Is Mazda's SkyActiv the best GDI system?

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
No offense to Ben99GT but it is extremely unlikely that the Ford Flex in the vid would have passed Ford's durability testing either!


Nor would I suggest otherwise. I see doubling the power of an internally stock engine as just slightly outside of Ford's original design parameters.

 

[badtlc]

Originally Posted By: volk06
Mazdas has had some serious fuel dilution in UOAs from the new skyactiv engines but no one knows how detrimental that will be to long term reliability.


Mine didn't.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: SkyActivG


Wow you make it seem as though I'm bashing Ford.


Because that's exactly how you've come across.

Quote:
Let's not forget that I've posted conclusive facts that the new Ford engines are unreliable.


Where? You've posted some opinion pieces that are long on hyperbole and short on facts as well as referenced a couple of rags/mags

Doesn't seem like conclusive fact to me. How many new Fords do you have personal experience with?

Quote:
I have yet to come across a thread on other forums about a horrid SkyActiv experience.


Just wait until there are enough of them in the market. It'll happen. It happens with ALL cars, it isn't something that is marque specific nor something that any one company can be immune to.

Quote:
I once considered Ford the only American make that I would even consider, but now it's looking like GM is the better alternative since they are now using Opel technologies along with Daewoo. The Cruze has nothing but good reviews and it looks well made unlike the Focus.


The Cruze has been plagued with transmission issues, especially the early ones. The fact that you say it has nothing but good reviews shows that you really haven't done much research.

But here we go taking the thread where you seem to really want to take it.... Which isn't in-line with what you said the thread was about....

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: SkyActivG
...

Wow you make it seem as though I'm bashing Ford. ....



Well, you started as a Mazda shill. You went to Ford bashing later.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: SkyActivG


The Ford negativity stemmed from the initial mentioning that Mazda "divorced" Ford. Then the responses were that Ford got rid of Mazda, which I really have a hard time believing.


Well, whether you have a hard time believing it or not, it is the case. This is the first time in decades that Mazda has been out from beneath the shadow of a big brother with MUCH deeper pocket books. They are making a VALIANT attempt at showing that they are able to succeed on their own and I commend them for that. But if you bother to look up what transpired between the two manufacturers, Ford sold off the PAG (Premier Auto Group), killed Mercury and then sold off their stake in Mazda. They were trying to avoid going bankrupt like GM and Chrysler, it had nothing to do with a souring relationship, or in your words "divorce" between the two companies.

Quote:
Ford and Mazda have been in a collaboration since 1979. Now Ford is losing out because they can no longer use the MZR motor which albeit reliable but bad on mpg.


Ford is losing out? Ford managed to not go bankrupt and are selling plenty of cars and trucks. The Coyote, Roadrunner, BOSS and Ecoboost engines are all doing very well.

I think both marques are putting out some excellent vehicles right now. I love the BOSS 302 Mustang and I'm a fan of the Mazda 3, as one of the guys at work has one and it is quite nice. We also have a number of new F-150's at work, all of which have been incredibly reliable and are great driving trucks.

Now is an exciting time to be a fan of either brand. Ford is a much leaner company than it has ever been. And Mazda, now without that "big brother" figure, is able to do whatever they want/can afford to do.

 

[R2d2]

The OP sounds like he bought his first new car, and thinks its the best thing since sliced bread, I wonder how old he is. Mazda makes some really nice cars, I would consider a new 3 if I was in the market, however the rest of the U.S doesn't agree Mazda 3 is DOWN in sales -8% year to date.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/09/usa-20-best-selling-cars-august-2013-sales-figures.html

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: R2d2
The OP sounds like he bought his first new car, and thinks its the best thing since sliced bread, I wonder how old he is. Mazda makes some really nice cars, I would consider a new 3 if I was in the market, however the rest of the U.S doesn't agree Mazda 3 is DOWN in sales -8% year to date.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/09/usa-20-best-selling-cars-august-2013-sales-figures.html


Yes, it is a VERY nice car, but the sales numbers aren't great. Even compared to the Fusion, Focus and Cruze it isn't selling well:

YTD:
Fusion: 206,321
Cruze: 183,045
Focus: 171,921
Mazda 3: 72,968

Now, the F-series on the other hand: 559,506 units YTD

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: R2d2
The OP sounds like he bought his first new car, and thinks its the best thing since sliced bread, I wonder how old he is. Mazda makes some really nice cars, I would consider a new 3 if I was in the market, however the rest of the U.S doesn't agree Mazda 3 is DOWN in sales -8% year to date.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/09/usa-20-best-selling-cars-august-2013-sales-figures.html


That says nothing about what America thinks about Mazda or the 3. America generally isn't interested in buying a brand new late model car. Generally speaking, sales for current model vehicles tends to tank when a redesigned replacement is about to be, or has been revealed, as is the case with the Mazda 3 you'll find on the lot right now.

 

[R2d2]

It shows its down 8% in sales for the year that much is clear, and since the OP is talking about his NEW uber fantastic bestest car that was ever made and clearly bashes Hyundai and Ford. It is 100% relevant.

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: R2d2
It shows its down 8% in sales for the year that much is clear, and since the OP is talking about his NEW uber fantastic bestest car that was ever made and clearly bashes Hyundai and Ford. It is 100% relevant.


Rumors have been kicked around about the redesigned 3 at least since the latest 6 was revealed. Not only that, but the current 3 is old enough that more recently updated competitors are taking a bite out of sales.

The car is a lame duck. Almost every car sees a big sales drop within a year or so of a redesign.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Mykl


That says nothing about what America thinks about Mazda or the 3. America generally isn't interested in buying a brand new late model car. Generally speaking, sales for current model vehicles tends to tank when a redesigned replacement is about to be, or has been revealed, as is the case with the Mazda 3 you'll find on the lot right now.


This is not a bash as I've already said I like Mazdas....

This does say what America thinks about Mazda:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/01/september-2013-auto-sales-results/

Mazda -6.92% vs 2012

 

[jrustles]

Originally Posted By: R2d2
The OP sounds like he bought his first new car, and thinks its the best thing since sliced bread, I wonder how old he is. Mazda makes some really nice cars, I would consider a new 3 if I was in the market, however the rest of the U.S doesn't agree Mazda 3 is DOWN in sales -8% year to date.

http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2013/09/usa-20-best-selling-cars-august-2013-sales-figures.html


Most men are going to have a favourite or preferred brand of something, that's just how it is. And when others tastes are not exactly the same as yours, you get bashing and counter-bashing. It's as old as humanity itself.

It's cool when people can make the case as to why they feel as they do with objective points, but it all falls apart when it turns into a "my daddy can beat up your daddy, even from the grave" kinda stuff.

 

[jrustles]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: Mykl


That says nothing about what America thinks about Mazda or the 3. America generally isn't interested in buying a brand new late model car. Generally speaking, sales for current model vehicles tends to tank when a redesigned replacement is about to be, or has been revealed, as is the case with the Mazda 3 you'll find on the lot right now.


This is not a bash as I've already said I like Mazdas....

This does say what America thinks about Mazda:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/01/september-2013-auto-sales-results/

Mazda -6.92% vs 2012


Is that what that says? I'm not sure.
Is Mazda cutting production or increasing production?

Question:
Do you enjoy driving your car more, knowing it sold more units?
If your car didn't sell more units, would you have bought something else?
Regional unit sales, how important is this information to the consumer?

 

[Mykl]

Originally Posted By: itguy08

This is not a bash as I've already said I like Mazdas....

This does say what America thinks about Mazda:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/01/september-2013-auto-sales-results/

Mazda -6.92% vs 2012


Sure, and in August Mazda was up by 26.4% over August 2012...
http://www.autoevolution.com/news/mazda3...n-us-66399.html

...and for the year, Mazda's sales in the United States are up....
http://www.mazda.com/publicity/release/2013/201309/130925a.html

....all in spite of the fact that their number one seller is down in sales because a fresh redesign is right around the corner.

 

[Bladecutter]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
This is not a bash as I've already said I like Mazdas....

This does say what America thinks about Mazda:

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/01/september-2013-auto-sales-results/

Mazda -6.92% vs 2012


No, it doesn't, because you aren't including all the information on the website.

Let me point out what you didn't choose to include:

Originally Posted By: autoblog
There were 23 selling days in September 2013 and 25 selling days in September 2012, so there is a difference between the change in monthly sales volume and the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.


So, what does that mean?
That means that if Sept 2013 has 25 sales days as Sept 2012 did, the numbers might look more like this:

Sept 2013 sales - 22,464
Divide 22,464 by the number of sales days in 2013 - 977 units per day
Multiply 977 by the number of sales days in Sept 2012 (25) - 24,425
Now subtract the Sept 2012 sales (24,135) from the estimated Sept 2013 numbers (24,425) had the number of sales days been the same, and you get 290 positive units.

So, the loss might have actually been a gain had there been a similar amount of days customers could have bought Mazdas in the month of September this year, as they did last year.

And that's with a model changeover (Mazda 3) occurring.
That's pretty good, if you actually think about it.
It's even better if you think about the fact that all of the vehicles Mazda sells here in the US market have to travel on the slow boats from Japan to one of the various seaports across the US, and then get distributed to the individual dealers via rail/truck.

It really doesn't look like you thought about it, however, you just grabbed pretty numbers that you thought proved your point, and slapped them out there for all to see.

BC.

 

[itguy08]

Again I've got no dog in this fight but the fact is in Sept 2013 Mazda sold less than in 2012. I like Mazdas and think they are fine cars. They are definitely one to think "outside the box" and that's a good thing.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: SkyActivG
The Flex was a joke. The transmission was absolute junk.

http://www.fordflex.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=265


The Flex was a joke because you found a random thread with a handful of people experiencing a low-speed thud?

By your standards the Mazda3 Skyactiv transmission is junk.



Quote:
I have absolutely no faith in any of the new Ford models. They're all riddled with mechanical issues and the mpg is sub par. I'd rather get the redundant Honda Civic with it's R18 motor that debuted in the US in 2006 instead of a Focus.


You've made it clear, you excellent at forming opinions based on confirmation bias.

 

[L_Sludger]

I think of 'skyactiv' tech to be only a mere notch above Nissan's "PureDrive" system. Simple mastrubation by sub-par manufacturers trying to pretend to be relevant while they're hopelessly outclassed and rendered utterly irrelevant by the facts of their competition and the market.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
Originally Posted By: jrustles
Ti-VCT...something inane about Titanium...It's two hydraulic cam phasers.


False. Ford is using cam torque actuated phasers.


Yes, a clever design that actually uses the cams rotational torque to move itself.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I would add that given a choice between simple/effective and outrageously cutting edge I will usually choose the simpler solution. IME it lasts longer and costs less for most...