haha...ron. yeah those five dollar beers were kicking my ass the next morning at work. I took ~ 150 pics, 50 of them came out clear. I'll upload them tonight to the same page i did the canada day pics.
Great show, hope they mix things up a bit for darien though...they played all the songs on canada day as they did at the end of the mod club show...bit disssapointing.
Nice job on the dakota btw
Congrats on the car. Can't go wrong with the 3.
I am another HUGE supporter of the Mazda 3. I am in the exact position you were in but 5 months ago. I am 25, and finally had the means to buy a new car. I test drove a whole bunch, went to the autoshow and talked with all the manufacturers, and did all the readings. I settled on the Mazda 3 GS with the power package and air. It was well below $25 grand taxes in. There were a couple of huge selling features for me:
(1) the 5-speed has a lot of power on the bottom end - gets ya going quick and it makes you feel like you have a more powerful car.
(2) I am tall so the "telescoping" steering wheel was such a huge bonus for me. I can change gears without hitting my knees on the bottom of the steering wheel. I couldn't do that with the Vibe, Civic, or Lancer.
(3) Mazda offered me the highest trade in value for my '95 cavelier than any other dealer. It was a piece of shit and they still took it.
(4) If you are 25 - you might still be within the age to get the "graduate incentive program." They gave me $600 for giving them a copy of my university degree.
A statistic that I heard earllier this month said that Mazda had sold 26,000 3's since last november in Canada alone - and both the Corrolla and the Civic are down 14% in sales.
I agree there are lots of things to think about and you gotta go with what is most comfortable for you.
But take it from a very satisfied customer - Mazda did a great job with the 3!
Trevor 8)