Flight Service
Flight Service MegaDork
2/23/16 4:38 p.m.

A 2015 Mazda6 wagon, which we don't get.

That thing looks great.

Tom_Spangler
Tom_Spangler GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
2/23/16 4:46 p.m.

Dead sexy. Curse my fellow Americans for not liking wagons!

Klayfish
Klayfish UberDork
2/23/16 5:35 p.m.

I has a happy.

Make mine with 3 pedals, 6 gears and 225+ hp, please.

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson UltimaDork
2/23/16 5:37 p.m.
Klayfish wrote: I has a happy. Make mine with 3 pedals, 6 gears and 225+ hp, please.

Plus AWD for under $30k

turtl631
turtl631 Reader
2/23/16 5:44 p.m.

In reply to Flight Service:

I really wish we got this, current auto 2.5 Sky drivetrain would be fine. We would definitely trade up from my wife's current Mazda3 hatch.

t25torx
t25torx Dork
2/23/16 7:55 p.m.
Tom_Spangler wrote: Dead sexy. Curse my fellow Americans for not liking wagons!

You know, that's actually not why we don't get wagons over here. Well it's part of the issue, but not the whole picture.

It's mostly thanks to CAFE standards.

thetruthaboutcars.com said: Mazda is another company that must also play against the stacked deck of CAFE. The Mazda6 wagon was offered here for a few years, and axed after it sold poorly. For 2014, Mazda is launching a third-generation Mazda6, including a gorgeous station wagon (and yes, a diesel engine), but it won’t be coming here. Enthusiast blogs have been harping on Mazda’s decision to withhold the car from the U.S. market, but a simple analysis using CAFE methodology reveals why. The wagon, with its footprint of 48 square feet, is subject to the same standards as the Volvo V70. On the other hand, the Mazda CX-5, with a footprint of 45.6 square feet, is smaller, and again, subject to light truck fuel economy standards. For a model that must be sold over 5-6 years (as previous generations were), the Mazda6 wagon starts out having to achieve a CAFE mpg figure in the high 30s.Assuming the model lasts until 2020, the Mazda6 would have to achieve fuel economy figures in the high 40 mpg CAFE range. Engineering a low volume, niche market wagon for sale in America that would be subject to increasingly tough targets is arguably beyond their means, especially given the small volumes the car would sell in. Instead, Mazda offers the CX-5 crossover. Aside from being classified as a crossover, with all the CAFE advantages built in, the CX-5 is able to sell in economically viable volumes not just in the United States, but across the globe. The realities of CAFE have likely made sales of the third generation Mazda6 wagon impossible in the United States.

Want your wagons back? Get the gubment to change how it classifies CUV's.

Knurled
Knurled GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/23/16 8:37 p.m.

I think this generation of Mazda6 is a step beyond butt ugly. Looks like a baleen whale.

I drove one with the 3.7. Wow that thing scoots. Still not fast enough to outrun the ugly.

pappatho
pappatho New Reader
2/23/16 8:52 p.m.

I'm currently in the market for a manual transmission Mazda6 wagon. It sure would be a lot easier to find one if I could just go to the Mazda dealership.

Flight Service
Flight Service MegaDork
2/23/16 9:57 p.m.
t25torx wrote:
Tom_Spangler wrote: Dead sexy. Curse my fellow Americans for not liking wagons!
You know, that's actually not why we don't get wagons over here. Well it's part of the issue, but not the whole picture. It's mostly thanks to CAFE standards.
thetruthaboutcars.com said: Mazda is another company that must also play against the stacked deck of CAFE. The Mazda6 wagon was offered here for a few years, and axed after it sold poorly. For 2014, Mazda is launching a third-generation Mazda6, including a gorgeous station wagon (and yes, a diesel engine), but it won’t be coming here. Enthusiast blogs have been harping on Mazda’s decision to withhold the car from the U.S. market, but a simple analysis using CAFE methodology reveals why. The wagon, with its footprint of 48 square feet, is subject to the same standards as the Volvo V70. On the other hand, the Mazda CX-5, with a footprint of 45.6 square feet, is smaller, and again, subject to light truck fuel economy standards. For a model that must be sold over 5-6 years (as previous generations were), the Mazda6 wagon starts out having to achieve a CAFE mpg figure in the high 30s.Assuming the model lasts until 2020, the Mazda6 would have to achieve fuel economy figures in the high 40 mpg CAFE range. Engineering a low volume, niche market wagon for sale in America that would be subject to increasingly tough targets is arguably beyond their means, especially given the small volumes the car would sell in. Instead, Mazda offers the CX-5 crossover. Aside from being classified as a crossover, with all the CAFE advantages built in, the CX-5 is able to sell in economically viable volumes not just in the United States, but across the globe. The realities of CAFE have likely made sales of the third generation Mazda6 wagon impossible in the United States.
Want your wagons back? Get the gubment to change how it classifies CUV's.

Again for clarification

The wagon, with its footprint of 48 square feet, is subject to the same standards as the Volvo V70. On the other hand, the Mazda CX-5, with a footprint of 45.6 square feet, is smaller, and again, subject to light truck fuel economy standards.

Ok based on that statement, and on that sentence structure, both vehicles are treated as light trucks for fuel economy standards. Yet the larger vehicle, for some reason, has to comply to higher mpg standards?

I think what the illiterate "journalist" wanted to say is, that a CUV is classed as a light truck where the wagon is classed as a car. Because that paragraph made no sense.

What the standard actually says:

"CAFE Vehicle Classification Cars and light trucks are classified separately for CAFE and are held to di erent standards: Passenger Car – Classified as any 4-wheel vehicle not designed for off-road use that is primarily used for transporting 10 people or less, passenger cars must have an average fuel economy of 27.5 mpg or greater. Light Truck – A vehicle can be classfied as a truck if it has either 4-wheel drive or a payload capacity less than 4,000 pounds. Light trucks must have an average fuel economy of 20.7 mpg or greater. Trucks over 4,000 but under 8,500 pounds must average 23.1 mpg in 2009 and 23.5 mpg in 2010. Light trucks that exceed 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) do not have to comply with CAFE standards through 2010. Vehicles include pickup trucks, passenger vans, SUVs and some tow trucks. Due to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, automakers must boost fleet-wide gas mileage to 35 mpg by the year 2020 for both passenger cars and light trucks."

The CX-5 weighs in at 3280 and has a maximum cargo capacity of 1080 lbs. The Mazda 6 wagon is 3250 and I couldn't find the max cargo capacity because I am lazy.

So what makes a crossover a light truck? Glad you never wanted to know, but guess what? You are about to learn.

under Section 280F and the gas-guzzler tax, tax law grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to define cars and trucks.4 The Department of Transportation says that your crossover vehicle is not a car but a light truck when it meets either A or B below:

A. Your crossover vehicle is a truck if you can create a flat, floor-level surface from the front seats to the rear by removing the seats using simple tools such as screwdrivers and wrenches.5

B. Your crossover vehicle is a truck if it first has either (a) four-wheel drive or (b) a GVWR of more than 6,000 pounds, and second has four or more of the following five characteristics:6

  1. Approach angle of not less than 28 degrees
  2. Break-over angle of not less than 14 degrees
  3. Departure angle of not less than 20 degrees
  4. Running clearance of not less than 20 centimeters
  5. Front and rear axle clearances of not less than 18 centimeters

Which is how a crossover got to be a light truck as the light truck provisions let a crossover be either a car or truck, and by this Mazda could the station wagon classed as a light truck if they wanted to.

To summarize succinctly: TTAC has no clue what they are talking about as they could get the wagon classed as a light truck if they wanted to.

Javelin
Javelin GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
2/23/16 10:01 p.m.
einy
einy Reader
2/24/16 6:29 a.m.
Knurled wrote: I think this generation of Mazda6 is a step beyond butt ugly. Looks like a baleen whale. I drove one with the 3.7. Wow that thing scoots. Still not fast enough to outrun the ugly.

I though the current generation 6 was only available with a 4 cylinder. Where'd you find one with a 3.7?

Contradiction
Contradiction Reader
2/24/16 1:36 p.m.

I own a 2015 Mazda6 and I would kill for the wagon. Great looking car and I miss having a wagon. My last car was an 02 Jetta Wagon. I almost went for a a TDI wagon but thank God I didn't because my commute is under a mile and I a diesel wasn't worth it for that reason.

alfadriver
alfadriver MegaDork
2/24/16 1:50 p.m.

The CAFE acronym needs to change. Instead of a car average and a truck average, the requirements are far more car/truck size dependent.

92dxman
92dxman SuperDork
2/24/16 3:34 p.m.

The grown up version of the 14 Mazda 3 is the Mazda 5. Available with three pedals/six speed until 2014. Your welcome.

Harvey
Harvey GRM+ Memberand Dork
2/24/16 4:03 p.m.

I love the look of the current generation 6. Every time I see one it draws my eye.

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