Another Sedan Bites the Dust

[Nick1994]

The Mazda 6 is being discontinued after the 2021 model year.

But it sounds like it's possible Mazda might release a new sedan with the previously rumored RWD inline-6 engine, so there's still some hope for this world that not everyone will have mom-mobile CUV's.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a..._xzT6nWHZbQz3Y1CaVL9JF5XNbAt6pZzjiPYr5ZIQlIIY

 

[BLND1]

RWD and AWD sport sedans are the future. CUVs for the rest.

 

[Dennywires]

finally they realize RWD is more efficient and more more desired. even the new explorer is based on a RWD platform.

 

[PimTac]

finally they realize RWD is more efficient and more more desired. even the new explorer is based on a RWD platform.

Really? So after more than three decades automakers suddenly come to this conclusion?

Desirability, like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and the vast majority of beholders are choosing front wheel and all wheel drive.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I really can't wait to see this I6 as I'm looking at it as a 4-series replacement.

 

[Dennywires]

Really? So after more than three decades automakers suddenly come to this conclusion?

Desirability, like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and the vast majority of beholders are choosing front wheel and all wheel drive.

sure is easier to push than pull.. awd is great for people that want assurance in wet or snowy conditions. i don't know why fwd gained so much popularity probably because it made life easier for automakers to produce compact cars bolting an engine and transmission together and also giving you better slick road traction having the weight of the engine/trans on your drive wheels. i was very shocked that bmw broke down and took mini cooper drive components and built a fwd vehicle.

 

[Rand]

sure is easier to push than pull..

have you ever tried to push a shopping cart through 8" deep snow in the parking lot vs pulling it?

 

[PimTac]

sure is easier to push than pull.. awd is great for people that want assurance in wet or snowy conditions. i don't know why fwd gained so much popularity probably because it made life easier for automakers to produce compact cars bolting an engine and transmission together and also giving you better slick road traction having the weight of the engine/trans on your drive wheels. i was very shocked that bmw broke down and took mini cooper drive components and built a fwd vehicle.

You describe all the positive things about FWD.


Also, automakers have been bolting engines and transmissions together since the beginning. You might want to rethink that part of your statement.

 

[supton]

FWD: no trans tunnel intrusion in the passenger cabin (may still "need" one for stiffening and exhaust, but it no longer has to accommodate the trans), less power loss (bevel and hypoid gears have more loss than a simple gearset). Engine weight over the drive wheels can make driving in snow better. Less weight? no driveshaft, transmission can be made smaller. I guess if IRS is used then the weight difference is small, but in older RWD days with a live axle it probably was a larger difference.

I realize this is a driver's site, but just how many of the motoring public even know the difference between over- and understeer? I know the difference and even then I'm not sure it matters to me: I've not owned anything powerful enough, or used enough WOT, to feel a difference.

 

[benjy]

everything is about the $$$$ + after pushing them with marketing BS thats what we got, BUT FWD is better in the snow like RWD beetles were, because weight is on the drive wheels!!

 

[Dennywires]

You describe all the positive things about FWD.


Also, automakers have been bolting engines and transmissions together since the beginning. You might want to rethink that part of your statement.

i like the handling and performance of rwd.

 

[PimTac]

i like the handling and performance of rwd.

Well that is good but remember, you are just one. The statistics show that the majority think and choose otherwise.

I think green is a good color for cars but there are very few automakers that have that choice. The Lexus Nori Green Pearl is beautiful.

 

[javacontour]

sure is easier to push than pull.. awd is great for people that want assurance in wet or snowy conditions. i don't know why fwd gained so much popularity probably because it made life easier for automakers to produce compact cars bolting an engine and transmission together and also giving you better slick road traction having the weight of the engine/trans on your drive wheels. i was very shocked that bmw broke down and took mini cooper drive components and built a fwd vehicle.

FWD became popular because you could design a car as three boxes. The engine/transaxle box, the passenger box and the cargo box.

The same or larger interior volume in a smaller, lighter car. As fuel prices were on the rise due to the embargos of the 1970s, they became a popular choice.


Detroit (and others) soon realized that just making a smaller version of the land yachts wasn't going to cut it.

 

[buster]

Always liked the 6. Sharp looking car.

 

[2EHA]

finally they realize RWD is more efficient and more more desired. even the new explorer is based on a RWD platform.

the traditional rwd sedan is a dying segment dominated by MB/BMW and the charger to an extent

cadillac flopped across the board

lexus gave up on the gs but they are lazy

genesis tries very hard and doesn’t sell

the new mazda is probably dead on arrival

 

[Wolf359]

the traditional rwd sedan is a dying segment dominated by MB/BMW and the charger to an extent

And their AWD platforms are based on the traditional rwd layout so you have a better power split.

 

[skyactiv]

Mazda6, not Mazda 6.

 

[ecotourist]

The Mazda3 has been growing in size. We saw a 3 in traffic earlier today (a very sharp looking sedan in candy apple red) and until we got right up to it I thought it was a 6.

So maybe the 6 isn't gone it's just been folded into the 3. And at last count you could get a 3 with a manual transmission, and that's a bonus.

 

[ecotourist]

Well that is good but remember, you are just one. The statistics show that the majority think and choose otherwise.

I think green is a good color for cars but there are very few automakers that have that choice. The Lexus Nori Green Pearl is beautiful.

I like green too. And Lexus Nori Green Pearl is a lovely colour, in all the side views.

If Lexus would only get rid of that ugly grill they'd be "cooking with gas". (Sorry, I came from Alberta.)

 

[charbaby]

With Accord sales dropping(due to CR-V sales increasing) and the Civic sales also climbing, I'm wondering if Honda will eliminate the Accord when this gen is over instead of a redesign. Here Honda has build/designed the best Accord EVER and it sits around collecting dust.