Comments by "Stephen Hendricks" (@stephenhendricks103) on "" video.

  1. Sorry, Sarah. The notion that sales volume can be built on the appreciation of "enthusiasts" is simply ludicrous.
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  2.  @armandojuan64  Perhaps, but "shining" while sitting unsold on dealer lots isn't a viable business strategy.
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  3.  @superglue46  If an automaker's aim is to be the smallest mainstream manufacturer on the planet, Mazda is an excellent model to follow. In 2021 the Mazda3 ranks 8th in sales in the US among compact sedans with 31K sales compared to 217K sales of the Corolla. The recently discontinued Mazda6 has managed to sell 14K units making it #18 in midsize sedan sales, trailing even the Passat (also discontinued) and far, far behind the category leader, the Camry, with 257K sales. Among SUVs the picture is a little brighter. The CX-5, Mazda's compact SUV ranks 5th with 137K sales. It's by far Mazda's best selling vehicle but the RAV4 has racked up 313K sales and the CR-V 290K sales so far in 2021. With 34K sales the subcompact CX-30 ranks 8th, trailing, among others, the Hyundai Kona, Chevy Trailblazer, and Chevy Trax. The most dismal sales performance comes from the midsize CX-9. It ranks dead last among 18 mainstream 3 row SUVs with 29K sales and trails five luxury 3 row SUVs. Even the slow selling Subaru Ascent has managed to outsell the CX-9 with 43K sales. Other than the CX-5, the brightest spot in Mazda's lineup is the iconic MX5 Miata. Ranking 4th among sports and muscle cars with 9.6K sales. Fortunately, the deal with Fiat to build the 124 Spider alongside the Miata prevented it from going extinct but there's no guarantee Mazda can find the resources for another generation. Let's hope they do. The bottom line is that "character and soul" are risky attributes for an automaker that depends on mass market appeal. Last year Mazda was forced to seek billions of dollars in loans from Japanese banks to survive the pandemic. And its future increasingly depends on a partnership with Toyota to produce vehicles. Rumors abound that Mazda will try to enter the alternative fuels market with a revival of their rotary engine in conjunction with electrification. But Mazda has shown itself repeatedly to be more adept at rumors and promises of future plans than production of real vehicles that appeal to a mass market.
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  4.  @superglue46  You haven't seen me dance with a lampshade on my head. 😁
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  5.  @ThePilotGear  Each of Mazda's SUVs suffers from the same problem, most obvious in the CX-9. A lack of interior space resulting from the design decision with an elongated distance from the front bumper to the "A" pillar. The CX-9, for example, has less overall cargo space than a Honda CR-V. The long hood coupled with an abbreviated rear end is a design trick employed by sports car designers for almost a century to suggest potency and performance but it sacrifices utility, a feature that's presumably the strength of an SUV.
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