I wouldn't expect too much of a revolutionary change in this car.
Looking at Honda's typical Civic evolution, it seems to go big change-minor upgrade-big change-minor upgrade.
The 8th gen (2006+) was a pretty radical change, and it actually still holds up pretty well (after 4 years you are just NOW starting to see competitors that are as good or better than the Civic).
I'd expect this new one to be some improvements on the already good car, but nothing huge. From that pic it actually looks like they are scaling back on the radicalness of the current car.
I just bought a 2010 because I've always liked the design, and I was kind of worried that the new one might be a letdown (based on a few more recent Honda designs). We'll see what happens.
It always amazes me how Honda and Toyota can keep a design under wraps until it is pretty much in showrooms, but everyone else has pretty much the entire car leaked up to 2 years before production.
Wut? Mazda3 has been out since 2004, the Mazdaspeed3 in 2007.
Nice car but just make sure you don't live near an ocean or anywhere that salt is used on the roads (most of Canada). The Proteges were HORRIBLE for rust issues on a modern car, and I've already seen 2005, 06, and even 07 Mazda 3s that are starting to have rust issues (rear wheel wells, trunk lids, all around the badges, etc). If you don't believe me, take a close look at them next time you are at a used car lot that has a few first gen 3s. Or even just find one at any local parking lot and take a close look.
Great car dynamically and great interior, but until I see ones that are over 5 years old without abnormal rust I'd stay away. I really do like the 2nd gen 3 but Ottawa gets smothered with road salt so I wouldn't take a chance on their bodies until I know the problem was corrected.
Also, that is one car in a field of many. The Civic, going on 5 years on this design, would still beat most its competitors in any comparo IMO, and I was just shopping in this class. Lancer, Cobalt, Focus, Forte, Elantra, Caliber, Sentra are all noticeably a step behind Honda from what I saw evaluating and test driving the cars, and I'm no Honda fanboy at all (this is the first one I've ever bought).
That leaves the Corolla (great car but too boring), VW Golf (great car, one of my favourites, but I wanted a sedan and the Jetta was pricey), and Mazda 3 (great car, but like I said rusty cars built in this decade scare me) that IMO actually compete with the Civic.
But anyway, my point is that even in the last year of its model run the Honda is still easily in the top 4 of its class (along with Mazda, VW, Toyota). That is why I don't expect the 9th gen to be a revolutionary car, because they don't need a revolutionary car to stay at the top.
Wut? I used to live in NB, and Mum and Dad still live in Moncton. They use a huge amount of salt on the roads there. Mazda didn't seem to have any greater propensity for rust than any other manufacturer. The low profile hood of the Civic on the other hand, makes for a lot of stone chips. Once the paint is breached, rust is almost inevitable.
I'm not talking about Mazdas in general. I'm talking about specifically the Protege and 3. Other cars, like the 6, don't seem to have the problems (at least not as bad).
Like I said, go to any used car lot or parking lot and find a few 4-6 year old 3s or Proteges. You will find rust. Look around the rockers, the wheel wells (especially the rear where the bumper meets the metal). Compare them to other cars in the same age and price range (Cobalt, Corolla, Civic, etc) and you will find that the Mazdas in general have fared much, much worse in just a few years on the road.
I am aware of Civics ease of rock chipping due to low front end. Just like I looked at used 4-5 year old Mazdas to find problems, I also looked at used 2006 Civics to see how they held up in regards to rust. I found lots of rock chips, but none had escalated beyond surface rust in the chipped area. Also, cars with deflectors barely had any. Easy solution: buy some touch up paint and maybe a plastic deflector.
Also, Google search "Mazda 3 Rust Issues" or "Mazda Protege Rust Issues" and you will find a ton of people complaining about it (even some posts from this specific forum).
If you don't wanna take the time, I'll give you a few examples.
From this car:
This is from a 2004, and the poster took these pics in 2008 (4 year old car):
This is from a 2005, and again pics were taken in 2008 (3 yr old car):
Another one, no age of car given, but it is a 3 so the oldest it could be is 2004 (pics from 2008):
2004 Mazda 3, pics taken 2008:
Plenty more are out there if you just search some forums for the 3. Most the people with problems are Canadian.
My mom drives a 2003 Toyota Corolla bought in early 2002, and LITERALLY lives next to the Atlantic Ocean, and her car (never rust proofed) doesn't look close to as bad as these.
