"GrandTouringButStillASedan"

Looks like decent specs for the price. I always have to remember that the "new EPA" numbers are sandbags, and that 29 is really more like 33+ in the hands of a capable driver.

Whoa cheap! Not too shabby.

Looks like an ugly version of a Ford Mondeo.

Mazda is doing a phenomenal job selling cars these days. The Mazda 3, 5 and 6 are all becoming increasingly popular. My next car will probably be a Mazda Speed3 hatchback. They're fantastic cars at a reasonable price. Kudos to Mazda for figuring out the American market at the right time.

what the hell is "ground illumination"?

Auto-dimming, heated outside mirrors w/ ground illumination

that lower front bumper looks like it's getting a "double fishhook"

@Sloop_John_B:Selling blandtastic Japanese cars is key to the American market. The more Japanese the better.

Until American makers move all their plants to Japan and inject all their designers' hands with Novacaine, they may not be able to build a single passenger car model with will sell like a billion copies a year, all in sandstone beige.

@Unregular: "ground illumination" = factory underglow.

When are these supposed to be available?

Also, it appears Mazda is running away from the complexity reduction the rest of the industry is pursuing. I'm not sure what options there are for all of these models, but it won't take many at all for the buildable combinations of 6's to be insane.

I gotta say I like the direction Mazda styling is taking with this car. Those RX-8 style fender flares may not be for everybody, but they set the car apart from the herd.

Now if they will offer more than 1% of the cars with the manual transmission, that would be great. I remember going to a Mazda dealership in 1998 to test drive a 626 manual. They had a total of none on the lot out of maybe 20 cars.

@danio3834: The mazda 5 and 6 are a bit boring, but I think the mazda 3 hatchback and the new Miata are great looking cars. They are also fun to drive in a manual regardless of the engine choice. Up the ante to the MazdaSpeed and they are absolute hoon-mobiles. Also, their timing into the market is flawless.

What's a jack-knife key?

So is Mazda Ford's only really interesting U.S. brand (no offense, Volvo)?

Suddenly the already ugly new Accord just got even uglier. This car looks great.

I LOVE the Mazda 5 ... I could haul my surfboard, my mountain bike, my kayak, my golf clubs and me drop-dead gorgeous wife!

This 6 looks good. I have to say, between it and it's sister Fusion, this looks much better. In my opinion.

@brandegee: What about Ford itself? The US spec Fords can't be that bad can they? They kick ass in Europe.

@DannyBN: its a spring loaded key that folds into the FOB, like a VW key.

@layabout: COTD

Gimme a freakin' wagon, please!

Not that we live in a democracy or anything, but I too would vote for the wagon.

@Unregular: Ground illumination is likely a spotlight under the side mirrors that illuminate the area right under the door, so you don't inadvertently step on objectionable matter before you enter the car.

Did I miss the audio input for the i-Pod? Apple has sold about 100 million i-Pods, and yet car companies don't want to offer i-Pod inputs. This should be standard on the base model by now.

Oh yeah, I've owned Apple stock for the past six years, so I may not be very independent on this issue.

Folks!
OK, everythings is great EXCEPT the MPG.
What the heck is Mazda thinking.
IF they want this to compete with the Altima and the Accord, then that 4 banger has to be 31 HWY or higher.
The 6 MUST be 27, 28 or higher.
This is terrible.
Unless they have plans for the diesel, this is a loser here in the USA.
You watch.
With gas now nearly 4.00 in Illinois, this is a loser.

What's the difference between a gadget and gee-gaw?

@petersterncan: It's very technical and would take far to long to out line it here, our interpretation is one where a gadget has intrinsic usefulness, where a gee-gaw is an add on which has dubious usefulness or value.

@ppellico: The Accord is 22/31, and the Mazda is 21/29. That's negligible. People who care about a 1mpg difference are going to be a lot more interested in the Civic or the 3 than in the Accord and the 6.

@goatrope: that'd be the "Auxiliary audio input jack," which seems to be present on all but the cheapest model.

Brutal mileage on the 6 cylinder. Can we not achieve 30+ mpg on the highway!???

... unfotunately, I have only been able to get 28mpg on my '05 6 Wagon at 110k-120k highway driving.

As usual, Mazda probably offers the best 'stuff' for the dollar among all Japanese cars ... now bring back the WAGON!

@DannyBN: I would assume a "jack-knife key" wold look like this:

+ Watch video

@Ben Wojdyla: The paranoid guy in me is rearing his ugly head, but…

If I'm sitting at my desk (you know, "working") while I have one of those in my pants pocket, and it accidentally deploys…what happens? Does it snap off? Dig into my thigh? Tear my cheap discount store trousers? Make me post a whining rant about it on an automotive weblog?

@DannyBN: No.

Hey, for less than this you could go big and get a new Marquis!

@jarque: Apparently, you're not familiar with my capacity for whining.

@DannyBN: any force back against the key won't allow it to open. the spring isn't exactly strong.

None of it matters if it doesn't handle. I'm still waiting to see what "tuned for the American driver" means.

@Jeb_Hoge: Numb and lifeless, with >4 full steering wheel revolutions lock to lock?

I hoep my V6 with a manual will stop depreciating like an SOB now.