Filed under: Economy, Japan, Hatchbacks, Mazda
AZ-Wagon: Mazdaspeak for "Suzuki Wagon R"
Click above for a hi-res gallery of the Mazda AZ-Wagon
Late Sunday night, Mazda issued a press release from the mothership in Japan touting the arrival of the new home-market AZ-Wagon kei car. Those of you who paid attention to Autoblog last week may be experiencing twinges of deja vu as you look at the enclosed photos. Yes, you have seen this car before: the new Mazda AZ-Wagon is simply a rebadged version of the new Suzuki Wagon R, just like it was before. The regular AZ-Wagon is the standard Wagon R, while the AZ-Wagon Custom Style (above) is the Wagon R Stingray. We'd happily sign up for one, but alas, Mazda's Stateside rebadge-o-rama is limited to the Tribute and B-Series.
Gallery: 2009 Mazda AZ-Wagon
[Source: Mazda]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
RPM 9:38AM (9/30/2008)
Mazda: rebadge the Suzuki Swift and bring it here now, since Suzuki won't do it.
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Alex Nunez 9:43AM (9/30/2008)
Better idea: just sell the Mazda2...
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Sean 1:16PM (9/30/2008)
Already put my name on the list for Mazda2's at my dealer of choice... want one bad : (
Kitko 11:50AM (9/30/2008)
This is not the only Mazdaized Suzuki, actually, Wagon has been on sale as Mazda for a few years now, as has been AZ-Offroad, AKA Suzuki Jimny.
http://www.w-tune.com/home.html
(Mazda's built-to-order site).
Alex, you know, Mazda2 would sell like hot cakes Stateside, but since it's Ford that's in the dire need of boosting sales, you folks, are getting a Fiesta, which is pretty much Ford's design take on Mazda2's chassis and Mazda's MZR engines.
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OOMPH! 3:27PM (9/30/2008)
u always want the cars that arent sold here..and when they are..u yawn..if GM layed this snooze wagon,or ford for that matter,ud be bangin the snot outta it.wow,another square one dimensional asian bore box.
Das Auto
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ugg.tryptophan 4:49PM (9/30/2008)
the main problem i think most have with imports these days is that they're rebadged and reconfigured to meet american safety regs and styled to sell in the american market. car guys just want them 'as is'
GOT 7:26AM (10/01/2008)
I like it. It has nice proportions (judging based on pictures here). Need to see it in person for more adoration though.
If it can't take bigger wheels/tires, it will fail in the US. Personalization is paramount here. It also must be mod-able.
Why doesn't the "Remember me" function work on the blog?
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Brn 9:54AM (10/01/2008)
This is interesting. I thought only GM rebadged Suzuki products. Now Ford (Mazda) is doing it?
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