Thai
Elite Member
Ford did it again...(Cobra, Miata, and now RX-8!):
Mazda overstates U.S. RX-8's power, offers buyback
TOKYO (Reuters) -- Mazda Motor Corp. has offered to buy back its new RX-8 sports car in the United States after revelations that it had overstated the vehicle's horsepower, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
Mazda had advertised its RX-8, a four-door head-turner that stars in the Hollywood blockbuster film X2: X-Men United, as having 247 hp for the manual transmission version sold in the United States and 207 hp for the automatic.
The advertising was drawn up before the company altered engine specifications to meet U.S. fuel efficiency standards.
The modification change led to a drop in hp to 238 and 197 respectively, but specifications were left unchanged in brochures sent to customers, the spokesman said.
"It was only after some automotive media pointed out the shortfall that we realized the difference," he said. Hp output is a significant feature for many sports car fans.
So far, about 30 owners have sold back the car, at the original sticker price of $27,200 for the manual version and $25,700 for the automatic, another spokesman said.
As of the end of August, Mazda had sold 3,565 units in the United States since the car went on sale there in late July.
Japan's fifth largest auto maker, owned one-third by Ford Motor, has targeted RX-8 sales of about 60,000 units globally, with half of that coming from the United States.
Although target volumes are small, executives have said the RX-8 is strategically important for Mazda's brand image.
In 1999, Mazda had offered a similar buyback for the Miata roadster after it realized that gasoline sold in the United States yielded 8 percent less hp than fuel sold in Japan.
For those who choose to hold onto their RX-8s, Mazda is dishing out $500 in credit for gasoline and free maintenance for four years, or for the first 50,000 miles.
Mazda overstates U.S. RX-8's power, offers buyback
TOKYO (Reuters) -- Mazda Motor Corp. has offered to buy back its new RX-8 sports car in the United States after revelations that it had overstated the vehicle's horsepower, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
Mazda had advertised its RX-8, a four-door head-turner that stars in the Hollywood blockbuster film X2: X-Men United, as having 247 hp for the manual transmission version sold in the United States and 207 hp for the automatic.
The advertising was drawn up before the company altered engine specifications to meet U.S. fuel efficiency standards.
The modification change led to a drop in hp to 238 and 197 respectively, but specifications were left unchanged in brochures sent to customers, the spokesman said.
"It was only after some automotive media pointed out the shortfall that we realized the difference," he said. Hp output is a significant feature for many sports car fans.
So far, about 30 owners have sold back the car, at the original sticker price of $27,200 for the manual version and $25,700 for the automatic, another spokesman said.
As of the end of August, Mazda had sold 3,565 units in the United States since the car went on sale there in late July.
Japan's fifth largest auto maker, owned one-third by Ford Motor, has targeted RX-8 sales of about 60,000 units globally, with half of that coming from the United States.
Although target volumes are small, executives have said the RX-8 is strategically important for Mazda's brand image.
In 1999, Mazda had offered a similar buyback for the Miata roadster after it realized that gasoline sold in the United States yielded 8 percent less hp than fuel sold in Japan.
For those who choose to hold onto their RX-8s, Mazda is dishing out $500 in credit for gasoline and free maintenance for four years, or for the first 50,000 miles.
