Mazda mania

ALASTAIR SLOANE looks at the latest three imports from Mazda, which is improving its market share worldwide and threatening the North American Big Three.

Pick-up trucks and sports utilities are the biggest-selling vehicles in the United States.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler don't even need to bother with customer profiles. A florist on Fifth Avenue is just as likely to own a V8 pick-up as a rancher in Wide Fork, Wyoming.

But the vehicle's popularity helps to explain why the Big Three's slice of the 16 million-plus American market is slipping and has been for four straight years.

GM, Ford and Chrysler, say analysts, are losing market share because they are preoccupied with the truck segment of the market and lack innovation.

"It is less risky to simply develop a new version of an existing product than to pioneer a new category," says Fortune magazine.

"This year, for instance, Detroit is touting sports utilities with pick-up beds grafted on to the backs. But if you want to buy a more sophisticated crossover vehicle like the Honda CRV, which marries the best features of a passenger car and a sports utility, you still have to go to an import dealer."

Last year GM, Ford and Chrysler accounted for 70.6 per cent of American sales. Take Volvo out of owner Ford's figures, and Saab out of GM's, and the number shrinks to 68.5 per cent.

Analysts are saying it is time for Detroit to circle the wagons around the popular market - the "enemy" and its dynamic vehicles everywhere.

Not just from Japan, where the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord have dominated American car sales for the past few years, but from Germany and Volkswagen, which hiked sales by 43.6 per cent last year.

Korea isn't sitting idly by, either. Hyundai, Daewoo and Kia increased their market penetration last year by two-thirds, thanks to improved quality and more generous warranties.

Mazda is another Japanese carmaker looking at a bigger chunk of the North American market. It is already the third-bestselling Japanese marque across Europe and No 1 in Germany and Austria.

It certainly could never be accused of lacking innovation - which is perhaps why Ford bought a controlling interest.

Mazda has done a lot of research into what car buyers want since the MX-5 sports car (10 years old last October) became such a huge success.

It found what most everyone could have told it - that car owners wanted vehicles which looked dynamic but were functional and space-efficient. Mazda adopted the findings, calling its new corporate design philosophy "contrast in harmony."

The reaction to every Mazda product since has not always been harmonious, but by and large it is just as innovative as it ever was.

Take, for example, the three well-equipped new models it launched in Auckland 48 hours ago - the 626 sedan, hatchback and wagon, a lifestyler called the Premacy, and Mazda's main people-carrier, the MPV.

Mazda New Zealand chief Peter Aitken says the new models spearhead a year in which the carmaker will "accelerate our opportunities" in what is expected to be a reasonably buoyant market.

"We are picking a new-car market of 76,000 sales, with our own market volume at 3050 units, or 4 per cent," he said. "This represents an increase of 20 per cent in volume for Mazda compared with last year."

Aitken puts his aggressive forecast down to a stronger economy and cracks in the used import market.

"The cars coming in are getting older and the comparative shopping sums are swinging more and more in favour of the price, reliability and peace of mind that comes from buying new."

The new 626 isn't as conservative as the car it replaces, which should make it appeal just as much to the private market as it traditionally has to the fleet.

It has been heavily restyled inside and out and engineers have reworked steering, suspension and 2.0-litre engine to cut noise levels and improve stability, handling, rigidity and ride comfort. The 626 range is priced between $32,295 and $38,095.

The new MPV model is visually vastly improved over the outgoing vehicle, which was a bit of a bus.

It has been designed from the ground up to carry seven people and their luggage in air-conditioned comfort. The MPV is powered by a 2.5-litre V6 engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission and costs $48,995.

The Premacy sits on the same wheelbase as the 626 and is aimed at the lifestyle market - the seating can be switched every which way for the convenience of passengers or luggage.

It is powered by a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine mated to a five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmission. The manual costs $33,995, the automatic $35,495.