Mazda MX-6 Forum banner

what happened to the mx6 anyways

5K views 46 replies 27 participants last post by  Goatcrapp  
#1 ·
I hope theres not another thread about this by why dont they make MX6's anymore. Did they just stop or turn the 6 into some other model? What was the last year they produced the 6?
 
#2 ·
the last year they made the 6 and probe was 97 i believe
and rumour has it the probe was supposed to actually replace the mustang (don't know how seeing as it was FWD).
the 6s and probe proved to be very sucessful in sales in the 93-95 years when the 1st gen was introduced.
But over time, when 96 and 97 rolled around, people lost interest in them and sales kinda declined. So out with the old, in with the new.


Unfortunatly the 6 never really did make a huge impact on the automotive scene...although as i said, it had very good sales to start off with. It was a luxury coupe as i like to call it...power everything, with a peppy V6.

As far as i know, no other car was made from the 6, they just stopped making them.

David
 
#5 ·
myeh the mx5 is always getting a pep up....why not bring back the mx6 for a few years as like a high end experiment. i mean look at the 1g mx6 (gt model) its got a lot of features for that era.....power everything, sunroof, turbo, 4ws, very adjustable seats....hell even vents that cycle back and forth.

with the new mps out, an mx6 would be pretty sweet based on that.. get a proper AWD system going, maybe beef up the turbo, bring back the ol 4WS. sure it would cost heaps and probably fail after a few years....but youd have a few ultra exclusive cars running around and you might be lucky enough to own one........
 
#6 ·
Maybe 2 door sedans jsut werent all to appealing to people.
Not trying to be a @$$ but they're coupes not 2 door sedans.

mx6 just died, just like the prelude has,
I no they stopped making the preludes, but they have a two door accord which is kind of like a prelude. I Heard from a honda tech that the preludes were built as 'test mules' for hondas new ideas.
 
#8 ·
The closest thing that could even be thought of as evolving from the probe/mx6 would be the cougar. And that's really only because it's a fwd hatchback with similar power numbers. It resembles a probe much more than the previous generation of cougar, anyway.
 
#9 ·
I don't know why you say the 6 sell good 93 to 95, cause it was good in 92 & 93 before the prelude & celica change their model. Mazda was going through a terrible decade from 90 to 99. They have to cut down their production line, since non of them sell good only except the MX5 & MVP. They were shocked that RX7 were the worse gen ever that they have to cut off way sooner than JMD RX7 in 97. You can't imagine how hard those Japanese engineers had tried to make the new RX8 happen. It has been banned so many time that Ford has put the rotary engine as an outdated non profit investment.

Why they stop the MX6, simple: Another bad selling Mazda Ride..........

One of the reason why most coupes have stop is just because of the majority people I mean the Baby Bommer Gen. have changed from single to family. They need at least 4 door sedan for a family. That's why you see 4 door sport sedan everywhere now. Especially when the SUV market overwhelm the market. It is hard for a family man to get a coupe as their major ride especially you have a baby................
 
#10 ·
The rx7 was produced until the year 2000.
The mx6 has always been considered a coupe in the US, but other countries use the term saloon in place of a sedan and the word sedan is ambigous to describe any car that is not a hatchback.

Mx-6 failed for one reason:

The $23,815 is taken directly off of my original window sticker.

A Ford Mustang of the time:
Original List Price $13,695 - $23,535

That's right, a 1994 Mx6 LS cost MORE than a 1994 Mustang GT both. Now if this was 1994, which car would you buy if you were looking for a sport coupe?

The Mx6 was aimed at middle class housewives, honest marketing aim of Mazda at the time. You will notice an alarming trend of Mx6 with 1 owners being owned by women. All 3 of mine came from previous women owner since new. Middle class housewives do not have the disposable income in 1994 of a 26 year old male which the Mustang GT squarely aimed at. Simple marketing.

The 240sx survived a bit longer due to it's more macho image of RWD. The Prelude has the Honda Cachet whist the Celica has always been MUCH CHEAPER than the other 3. The Mazda was the most expensive, middle in power and has no specific brand cachet and FWD.

Fast forward to now:

What cost $23815 in 1994 would cost $30400.28 in 2005.


Would you buy a FWD 2 door coupe with say 250hp that is not at the top (Honda Accord Coupe, Acura CL) of the model list for that price?
 
#12 ·
626mazdaracer said:
Not trying to be a @$$ but they're coupes not 2 door sedans.QUOTE]

actually, not to be an ass, but a 2 door coupe is the same thing as a 2 door sedan. don't believe me? ill open my automotive collision and repair manual to chapter 2, where it has different vehicle body styles...scan it and show you :angel:
On to the topic at interest...
Parsifal, good point, i wouldn't buy an mx6 for 30 grand... but then again, what were the prices of 240s, integras, preludes, celicas etc for that era? and what would they cost now? I can see your point, but in reality, you can't compare the economy then to now when it comes to purchasing decisions. But a 165 hp FWD car costing more than the mustang GT is just...whoa.. lol never knew that fact :D

Also, i dont have stats, but i remember reading on here somewhere that the mx6 sold very well for the first couple years, then slowly died off because people lost interest.
 
#13 ·
this is what i have read:

the probe/mx6 were supposed to take the place of the mustang however since the mustang was going on approx. 30 years the mustang community started crying and complaining and thus ford realizing that they're big money maker was and still is the mustang they decided not to in conclusion they kept the probe for a sports car that's fuel effeicient. why they got rid of the probe/mx6 who knows but probably because of the intro of the focus or maybe just a decline in sales.

and for the comment on the RX7 ford knew stock for stock the mustang could not compete with it. that's why by 1995 ford raised the price of the RX7 to around 40K which the sales just declined so much they had no choice but to stop shipping the car over here so the mustang would be their only sports car. which the RX7 went on to about 2000 or 2002 but they had the renisis rotary in 98 which i don't what that's about my only guess is FORD
 
#14 ·
mx6dave said:
the last year they made the 6 and probe was 97 i believe
and rumour has it the probe was supposed to actually replace the mustang (don't know how seeing as it was FWD).
The Mx6/Probe production line in Flat Rock Michigan stopped production in 1996, the remaining inventory was sold in 97 with the inclusion of wings for all Mx6's.

Ford felt that with Mustang sales slipping and the company needing to restructure that the time was right to come out with a new definition of the Mustang and kill the old Pony car. Obviously the Mustang faithful disagreed. But yes, the Probe was supposed to be the next Mustang.

the 6s and probe proved to be very sucessful in sales in the 93-95 years when the 1st gen was introduced.
1st gens where produced until 92. And yes they where the most numerically succesfull with 44000 Mx6's being sold in 89. After that they where never sold in large volume. 2nd gens peaked at mid 20k units in there first years in 93, and then steadily declined until Mazda told Ford the would no longer support the Mx6 in 96. The Probe outsold the Mx6 in every year with something on the order of 80000 units sold in there strongest year which was sometime in 93,94 or 95.


As far as i know, no other car was made from the 6, they just stopped making them.
the Flat Rock Michigan Plant continued to produce the 626 (whose chasis and running gear is the basis for the Probe/Mx6) until about 2002 I belive.
 
#15 ·
Zapata2119 said:
why they got rid of the probe/mx6 who knows but probably because of the intro of the focus or maybe just a decline in sales.
The Focus was not intoduced until several years after MAZDA pulled the plug on the Probe/Mx6. Remember that Mazda was in huge financial stress in the mid 90's and was in the middle of a restructure for a company that had lost its direction and profits.

and for the comment on the RX7 ford knew stock for stock the mustang could not compete with it. that's why by 1995 ford raised the price of the RX7 to around 40K which the sales just declined so much they had no choice but to stop shipping the car over here so the mustang would be their only sports car. which the RX7 went on to about 2000 or 2002 but they had the renisis rotary in 98 which i don't what that's about my only guess is FORD
Going to disagree again. The Rx7 sold a mere 13000 units total in the three years it was offered in the states. The base price in 93 started at $32,000 which turned a huge number of the rotary faithful, who had come to expect a fun and inexpensive car,away in shock. In addition they cost Mazda ALOT of money on warranty work. So, selling less than 5000 units a year (the Mustang averaged 100000 units or so a year durning the nineties) + high maintence costs = why bother. With bearly any Rx7's being sold in any given year when compared to Mustang sales Ford could have really cared less about it. What they did care about when they bought Mazda was the huge amount of Red ink at the bottom line of there revenue report.
 
#16 ·
well over here in the uk the 'hot hatch' died a death for several years, killed off by sky high insurance and a image problem etc...... but now its back with avengance. Soooo lets see if Mazda decide to give themself a nice powerful something other than a uprated family car again? Guess it all comes down to design costs vs projected market ÂŁÂŁÂŁÂŁ
 
#17 ·
silentfurymm said:
1st gens where produced until 92.
UGH i know this, i musta been thinking different words to get across the same meaning and i don't know why, i know what 1st gens are, i just made myself look stupid! lol i think i was thinking 2 sentences ahead of myself...i get like that sometimes! lol

David
 
#18 ·
it seems like they just tried to hard to make the MX6 into a family car when the Mazda 6 came out, although for being a 4 door it doesnt look that bad especially with the MS6 coming out in the not too distant future. a remake of the probe and mx6 would be much appreciated in this community i think but i doubt there would be enough of a market left for mazda to squeze in another FWD compact car. the RWD sports car market has the RX8 and MX5 and the FWD sedan market has the protege, 3 and 6. mazda would have to come up with something radically different to even consider a rebirth of the mx6 and radical changes = lots of money. since mazda is a part of ford now (sigh) who do you think gets all the money that mazda makes off their cars? they just get enough to satisfy the loyal mazda enthusiasts with a handful of sporty little cars whereas ford has the mustang and focus, both of which have many sub models that attract every kind of driver and their driving style

feel free to disagree with me about any point i tried to make cuz ill admit i dont really know shit
 
#20 ·
chaos14 said:
i like what mazda has been doing style wise recently, what they need to do is come out with a awd coupe something to compete with a wrx minus 2 doors
mazdaspeed 6??? *cough*

prolly not as fast or as agile but meh...
 
#22 ·
The 3rd gen RX7 was just to far ahead of it's time. If it were to be re-released originally at this time, it would have a better market with the new 350Z, and the STI Subaru, and the other die hard sports cars being released. You never know, the rotary is in the brinks just waiting to come flying out at the other big names. Turbo Renesis...in a new RX, would breath fire back into mazda. The company had (and still has) the best sports car on the market, and for the few people who know how to work on them, and make them reliable (not hard) the 3rd gen is the best track car out there. Also holds it's worth I might add, kinda like a bar of gold :)

As far the the mustang goes. The Mustang is exacly what it's name implies; it is an untameable, unconrollable, overpowered, resource eater. But so is most of Americans, which is what makes us so great i guess.

As for the MX, is just needs to sleep for a while. It will be back, hopefully without Ford piggy-backing off it, but that is the sacrafice Mazda made to get back into the profits.
 
#25 ·
Mazda_Mx-6 said:
there is 2001 6's on auto trader and [shizzle] so i belive 2001 was the last year for the 6
no way... im 100% sure there is no mx6 in 2001....re-read it.

Walkertexas69 said:
As agile... no..

As fast... you bet it is (unless you mean the STI)
of course i meant the STI...IMO it's the only wrx worth time to buy if your talking about speed.

David
 
#26 ·
Hope for a Mazda6 coupe since the Mazda6 is the new 626. I thought it was pretty easy to see. Mazda tried to mod the Protoge (MP3 and Mazdaspeed) twice and they only did it for a year or two. Dodge did it though, go buy an SRT-4. I honestly don't want a FWD car. I'd rather an AWD/4WD or RWD.