http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/ Autoblog Comments for New York 2008: World Car of the Year Awards http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 10:44AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/
I think this version they had been showing in Auto Shows looks much much better:
http://www.caradvice.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/2008mazda2.jpg]]>Mar 20th 2008 10:58AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 12:34PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 10:46AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Congratulations to Mazda on winning this with a micro car!

Now, grow a marketing brain and bring this car to North America, please!]]>Mar 20th 2008 10:54AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 11:09AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 11:22AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 11:02AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/
]]>Mar 20th 2008 11:41AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 11:50AMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 12:26PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 1:13PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/
Maybe if you could stretch your attention span beyond a 30-second TV commecial, you could pull your head out of your ass long enough to know that NOBODY makes a perfect car, and even "the best on Earth" would have it's problems. Whoever has that spot is a debate for another time, but I have the feeling Toyota and Honda are not it.

A quick comparison to illustrate my point. The following links are restricted to Autoblog, and refer to recalls for American market models spanning January 2006 to present.

Honda:
autoblog.com/2007/03/19/engine-problems-lead-honda-to-recall-165-000/
autoblog.com/2007/03/22/honda-fuel-pump-problems-lead-to-recall-of-390-000-in-japan/
autoblog.com/2007/02/10/honda-to-recall-civic-hybrids/
autoblog.com/2008/01/20/honda-recalling-34-300-fits/3

Toyota:
autoblog.com/2007/11/14/toyota-rethinks-prius-ad-issues-recall/
autoblog.com/2007/01/19/553-000-tundra-and-sequoia-models-recalled-for-suspension-fix/
autoblog.com/2006/05/30/toyota-announces-recall-of-1-million-vehicles/
autoblog.com/2006/09/18/toyota-exec-answers-recall-issues/
autoblog.com/2006/08/08/toyota-facing-anothertundra-recall/
autoblog.com/2006/07/13/toyota-u-s-recall-extravaganza/

Mazda:
autoblog.com/2006/08/24/mazda-to-recall-the-rx-8/

Looking further into Mazda's history reveals they've had their share of problems in the past, including defective airbags on MPVs and engine fires on a limited run of Protégé models, both of which occured in the mid to late 90's. The interesting thing here is that Mazda's recent history is significantly better than Honda and Toyota: you essentially have to go back 10 years to see Mazda struggling with issues that Honda and Toyota are working to fix *today*.

Again, the point is not to say Mazda is perfect, but given their history, and what they offer for the money now, Mazda is very much the superior deal to Honda and Toyota. But hey, it's your wallet. Vote with your dollars I say. If you don't need to be informed to vote in government elections, then who cares about cars.

Honda and Toyota make great products that are genuinely worth the money, but don't kid yourself - they need work. And please.. fail to come here all smug like you know what you're talking about when it's clear you could stand some improvement too.]]>Mar 20th 2008 4:28PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.automotoportal.com/article/mazda-claims-top-place-in-reliability-survey

Mazda's reliability has been kicking ass over the last few years, if you look at the true mazda mazdas. The 6 and the other ford derivative junk isn't so hot, but the 3, 5, MX5, etc are WAY up there.]]>Mar 20th 2008 3:58PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.automotoportal.com/article/mazda-claims-top-place-in-reliability-survey

Mazda tops reliability survey in UK
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3131800.stm

Mazda Tops JD powers survey in Australia
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/EEFB6AE8C9CFC4BACA2573F40016EA21

Mazda tops Autobild survey in Germany 3RD YEAR IN A ROW http://www.just-auto.com/article.aspx?ID=91587

Mazda tops in AC Nielsen Industry sponsored survey
yahoo.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=39115&IsPgd=0


So Papawhiskey- its about time you go buy a Mazda, dont ya think;)


]]>Mar 20th 2008 3:03PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 5:11PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 20th 2008 8:52PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/20/new-york-2008-world-car-of-the-year-awards/Mar 25th 2008 11:40AM