Mazda - Say it Ain't So!

Honestly, I often get more excited at the prospect of a modestly-priced high-performance car than the introduction of a six-figure mega-exotic. If for no other reason than I have at least some chance of being able to afford the quotidian sportster than the bling-mobile.

Which brings me to my current dilemma. I have a paid-for 2003 Mazda Protegé5. Nothing inherently wrong with it. It's been a trusty, reliable companion since I bought it new in the Fall of '03. Averaging about 23 miles per gallon in mixed-use driving, it's not the most economical car out there, but far more frugal than a lot of the trucks and SUVs my peers and co-workers are driving. Admittedly, it's no fireball on the road. I'm routinely humbled by Camrys and Expeditions in a straight line. However, thanks to the Tein coilovers and 215 rubber I have on the car, on-ramps are what this car lives for. Rather than slowing down, I drop down to second gear and floor it. Ever heard the adage about "it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow?" Touché.

So now, the automotive media is all atwitter about the next-generation Mazda3. The upcoming car has no small shoes to fill, as the current iteration has been consistently winning awards since its debut for the 2004 model year. The 2010 model promises to raise the bar even higher, solidly placing it at the top of the compact hill once again, as models introduced by competitors for '07 and '08 benchmarked the '04 model.

So what's my dilemma, you ask? Well, it's a given the new model is going to be on sale in late '09. If I were content to have the "regular" model, I'd be fine. But after having driven the current Mazdaspeed3, I'm hooked on that car's nearly flawless combination of performance, practicality and style. If Mazda's history is any indicator, a high-performance "Mazdaspeed" variant usually follows about 3 years after the "base" model's introduction. So going by that logic, it may be the 2013 model year before the next-gen Mazdaspeed3 is available. That's a mightly long time in the car buff world.

Of course, my anguish may be all for naught, as announcements about the 2010 model are expected around the Paris or L.A. auto shows, in September or November, respectively. I fully expect more than one journalist will ask about the next Mazdaspeed, only to receive the standard "no comment" or "no plans at this time" from the PR rep or executive. If the extra-zoom version is due in 2011, I will gladly wait. Even for the 2012 model year, I could be enticed to hold tight. But 2013 might be too much to ask. Maybe I should just go ahead and bite the bullet and buy the current Mazdaspeed, confident in knowing I have one of the best-regarded and highest-rated sport compact 5-doors available today. But will the gnawing insecurity of knowing the next-gen model will be better yet get the best of me? It's the enthusiast's eternal dilemma, and what the automotive media and enthusiast community live for: anticipation of that which is to come...