I found pictures of an important automotive milestone for me

[WhoIsTheLeader]

This is my brother's first car, a 2008 Mazda6 sedan with the V6 and automatic. I thought no one ever took a picture of it but I found these from the day he bought it. This would have been in mid 2016.

The reason this is notable is that thanks to this car I discovered what handling is. It's still the second fastest and best handling car I've driven, which is perhaps a little bit sad. It only lasted a little over a year before the engine suffered bent valves sending it to the scrap heap.

My family and my extended family and my friends' family and, well, everyone, drove SUVs and crossovers. And not particularly exciting ones at that. I only got to drive or even ride in this car a few times but that was enough to convince me that there was more to cars than the perceived toughness of a "real truck."

And with the V6 engine, this car was pretty quick. And with it not being particularly heavy, it handled pretty well too. It certainly felt like a race car compared to my dad's Toyota Tundra or my mom's underpowered and ill handling Volvo XC90. Sure, the interior was crap, but that didn't matter much.

And the ridiculous wing on the rear meant you could get creative at Christmas time. Yes, that's a roof mounted Christmas tree. My brother loved that car and it was certainly more fun than his current Ford Fusion but its condition deteriorated rapidly from people running into it in our high school parking lot.

the car in deteriorated condition with one mismatched rim and a torn up bumper

It may have been in my life a short time, but learning that cars could actually be fun to drive around a corner was more revolutionary than you might expect to someone who had barely even ridden in a non-SUV before.

[Chariotoflove]

@whoistheleader
That car was a working class hero. That it spoke to you says good things about you.

[Mazda616]

@whoistheleader I love first Gen 6s. My friend has a four-cylinder one with the 2.3 and a 5-speed manual. She’s about to cross 400,000 miles with it on the original engine and transmission.

The V6, while quick, is the downfall of the first gen 6. They all die sudden deaths and usually pretty early.

[e90m3]

@whoistheleader This was the car I got my license in and drove most of the time when I was home from college. This was taken in 2011, and is the only pic I have of it. It was taken for a "readers rides post."

[Huzer]

@whoistheleader I had a 1st gen 6i hatch in Lapis Blue. I put Speed6 wheels on it and enjoyed it for a few years until I bought the RX8. No complaints about the car, it was a great ride.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@whoistheleader My first car (other than the truck) was a '06 Mazda6 GT with the V6. I got it when I was 21 and similarly hold it in high regard.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@mazda616 said in I found pictures of an important automotive milestone for me:

The V6, while quick, is the downfall of the first gen 6.

I looked it up and 212 horsepower is pretty respectable in a 3,000 horsepower car. It certainly felt quick and nimble. Shame that those engines are known to go pop.

I think the gen 1 6 will be remembered fondly in the future when most are gone. We might already be living in that future.

@Chariotoflove A true affordable pocket rocket, especially with the 5 speed. I'm glad I got to experience such an iconic experience even if it was with an auto.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@e90m3 That's a very different kind of introduction to interesting rides. Did it have the supercharged V6? I think we all remember that one cool car we got to drive occasionally.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@carsoffortlangley Ooh, the hatches are properly hard to find nowadays, especially with the V6. And it looks to be in such good condition! As a first car, it might not have stayed that way though.

These cars were cheap enough that I think a lot of people bought one as their first car not realizing how much fun they were only to realize why the V6s were so cheap.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@whoistheleader nah, I took good care of it!

[e90m3]

@whoistheleader it was just the N/A sadly. This was my first car:
I got it when I was 16, then it became my sisters first car, which I eventually got back after I finished school and it was my only car up until I got the M3.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@carsoffortlangley I would say I've taken good care of my car too but few other people have shown the same respect so the condition has still deteriorated substantially.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@e90m3 Ah yes, the blue two door Explorer. It seems to have served you very well.

[e90m3]

@whoistheleader that it did. My grandfather bought it new in 1997 and it served my family well until 2015.

[Napoli]

@whoistheleader It has been so long since the last time I saw a Mazda6 wagon, I completely forgot it existed. I just looked on Autotrader and there are 11 for sale across the country. They all have over 100k miles too.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@e90m3 You have to admire vehicles that become a fixture of someone's life for so many years. My dad's 17 (?) years owned Toyota has been similarly rock steady in the face of constant mechanical neglect.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@napoli There's a V6 (!) 6 wagon I occasionally saw last year but I've found it even harder to find the hatches. When you spend so much time waiting for the pedestrian crossing on a busy road at the same times every day, you begin to notice the interesting cars reappearing. Almost all the interesting cars from last year seem to have disappeared though: the raggedy 240 wagon, the stanced Golf, the 6 wagon, the 2 (!) Saturn Astras, etc.

[Napoli]

@whoistheleader That's funny, I saw a five door Saturn Astra on the road last week. I did a double take as I drove by it. The three doors are probably impossible to find.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

@napoli said in I found pictures of an important automotive milestone for me:

The three doors are probably impossible to find

I still can't remember having ever seen a three door.