Thanks John. At first I was
Thanks John. At first I was pretty depressed when I read your stat above on the 5% manual take rate in the 2014 3. If folks aren't rewarding Mazda for its investment in making available in its cars this drivers feature, especially such a well-executed one, then what hope is there for manual transmissions or for Mazda's core approach of appealing to drivers? Upon reflection, I don't think it's that bad, though. It looks like your stat is the percentage of i manuals of total 2014 3 sales. The more relevant stat is the percentage of i manuals of total 2014 3i sales, which has to be higher because the s models (which come only with automatics at this point) are excluded.
Granted, I'm sure that adjustment doesn't take the number up to the 12-15% take rate that Mazda told USA Today they were expecting in i models, but there are reasons for optimism that figure will rise. First, sales of the 2014 3 haven't taken off as much as Mazda probably hoped. That may be changing as April was a real good month for 3 sales, the best April since 2010 and 21.5% better than last April. As sales heat up, the percentage of manual buyers may also come up more in line with Mazda's expectations. In addition, the 2014 i manual take rate has probably been hurt some by a couple of first year omissions by Mazda that it can correct easily for MY 2015. The first of these is the lack of an analog tach in i models. That's a real turn off for enthusiasts for which Mazda has received criticism from the automotive press. Clearly, at least i GT manuals, if not all i manuals, need to have the s dash, with the big analog tach and the heads up speedometer. That's easily done. The other omission, which I noted in my earlier comment above, is the lack of the option of a lighter colored interior in the i GT model, which is the i model enthusiasts probably focus on most. Black doesn't cut it for everyone and Mazda has recognized that on all its 3 models, except the i GT and s Touring, which come only with black leatherette. Again, that shouldn't be hard to address in MY 2015; if someone makes great black leatherette, someone must also make great tan leatherette.
I appreciate your opinion on paddle shifters and will try some, but I've been driving manuals for more than 30 years and.doubt I'll change on my next purchase. My wife's next car might be the more likely prospect for paddles. Then again, if Mazda doesn't offer a 3 s manual or take care of the issues I've noted above with the i GT manuals, I may look at the paddles in the 3 s in a new light. That would also make it more likely that I look more seriously at other manufacturers in picking the replacement for my 05 6 V6 manual.
(Thanks also for responding to my garbled post. Not sure how that happened but I don't see a way to edit it now.)