So my wife has been itchin' to get a new car for like 3 years now. Today she tells me she bought a new Mazda 3s Sport with the 6-speed manual. She says the car is still at the dealer. We might go get it today, but we've got a lot of preparations for our youngest's birthday party.





It's not April Fool's Day, is it?

 

She bought a car without you knowing, ain't that some ****!

 

Nah, she sent me an email from work saying she was going to do it. I just didn't know for sure if she was going to go through with it. We've been talking about it for months.

 

Very interesting, why the Mazda 3? what is she driving now?

 

Well, we still have the Audi A6, but she's been hating putting 100 miles a day on it and paying for premium gas, so mostly she drives the '99 Dodge Neon we picked up for its main virtue--36 MPG. The stinkin' dealer wanted her to either "clunker" the A6, or they would give her $3500 in trade. Please note that this Audi is a 2001 A6 quattro with the technologically marvelous 2.7 twin turbo V6. The car is mint--if there's a scratch on it, its a very small one. kbb.com lists the trade-in value at $6500. For 3500, we'll keep it for a Sunday driver, or maybe I'll put some bigger turbos on it and take it to the strip. Hyuk! Hyuk!



And yeah, she really bought it. We picked it up today. I'll try to get some pics. It's purdy cute.

 

throw a turbo on it

 

Nah, we considered the MS3, but decided against it. Our main goal with this car is a reliable and economical commuter that's fun to drive. I don't mess with cars that are still under warranty. I've got enough projects already!



An observation on the 3: My wife has trouble getting the transmission to go into first gear. I've driven the car a couple times and can't really find the problem. I told her she was doing it wrong, then ducked.



Anybody heard of the 6-speed being hard to get into first? I've noticed it once or twice. This is while at a dead stop, with the clutch to the floor.

 

As promised, albeit a tad tardy. Here's a pic! Sorry to keep y'all on the edge of your seat for so long.

 

Anybody know anything about the 2.5 liter engine Mazda is putting in the 2010 Mazda 3? According to the window sticker, the car is 95% Japanese. Both the engine and transmission are from Japan. Yet when I pull the dipstick to check the oil level, it says FoMoCo right on it. What's gives? Is it a Ford engine, just a Ford dipstick, or what?

 

I know the engine in my Mazda 6 was a ford engine, I bet yours is too.



I got a new daily last week to replace my jeep