Mazda's Zoom-Zoom Live Tour clips cones nationwide
Mazda North America struck fear into the hearts of traffic cones across the U.S. this week with the announcement of its 2006 Zoom-Zoom Live tour, which kicks off in Washington, D.C. August 12.
The tour will visit 10 different cities and offer nearly 50,000 drivers a shot at burning rubber in various Mazda vehicles. Each event features four driving courses where you can test your skills in Mazda's CX-7 crossover, the Mazdaspeed6, and the MX-5 and RX-8 sports cars.
Lots of prizes, food, fun, and best of all - it's free! More details and registration info at the Zoom-Zoom Live website.
[Source: Mazda]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
J 4:21PM (8/04/2006)
They have Washington DC but not Phoenix? come on now!
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SaveGas 4:30PM (8/04/2006)
Mazda’s driving experience looks pretty interesting. I was in Vegas last week and stopped by GM's drive experience to for a couple spins in GM's finest. . I drove the Cadillac STS-V and the H2, surprisingly the 460 HP monster Caddy left me desiring more, while the H2 was truly a unique and fun experience. The performance course GM had setup was short to get a feel for the Caddy’s handling dynamics and road manners. The experience consists of a short 200 yard sprint from a dead stop, followed by a somewhat sharp left and a series of chicanes. As much as I despise the H2, I don't have a problem using it for its intended purposes. Driving the H2 on the off-road course was quite entertaining, conquering 20 inch obstacles and 45 degree inclines is short of exhilarating, just when you feel you are going to tip the vehicles settles back into place.
Perhaps I will take a trip out to Chicago in October to try out the Mazda experience.
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Non-Bizarro Adam 4:54PM (8/04/2006)
Man, my August is going to be fun! I signed up for this one on the 13th, and GM's Rev-It Up on the 26th. Honda? Toyota? Nissan? Ford? Where are your comparable events? The way I figure, these things are one of the best things you can do to advertise your vehicles. And when compared to some of the advertising that these guys do, it can't be that expensive.
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Dinger 5:04PM (8/04/2006)
I like everyting about the Miata / MX-5 except I find its styling rather dull.
Triumph got Pininfarina to pen the Spitfire for them, can't Ford/Mazda get someone with hot blood to design an otherwise excellent sports car? Please?
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Brian 5:11PM (8/04/2006)
Non-bizarro Adam:
Well, here's what I've seen before. GM's Auto Show in Motion was awesome, but no longer offered. Ford had one last summer, but it was pretty lame. Chrysler also offered one, but I can't remember the name of it. Lexus has the Lexus Driving Pursuit (iirc) and BMW also has a similar event.
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Ferguson McSqueege 5:30PM (8/04/2006)
w00t! I'm attending the Zoom Zoom event in Boston, Aug. 19th.
I can't wait. My father went last year, and he now has an MX-5 (being able to wail on a brand new one at a closed course sealed the deal for him).
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Sid 5:31PM (8/04/2006)
Which Toyota do you want to take for a slalom run?
I wonder why Mazda does not have this event here in Canada. We are, by far, one of their most important markets, and Mazda's popularity here dwarfs it's popularity in America. Quebec and Southern Ontario? Mazdas everywhere. Mazda actually outsells Nissan-Infinti every month.
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John B 6:04PM (8/04/2006)
No event scheduled for Toronto. Bummer.
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Riker 6:21PM (8/04/2006)
SaveGas,
if you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost at the GM event? I heard rumors of $10 admission, and I figured for that price, there was no way they'd let you drive. I thought it was just a 'ride' in the cars with a pro at the wheel. Anyway, I'll be in Vegas again before too long, I'm sure, so any light you could shed would be greatly appreciated.
I managed to sign up for zoom-zoom in LA... I wonder how long it'll take for the roster to fill...
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Greg 6:43PM (8/04/2006)
did Mazda's rev-it-up three years ago. Had a blast in a modded 6. This looks like a very beefed up version of it. So now I'm looking forward to Oct 22. Woohoo!
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JJ 7:07PM (8/04/2006)
Look for an event in Canada in 2007. Sorry we missed you this year, but the President of Mazda Canada said it is a must have for 2007.
Jim at Mazda
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bob 8:33PM (8/04/2006)
Beware! I went to one of these last year, in the San Francisco area, and they had far too many people for the number of driving events. The lines were brutal. People there related that they spent several hours at the event, did three or four of the driving things. I heard a lot of people relate that, when they filled out the customer satisfaciton cards they would mention the lines and overall unhappiness with the whole thing. Maybe they have fixed this and maybe some people are willing to put up with the lines and spend all the time.... I'm just sayin'...
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Jeff R. 10:22PM (8/04/2006)
J- These live-tour car-experience events never come to Phoenix, I know because I live in AZ too. You won't be missing anything, don't worry- Mazdas are crap and their Zoom-Zoom tour is probably really gay anyway.
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SaveGas 11:17PM (8/04/2006)
Riker,
For ten dollars you get to take a spin in two vehicles of choice, one off road and one performance or two of one or the other. After you register in the air conditioned blow up shelter, you stroll through a slew of GM PR booths and then exit outside to the track.
To the right you have a dozen or so idling GM vehicles ready for a spin on the performance track. To the left you have a little bridge over the track that takes you to the offroad track. Once you choose a vehicle, you are quickly paired with a professional driver and are ready for your "Drive". As mentioned before I drove the STS-V for the perfomance track and H2 for the off-road track.
The professional driver, Bob in my case, introduces himself and instructs you to backup and proceed to the start line about 20 yards away. After making sure the track is clear the professional drivers says, "Floor it". After a short sprint to about 40-45 you approach a sharp left and are forced to apply ample brake pressure. After the quick left you drive through a series of chicanes that tested my Caddy's 2 ton handling potential. Exiting the chicanes, you proceed through another semi sharp left followed by a short straightaway back to the start line. After making a complete stop (officer Bob is watching), you are instructed to go again.
The entire experience lasts 7-9 minutes. I asked Bob what is required to be a professional driver; he told me that you need to have some sort of closed track racing experience. Some of the professional drivers looked very young; I’m guessing the requirement is more liberal than Bob made it appear.
You are handed a coupon book upon exiting the Drive for coupons to the Sahara. Make sure to hold onto this book, it has coupons for two for one buffets and free drinks. The drive is said to last to early Winter, hope you make it to Vegas before than to try out the Drive.
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ZoomZoomin' 12:08AM (8/05/2006)
Already signed up. It's a ton of fun. Also, last year's event wound up getting me $500 off what ended up being my next vehicle.
Either they're remarkably consistent with their course setup or that's a shot from the L.A. event last year.
http://www.halcyoneffect.net/archive/2005/08/mazda_zoom_zoom.html
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Michael Posner 8:01PM (8/27/2006)
I did Audi's event in Miami, and they let you drive a new Q7 on the street, and you were allowed to drive each of the display cars on the cone track at least once (they had so few drivers, I got to go twice in some cars).
You also got to ride with a pro driver in the RS4 (apparently they let drivers drive them at the first event and they toasted the six speed/clutches).
Will likely attend the Mazda event in Miami as well.
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