http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1057229636630

Allocation of new RX-8's makes for long waiting list
Canada to receive about 700 cars

Numbers vary for each dealership


I've been interested in purchasing a new car for a few months now, and so have been visiting various Web sites to get more information. I recently visited Mazda Canada's and saw the new 2004 RX-8. Interested, I went to a local dealership but was shocked to learn (even though I was told that there were no RX-8s at any Mazda dealership and that they were only due to arrive in early June) that I would be unable to purchase a 2004 RX-8 as they have all already been sold!

The sales representative said (confirmed by a CSR at Mazda Canada) that exactly 700 of the 2004 RX-8's have been made for, and are now shipping to, Canada. The dealership I visited said that they had sold all 14 RX-8s that they were presumably allocated, but said that if I waited until July, that I could put in an order for a 2005 RX-8, which is due to ship sometime in September of 2004! I find this to be incredibly shocking if true. Can someone please explain why anyone — let alone 700 people — would purchase (or put a deposit on) an automobile that they haven't even sat in, let alone driven?

This isn't the first time I was told this by a Mazda salesperson either. A similar story was recited when the Protegé5s were due to be released some years ago. I find it odd that a company would resort to this kind of promotion in order to create an environment of "frenzy" among consumers, just to sell vehicles. (Perhaps even above the manufacturer's suggested retail price?)

Sucks to be in Canada eh?
:tongue: