I just got back from a Mazda test drive event where I drove the RX8 and all new MX5 Miata. Those cars are so incredible. The overall quality, fit and finish, attention to detail, and performance of all their cars really makes them the best value (BMWs are overpriced, and cheaper cars are crap).

You could really tell Mazda cares about performance by the events they had setup. They were well designed courses where you really could push the car to its limits. Instead of warning you to not go to fast and knock over cones, they taught everyone about "the line" including turn in points, and apexes. They said if you couldn't hear the tires squealing, you should be going faster. Sweet!

Mazda is like Apple to me in that I really think they should be more popular then they are, and it makes me sad. It's the superior product, but people go for other crappy competitors (although the Mazda 3 was *very* common in Vancouver, which made me happy). I've recommended and "sold" Mazdas to many people. I think people see Mazdas as just another econo box and don't realize theie quality.

Last week I took my BMW in for a scheduled inspection and got a Z4 to drive for the day. In theory it could have been the best combination of my 330 and Miata, but it wasn't. It was big and heavy, visibility sucked, ergonomics were crap (why did they stop putting window controls in the center console?), and it understeered like mad. No fun at all.