Do you think enough people would buy a Mazda3, 2-door, 4-seater for Mazda to make one?

A bit of a back story, it looks like I may need to sell my Miata and get something with 4 seats so that I can drop the kids off at school occasionally. I'd like to stick with a 2-door car, as I like the sporty look of them compared to 4-doors. I'd also like to stick to a Japanese brand, as that is what I've always owned, and I've always been happy with their reliability.

With this criteria and a budget of approximately $6000 (Canadian), the 8th generation (2006 - 2011) Honda Civic coupe seems to fit the bill for me. This got me thinking: do you think there would be a market for a Mazda3, 2-door, 4-seater, to compete with the Civic coupe? If so, would you prefer to have it as a true coupe (2 doors with a trunk), a sloped lift back where the back glass also raises (like an RSX) or more of a vertical back window 3-door hatchback (like a VW Golf 2-door)?

Sadly I think there would be. I'd be interested in one but I have oddball tastes in cars.

Nope

Nope.  How many 2-door coupes or hatchbacks do you see for sale in the US anymore?

Now, how many of those are hybrids or electric vehicles?

Now compare those to the number of CUV's/SUV's?

There you go.

If they made one in Japan, etc. that can be imported, go for it.  Otherwise, I think that ship has sailed and it is becoming high end luxury cars, various forms of sports/muscle cars and some form of truck/suv/van.  Very little in between other than rental car fodder.

At the $6000 price point, it's probably not going to happen.

Keith Tanner said:

At the $6000 price point, it's probably not going to happen.

I don't think that is possible for any new vehicle in the US or EU today, but I also don't think he was asking that. 

But to his point, no I don't think so. They just don't sell enough to make sense for any of the companies. And similarly and sadly, within 10-20 years I'd be shocked if we can still buy a manual transmission new.

Except I can get a two door Civic. And a Veloster is a two door on one side. I think the problem is volume. If 5% of Civics sold are two doors that might still be more than all the Mazda3s sold. 

mtn said:

Keith Tanner said:

At the $6000 price point, it's probably not going to happen.

I don't think that is possible for any new vehicle in the US or EU today, but I also don't think he was asking that. 

 

But to his point, no I don't think so. They just don't sell enough to make sense for any of the companies. And similarly and sadly, within 10-20 years I'd be shocked if we can still buy a manual transmission new.

Of course he wasn't asking that, but unless you're looking at new cars the manufacturers don't really care.

you mean a Mazda2?

In reply to AngryCorvair :

Those were four doors. 

Short answer is hell no. 

But speaking of Mazda2, I'd probably rather have one of those than a non-Si 8th-9th gen Civic. I'have had my share of 2 doors but i don't feel any particular attraction to them over 4 doors. The whole package just has to click for me. I actually think the 2-dr Civics are some of the uglier 2-drs in existence, being a compromised afterthought of the sedan. 

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Sadly, here in the United states of Freedom they were. But they did make a two door hatch. Too new to import though. Maybe it's different in the Great White North.

Hyundai makes the Elantra coupe, Kia still has the forte koup. For a fun car it’s hard to beat the forte koup with a decent suspension and intake/exhaust for smiles per dollar. I’m craving one right now. I should probably eat a snickers before the wife reads this. 

Edit: for $6k you can get a nice 2.4 6-spd  koup 

Keith Tanner said:

mtn said:

Keith Tanner said:

At the $6000 price point, it's probably not going to happen.

I don't think that is possible for any new vehicle in the US or EU today, but I also don't think he was asking that. 

 

But to his point, no I don't think so. They just don't sell enough to make sense for any of the companies. And similarly and sadly, within 10-20 years I'd be shocked if we can still buy a manual transmission new.

Of course he wasn't asking that, but unless you're looking at new cars the manufacturers don't really care.

I get where you are going with this, but perhaps I should have worded it as "If Mazda was to make a 2-door variant of the Mazda3 and offer it for a couple grand less than the current 4-door, would enough people buy a brand new one for Mazda to justify having it in their lineup?" I assume that this is a rhetorical question, as it appears that the answer will still be no.

I think if Mazda thought the answer was yes, they would have made it by now.

Two doors and more than two people gets old in a hurry even if it once and a while. Also kids typically get bigger faster than cars age out. 

Vigo said:

Short answer is hell no. 

But speaking of Mazda2, I'd probably rather have one of those than a non-Si 8th-9th gen Civic. I'have had my share of 2 doors but i don't feel any particular attraction to them over 4 doors. The whole package just has to click for me. I actually think the 2-dr Civics are some of the uglier 2-drs in existence, being a compromised afterthought of the sedan. 

Pretty sure the 7th gen Accord coupe is worse. 

The only real reason I can see to buy a coupe over a sedan in a body style that has both in the modern day is if they are lighter and that sort of thing matters. I guess they can kind of look better sometimes. Maybe? 

Vigo said:

I actually think the 2-dr Civics are some of the uglier 2-drs in existence, being a compromised afterthought of the sedan. 

Almost all 2-dr FWD coupes are extremely ugly.  And they usually sacrifice helmet space, and accessibility for nearly zero gain.  In many cases the 4-door version of the car is actually lighter and stiffer.

Not a chance. 

The newer mazda hatchbacks do a decent job of hiding the fact that they’re not a 2-door if you’re that worried about style in the carpool lane. 

I'll keep it short: no

In reply to dean1484 :

Yeah my friends hated my two door '89 Nissan Sunny and only tolerated my '78 120y because chicks dug it.  Currently all my vehicles are two door with four seats even the S-10 and if I decide to keep the SVT it's chick appeal will be long gone but I have no day to day friends anymore so two doors is perfect for me still after all these decades.  Kids?  Playoffs?  Nobody around here is talking about the playoffs!  

Am I the only one that feels like 2 door hatchbacks are just the worst of both worlds? 

I currently own 3 two doors. Once you're past the child rearing age the extra door length helps ingress/egress. I'd consider a two Mazda hatch. Ford builds a two door Fiesta in other markets, but probably can't justify all the testing costs for this market. I may be forced into another MINI when the time comes if I wish to keep a two door.

Definitely.

Whenever a manufacturer has a 2dr available they sell a lot of them, but it's a lot cheaper to make only a 4dr.

I had both 2 and 4dr cars when my kids were young and in car seats. The two dr cars were infinitely easier to load and unload them. I don['t know why anybody would suggest different.

Wasn't the Volvo C30 a two door hatch on the Mazda3 platform?  Based on how few you see around it sure seems they didn't sell that many.