless it's BELOW $45k it will not affect the sales of the 86/BRZ in Australia which is appealing to all age groups as well. The NA in 1989 was around $39k I believe, no young guy could afford that kind of money back then - they, like now, will wait until second hand becomes available and only then when it drops sufficiently

[Vat]

If they don't price it right it won't sell - simple as that, and unless it's BELOW $45k it will not affect the sales of the 86/BRZ in Australia which is appealing to all age groups as well. The NA in 1989 was around $39k I believe, no young guy could afford that kind of money back then - they, like now, will wait until second hand becomes available and only then when it drops sufficiently

There's quite a good piece on this subject from mid-last year (http://www.motoring.com.au/news/2013/sports/mazda/mx-5/mazda-mx-5-sales-no-cause-for-concern-36634) which gives some insight into this part of the market (i.e. demand tends to peak early and then trail off) and Mazda's thoughts on it.

Mazda do seem to be pretty good at pricing their product, and I would think given the age of the NC there will be pent up demand for it.

[Aussie Stig]

If they don't price it right it won't sell - simple as that, and unless it's BELOW $45k it will not affect the sales of the 86/BRZ in Australia which is appealing to all age groups as well. The NA in 1989 was around $39k I believe, no young guy could afford that kind of money back then - they, like now, will wait until second hand becomes available and only then when it drops sufficiently

There's quite a good piece on this subject from mid-last year (http://www.motoring.com.au/news/2013/sports/mazda/mx-5/mazda-mx-5-sales-no-cause-for-concern-36634) which gives some insight into this part of the market (i.e. demand tends to peak early and then trail off) and Mazda's thoughts on it.

Mazda do seem to be pretty good at pricing their product, and I would think given the age of the NC there will be pent up demand for it.

dont expect any bargain pricing in Aust

The US MX5 is $28000 new, and what do we pay - double!

so much for globalisation

[CQYD]

^^^
and how many do they sell a year here at that price? I'd say lucky to hit triple figures.

Someone at Mazda Australia dosen't have a clue or simply, dosen't care.