Mazda/ALMS Weekend AKA It Pays To Bitch!!! July 22-24
07-21-11, 11:34 AM
#77
I'm trying to figure out where the horsepower went in my miata. When you've only got 100 and then 50 of them run off, it's a big deal!
I'm still going to be attending I am just not sure what time I can leave and etc. I still don't even know where I'm going to stay!
I'm still going to be attending I am just not sure what time I can leave and etc. I still don't even know where I'm going to stay!
07-24-11, 08:38 PM
#79
Well I have to say thanks to all and mazda that made this event possible. It was nice to get a tour of the different mazda races teams and to have John From mazdamotorsports and Heather from Mazda Canada host and deal with the questions.
I really hope that there will more support from mazda for grassroots motorsports. I am not looking for much or huge contingencies but a parts/cost discount like madamotorsports in the US would be nice. (Can you believe I paid $45 for a 1989 mazda rx7 thermostat on friday from a local mazda dealer! That was a discounted 15% price too!)
If you could see how many mazda's were racing this sunday at the Sigma Time Attack...(www.sigmatimeattack.com results page). There were more mazda's at the sigma event then any other manufacture. (There were at least 45 cars entered)I am sure it would be nice for mazda to keep it these way. This should be our business case/logic to mazda..
I really hope that there will more support from mazda for grassroots motorsports. I am not looking for much or huge contingencies but a parts/cost discount like madamotorsports in the US would be nice. (Can you believe I paid $45 for a 1989 mazda rx7 thermostat on friday from a local mazda dealer! That was a discounted 15% price too!)
If you could see how many mazda's were racing this sunday at the Sigma Time Attack...(www.sigmatimeattack.com results page). There were more mazda's at the sigma event then any other manufacture. (There were at least 45 cars entered)I am sure it would be nice for mazda to keep it these way. This should be our business case/logic to mazda..
07-25-11, 07:41 AM
#81
Rotary Freak
Well I have to say thanks to all and mazda that made this event possible. It was nice to get a tour of the different mazda races teams and to have John From mazdamotorsports and Heather from Mazda Canada host and deal with the questions.
I really hope that there will more support from mazda for grassroots motorsports. I am not looking for much or huge contingencies but a parts/cost discount like madamotorsports in the US would be nice. (Can you believe I paid $45 for a 1989 mazda rx7 thermostat on friday from a local mazda dealer! That was a discounted 15% price too!)
If you could see how many mazda's were racing this sunday at the Sigma Time Attack...(www.sigmatimeattack.com results page). There were more mazda's at the sigma event then any other manufacture. (There were at least 45 cars entered)I am sure it would be nice for mazda to keep it these way. This should be our business case/logic to mazda..
I really hope that there will more support from mazda for grassroots motorsports. I am not looking for much or huge contingencies but a parts/cost discount like madamotorsports in the US would be nice. (Can you believe I paid $45 for a 1989 mazda rx7 thermostat on friday from a local mazda dealer! That was a discounted 15% price too!)
If you could see how many mazda's were racing this sunday at the Sigma Time Attack...(www.sigmatimeattack.com results page). There were more mazda's at the sigma event then any other manufacture. (There were at least 45 cars entered)I am sure it would be nice for mazda to keep it these way. This should be our business case/logic to mazda..
Anyways, can somebody give me a breakdown on what was discussed and answers to questions? It seems to me to have been a PR exercise with little meat, but I wasn't there. I will be out for the rest of the season in my FC in the GT Challenge races and it would be nice if some support was forthcoming from Mazda Canada in any form.
I would hate to think that they gave you guys a tour of some teams, a chance to speak with them and everybody is happy. In Canada, we are being treated like second rate citizens. If I was running in the US, there would be prize money available, strong parts discounts and other things. From Mazda Canada, NADA.
Eric
07-25-11, 12:30 PM
#83
I would hate to think that they gave you guys a tour of some teams, a chance to speak with them and everybody is happy. In Canada, we are being treated like second rate citizens. If I was running in the US, there would be prize money available, strong parts discounts and other things. From Mazda Canada, NADA.
Eric
Eric
Maybe I'm expecting too much or took things the wrong way, but he made it sound like contingency money,sponsorships/etc for grassroots level of motorsports isn't going to happen. He mentioned we should buy some new mazdas too. It didn't feel like they were too interested in getting people involved in racing that didn't have rich parents (star mazda), or giving away money to people that weren't well established already. For someone trying to get their foot in the door, there isn't a lot of help. Basically they view the racing side of the business (mazdaspeed, sponsorships, etc) as a money making standalone business, not as a venue to spend advertising dollars (aka win on sunday, sell on monday).
Like Ian said to me, it's hard to feel supported by a company that charges you $45 for a $5 thermostat, etc.
07-25-11, 01:27 PM
#84
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
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No one really understands why their parts cost so much over the border, and then it's 10-20 times more when we try to obtain the same part here in Canada.
Numerous people asked this question and Mazda kept dodging the bullet or said they'll look into it.
I was a bit offended when they asked us to keep buying their vehicles. I've been driving Mazda's since the late 80's. I don't need anyone telling me what I should or should not buy.
Mazda Canada does not support anyone in grassroots racing. Only Mazda USA does right now. They're hoping they would establish the same program here in Canada. For now they kept telling us they're working on it. Crawl before they can run was their quote. Although, since the program is already in place in the U.S. I don't see why it'll be such a big deal to enforce it here in Canada.
Those were the main issues everyone kept bringing up.
It was nice of them to give us free merchandise and invite us out to the track for the weekend. But they have to do more than this if they expect to live up to their reputation.
Lets hope the engineers and test drivers keep making the cars the way they do. Fun to drive and driver oriented. It's what makes Mazda, Mazda.
Numerous people asked this question and Mazda kept dodging the bullet or said they'll look into it.
I was a bit offended when they asked us to keep buying their vehicles. I've been driving Mazda's since the late 80's. I don't need anyone telling me what I should or should not buy.
Mazda Canada does not support anyone in grassroots racing. Only Mazda USA does right now. They're hoping they would establish the same program here in Canada. For now they kept telling us they're working on it. Crawl before they can run was their quote. Although, since the program is already in place in the U.S. I don't see why it'll be such a big deal to enforce it here in Canada.
Those were the main issues everyone kept bringing up.
It was nice of them to give us free merchandise and invite us out to the track for the weekend. But they have to do more than this if they expect to live up to their reputation.
Lets hope the engineers and test drivers keep making the cars the way they do. Fun to drive and driver oriented. It's what makes Mazda, Mazda.
07-25-11, 01:58 PM
#86
Go Hard....or Go Home
Just to wade in a little..........How many people actually showed up to the meeting? I would think that there were hundreds of invites that went out so the turn out should have been very high. If it wasnt dont expect a lot ( I dont mean to be an ***) of support if only 20-30 people showed. You also have to understand what the program in the USA does. It allows Mazda to say "on any given weekend more Mazda's are raced than any other brand." Stop and think about that for a minute. If Chevrolet had a simular program where you can register etc I would think there are more Chevy's raced on a Saturday night in the US than Mazda's around the world. Mazda is the only one who has a record of these numbers by the racers registered in the Mazdaspeed program. It was a brilliant marketing idea. I truly believe with the dollar being where it is they would be better off to scrap the Mazdaspeed parts program in Canada and just tell everyone to buy them from the US rather than have it like pulling teeth to get someone who understands to help you order anything.
I truly hope there was a huge turn out for the meeting and everyone conducted themselves in a professional manner, because if not I would almost guarantee you nothing will change and MCI will say to the US "see we told you so".
I truly hope there was a huge turn out for the meeting and everyone conducted themselves in a professional manner, because if not I would almost guarantee you nothing will change and MCI will say to the US "see we told you so".
07-25-11, 03:19 PM
#87
Rotary Freak
Uhh, that's the gist of it. There was a really nice (for being at the track) catered meal and they showed us how they do things.
Maybe I'm expecting too much or took things the wrong way, but he made it sound like contingency money,sponsorships/etc for grassroots level of motorsports isn't going to happen. He mentioned we should buy some new mazdas too. It didn't feel like they were too interested in getting people involved in racing that didn't have rich parents (star mazda), or giving away money to people that weren't well established already. For someone trying to get their foot in the door, there isn't a lot of help. Basically they view the racing side of the business (mazdaspeed, sponsorships, etc) as a money making standalone business, not as a venue to spend advertising dollars (aka win on sunday, sell on monday).
Like Ian said to me, it's hard to feel supported by a company that charges you $45 for a $5 thermostat, etc.
Maybe I'm expecting too much or took things the wrong way, but he made it sound like contingency money,sponsorships/etc for grassroots level of motorsports isn't going to happen. He mentioned we should buy some new mazdas too. It didn't feel like they were too interested in getting people involved in racing that didn't have rich parents (star mazda), or giving away money to people that weren't well established already. For someone trying to get their foot in the door, there isn't a lot of help. Basically they view the racing side of the business (mazdaspeed, sponsorships, etc) as a money making standalone business, not as a venue to spend advertising dollars (aka win on sunday, sell on monday).
Like Ian said to me, it's hard to feel supported by a company that charges you $45 for a $5 thermostat, etc.
If they were smart, they would monitor this thread and read what people are saying. It is worse to tease people by dangling out carrots and never letting them bite it. The Mazda guys in the U.S. can make money off these programs due to the number of racers down south. Spec Miata is one of the largest classes and it makes sense for them to entice people to race their products through the use of contingency programs. If they really were on the ball, they could offer a $500 -$250 contingency fund for racers to win classes at regional levels in their product. They would very rarely have to pay out and they could reap the rewards of great PR.
Honda, Scion, BMW and I believe Mini have programs like these. They cost almost nothing to the companies, but they offer a great way to show that they care.
Back to the garage to get my Mazda Race Car ready to go. I will leave the big Mazda Graphics on the side as a tribute to when they did help me out almost 10 years ago.
Eric
07-25-11, 04:26 PM
#88
RIP Mx-3. Hello Rx-8!
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I was there with 2 of my friends. I didn't really say anything in the discussion but I took it all in. We of course talked about it on the walk back and at the site, and even on the drive home. I hid inside and wrote Heather (found her card) a nice long email (auto-resonse says she's not back in the office until the 8th) of what I had to say, and comment about what was discussed and give my experiences. Hopefully it's the information they're looking for, but regardless, they can't say that I didn't give any effort in my feedback, heh.. I'd like to say that there was a good number of us, but honestly, I did expect a bit more.
07-25-11, 08:07 PM
#89
It probably would have been a good idea to have some sort of a representative filter the comments/questions and talk on behalf of everyone who showed up because I heard that the meeting was more filled with complaints about what Mazda Canada is doing than actual structured suggestions. I wasn't there though so that's just what I had heard.
No offense to whoever created the title of the thread but it seems that that is a great indicator of the mindset people were going there with, and I bet there could have been a lot more progress made since Mazda is conducting such an odd effort of getting the 'crowd reaction' from people. Does anyone know if other large companies have ever invited random customers to a dinner and a show for their input before? I think Mazda Canada was actually doing some good by at least showing this sort of initiative into the matter and people are still complaining here about what went on. When I read this thread I have no choice but to imagine the kids in class who complain about a test being "too hard" or "not on the right material that we learned in class." Seems like the same thing was going on here.
No offense to whoever created the title of the thread but it seems that that is a great indicator of the mindset people were going there with, and I bet there could have been a lot more progress made since Mazda is conducting such an odd effort of getting the 'crowd reaction' from people. Does anyone know if other large companies have ever invited random customers to a dinner and a show for their input before? I think Mazda Canada was actually doing some good by at least showing this sort of initiative into the matter and people are still complaining here about what went on. When I read this thread I have no choice but to imagine the kids in class who complain about a test being "too hard" or "not on the right material that we learned in class." Seems like the same thing was going on here.
Last edited by CS13B; 07-25-11 at 08:19 PM.
07-26-11, 04:53 AM
#90
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The mazda 3 guys were complaining. It also annoyed me that they were asking for money for their website.
Most of us were talking about the Mazdaspeed program.
I suggested they have a "host" dealership in Canada act as a DC, so they can ship parts from California to Ontario duty free (corporate), then ship it from that location (in Canada) to avoid duties and tariffs for the Mazdaspeed Canada customers.
I hope they have a follow up on this next year.
Most of us were talking about the Mazdaspeed program.
I suggested they have a "host" dealership in Canada act as a DC, so they can ship parts from California to Ontario duty free (corporate), then ship it from that location (in Canada) to avoid duties and tariffs for the Mazdaspeed Canada customers.
I hope they have a follow up on this next year.
07-26-11, 01:14 PM
#91
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
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I remember that... those 2 supposedly race their Mazda3's.
Has anyone really been on that forum?? Those guys get together for picnics and parking lot meets. They could care less about the racing side of Mazda. But those 2 guys, they thought they knew it all.
Oh well.. every division has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Mazda Canada is trying, and we did give them our thoughts. It's up to them now to see if they want to go through with it, or simply give us the cold shoulder and say "we tried, but..."
Has anyone really been on that forum?? Those guys get together for picnics and parking lot meets. They could care less about the racing side of Mazda. But those 2 guys, they thought they knew it all.
Oh well.. every division has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Mazda Canada is trying, and we did give them our thoughts. It's up to them now to see if they want to go through with it, or simply give us the cold shoulder and say "we tried, but..."
07-26-11, 02:52 PM
#94
RIP Mx-3. Hello Rx-8!
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Ya, I found it weird, it's not like Mazda is the only one with a closed system, they pretty much all are. Not even Honda owners have that kind of support with all their popularity.
07-26-11, 04:05 PM
#97
RIP Mx-3. Hello Rx-8!
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Ya, I checked, even the 10-11 Speed3 has a Cobb! I thought maybe they brought it up cause the 10-11's didn't have the options and were locked down, but not only that, but you can get the AccessTuner Race and Pro. Sounds like a sweet deal to me.
