i am a Mazda fan.

i saw one of the first RX-7’s when a NROTC cadet graduated from Texas A&M in 1978. It was yellow. i thought it was a great looking sports car, although i didn’t like the color.

In 1982, i bought a used 1979 Rx7 after Blythe agreed it was a good choice. It was rust orange with a faux leather interior and plaid insets in the seat (Maureen guffawed the first time she saw them). It was a four-speed standard, and probably the quickest car i have ever owned. Several times, i found myself doing 95 in the third before realizing it. I drove it across the country several times and sold it to Roger Newman for his son in 1983.

It remains my favorite car of all time.

But it didn’t have air-conditioning. Just before Maureen and i married, we traded it in for a brand new 1983 Rx7, a brown one. This one had five forward gears. i loved it as well, but it soon became Maureen’s primary car. Her Honda Civic hatchback did not have air conditioning. So the old boy got the car with no AC in Jacksonville and back in San Diego when we moved back to Dictionary Hill.

In 1989, with Sarah on the way, we gave up my Rx7 for a mini-van. i wanted the Mazda MPV but settled for a Nissan Axxess. The MPV was extremely popular and the price difference was significant. Blythe aptly named it “the family truckster.”

Shortly afterwards, one of our friends, Nikki McCullough had a significant life change and went back to school. She and Maureen swapped cars. Nikki took Maureen’s Mazda 626 and Maureen took Nikki’s 1986 Rx7. This one was more of a luxury sports car. But it was a good car.

i’ll  never understand why Mazda gave up on that rotary engine.

i now have a 2012 Mazda 3 Hatchback. i sold my Dodge Dakota when i began working for Pacific Tugboat Service. Weekly trips to Long Beach made no sense if they were going to be in a pickup in Los Angeles traffic and 15-17 mpg compared to the Mazda 3’s 38 mpg only made sense.

We love it. It can park anywhere. It can turn on a dime. It is quick, not as quick as that first Rx7, but quick. Maureen takes it when she knows she will have to  park in tight spaces.

i have always thought Mazdas were solid cars with great prices. The only disadvantage was resales were not that good. i am a Mazda fan.

But Mazda, what are you thinking?:

Last week, i received a marketing booklet in the mail for Mazda’s CX-5, glossy high end sales marketing stuff. i looked through it: nice looking car, way too nice for me.

Then i turned the page. There on a black background across from a glossy photo of a Japanese table setting was the following words:

“THE TRANQUIL PRECISION OF A  JAPANESE TEA ROOM AND THE EXACTING NATURE OF THE TEA CEREMONY TRADITION INSPIRED US TO CRAFT AN INTERIOR THAT EXUDES A SENSE OF PURITY AND ELEGANCE.” — Shinichi Isayama, Chief Designer

Good Lord! It’s a frigging car.