2010 Mazdaspeed 3: A Smile Poll

F

G) When you put a huge smile on the front of your car, you're targeting 18-35 year old women.

I don't fall into that category.

B & C

Either C or F. I'd still drive it. Definitely get it in black in the hopes of having the front end kind of blend in a little bit, but in the end I don't have to look at it when I'm behind the wheel.

G) Is irrelevant, since all anyone ever sees is the back bumper quickly disappearing on the horizon.

Started with A. I laughed my ass off the first time I saw the front-end dead on.

Soon as I got behind the wheel, it became F.

After owning it for the past three months, it's D.

Very much in agreement with C. I think the last generation Mazdaspeed3 was one of Mazda's more upscale looking cars (at least with black/graphite paint), definitely more coherent in terms of styling than this smiley-face generation.

C&E&F

C

Reminds me too much of Peugeot 206...

C for sure. although i'm not sure how it could be worse.. i also agree with a previous comment, a MS3 in black would be better.

as for the functionality? the old MS3's hood had a decent setup with funneling air to the TMIC. probably not as effective as the current MS3's scoop, but could it really make that much of a difference?

ADF

G) Yuck. This 38 year old guy has eliminated this car as a potential purchase solely for that ugly reason.

Sorry Mazda, but if you keep up with this Hello Kitty styling bulls...t I'm not going to buy the CX9 either. And I want one, but even my cute-as-can-be wife thinks it looks stupid.

We want our cars to look like serious business (as in "get the F- out of my way, you left lane hog" serious) when roaring up behind you.

D

c

Serious cars are for boring people.

B & F

Seriously, somebody needs to slap their lead designer in the face - hard.

Why screw up a generally good looking line of cars with such a dumb, trivial feature?

C.

Saw a regular 3 in black, smile is not as big of an issue.

Oh yuck, shrink that picture! Shrink that picture!

A.

H) Franz von Holzhausen's last laugh before departing for Tesla.

B or C.

A and C

None of the above for me.

I like it because it's a strange evil grin.... kinda like a warped clown or the Joker.

Looks like a pleasent commuter car until you hit the gas and you take off grinning like a fool.

The old ones look bland now.

The more telling picture is a full on side profile so we can see that HUGE front overhang and those disgusting creases and flares. This car is simply hideous. Mazda = FAIL. I cannot wait until the Focus comes out so people can see that a sporty youthful motif does not have to displace taste.

B

It is distinctive and kind of ugly which is getting more and more common these days as companies try to distinguish in the marketplace. If we have to go multiple-guess then F.

I'll gowith:
G) It looks like crap and that turbo is great- for at least 26K miles...

I'll take choice I) It's ugly alright but give me awd and cram the biggest V8 you can and I WILL buy it.*

*And the first thing I will do is put an aftermarket body kit on it.

D and E

:D

A, but maybe that's b/c I have a black one.

G)...It could be worse, it could look like an Acura

B! Definitely

A

Mazda's have been smiling for a while now..

Z: I like it enough and the interior red dotting isn't even that bad in person.

I definitely appreciate the "it could look like an Acura" comment - very true. Who knows what Honda/Acura has going on in the styling department these days, I think all the "beaked" Acuras and the Accord Crosstour are prime examples of hideousness à la Honda.

This just in from a parallel universe:

Finish the following sentence: "The Inside Line web redesign ..."

A) ... Is growing on me

B) ... Oh yuck, shrink that picture! Shrink that picture!

C) ... Could be worse I guess, but I like the old one better

D) ... Has more white space than a perfect smile! Awwww, that's adorable!

E) ... Is dopey, but at least functional

F) ... Is crap, but who cares? Check out that turbo

You have to admit the similarities are scary.

B

its too ugly... sorry. plain is fine if its an overachiever, but ugly is not acceptable.

I'd put one gold tooth in that grill.

To mark_texas:

This new Insideline is awesome.

To chavis10: ESPECIALLY after seeing the new Focus, it's B.

C

First Gen looked a lot better.

"First Gen looked a lot better."

Which is akin to saying: "Not as skanky as Lindsay Lohan..."

I vote for "G"

I've liked it since it came out.

I would say A and F. It's not the prettiest mug, but most fellow motorists will be staring at your tail lights anyway. Maybe this will create a phenomenon like Chris Bangle's styling at BMW. At first, he drew the ire of enthusiasts, but eventually his controversial design was copied by other luxury car companies. For me, it's more difficult to get over that ridiculous blue paint job that's one of only four colors available.

A.

Funny how even some of the most horrific looks end up growing on us! Except the Aztec. And the new BMW 550i GT. I doubt that those will ever really grow on me.

G) get the car in black or dark grey, and the smile will be much less conspicuous.

My friends and I have started a new "slugbug" type game for these cars. Anytime anybody sees one they yell out really loud "DUUURRRRRRR" and smack the person next to them.