John Kelly writes:
>
> The object was to SELL the Mazda 6, fwd and all.
>
I give you that, John. But the Automatic "6" model that I drove, even with the
"handling" mods, seemed like a slug when compared to the 5-sp MazdaSpeed
Protege's they let us drive on the slalom practice course. The Protege's came
fully equipped with Torquey Wheel hop under acceleration, but handled much
better, in my opinion, than the Mazda 6. It could have been the Stick vs.
Automatic. I drove a Mazda 6 about a month ago. It was a 6-cyl 5-speed. As a
4-door, with 220HP and FWD, it felt to me like a slightly-shrunken SHO Taurus,
but much quicker and more responsive than the car I drove at Rev-it-up. To be
fair, I didn't autocross the street car, the salesman just wouldn't have
understood, ya know? PS The street test-drive, instead of costing me $39 -
provided me with a $35 Sharper Image Gift Cert! Thanks Twice, Mazda! - Seth
Emerson
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