The station wagon used to be very mainstream in American culture which even Ford’s Mercury Division sells three completely different wagons with fake wooden sides late 1982 (Toyota also sold three wagon models here that year). For now, pickup trucks and SUVs have killed off all but a few wagon models, and modern automatics have largely eliminated manual transmissions from car showrooms…but those trends haven’t stopped them. Mazda provides Mazda6 station wagon with a very-rare 21st-century manual transmission / V6 combination. I found one of these hen teethers at a snow-covered yard in northeastern Colorado a few weeks back.
The Mazda6 to replace 626 this is the 2003 model year and Americans can buy a Mazda6 wagon from 2004 to 2007. Since Mazda5 minivan appeared here in 2006, followed by CX-7 and CX-9 SUVs in the coming year, the calculation to sell the scooter makes sense.
However, a small but vocal segment of American motorists prefer wagons to taller and less car-like machines. Although I belong to Generation X-er with a childhood in the 1970s, my family has a Chevrolet G-Series passenger truck instead of normal Kingswood Real Estate or Country Squireso I don’t shed many tears at the wagon’s departure from the relevance of the daily driver of our roads (that said, my daily thumper the driver these days is a 2004 Subaru Outback wagon… With a 5-speed manual).
Believe it or not, five-tier manual is the base transmission in all but the most expensive trim levels of the 2005 Mazda6. I like the one five-on-tree column shift handbookbut that setup was never really successful in North America.
More strangely, though, you can buy your new long-roof Mazda6 with a manual transmission connected to the V6. That’s because while the V6 is an option on other body styles, it’s the only engine offered on the wagon. That means you’ve got 220 horsepower in a car that weighs just over 3,400 pounds, with three-pedal fun to drive.
Naturally, some junkyard shoppers have extracted the engine and transmission, ideally to de-box other Mazda6 vehicles.
There were more new three-legged wagons coming out in 2005 than you might think. There’s this, this Ford Focusthe Subaru Outback (Surprisingly, can be purchased new here with a manual transmission all the time 2014), Subaru Impreza (and the sibling has its Saab badge, 9-2x), Saab 9-5the Volkswagen PassatVolkwagen Jettathe Volvo V70the Volvo V50the Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3-Series, Suzuki ForenzaJaguar X-Type (no, really!) and Suzuki Aero. For the 2022 wagon there’s the manual… well, there’s the Mini Cooper Clubman and Subaru Crosstrek and Imprezaif you consider those cars to be genuine wagons.
Winter tires and manual transmissions on two-wheelers work well on Colorado roads during the snow, as long as you have some ground clearance (or even if you don’t, according to my experience). However, all-wheel drive is now considered a necessity when there’s a quarter inch of white stuff in a shopping mall parking lot, so it’s another blow against value. resale of this front-wheel drive vehicle.
It’s always good when they hire good actors for car commercials. Note the automatic transmission in this ad, as they will of course offer the dog detective an automatic.
Jump in around 2:20 to witness the “Zoom-Zoom” action of the Atenza wagon (as the 6 is known in its homeland).
