MAZDASPEED3 Selected Best New Sports Car Under $50,000

Automobile Journalists Association of Canada announces best new vehicles for 2007

ONTARIO, Canada - November 22, 2006: The 2007 MAZDASPEED3 was selected the Best New Sports/Performance Car under $50,000 today by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. The MAZDASPEED3, based upon the popular Mazda3 compact hatchback and introduced in September of this year, produces 263-horsepower from its 2.3-litre, direct-injection, turbo-charged, four-cylinder engine.

“At Mazda we like to say that we put the soul of a sports car in every car we design and the MAZDASPEED3 is the epitome of that philosophy,” said Don Romano, president of Mazda Canada Inc. in accepting the award. “Winning this prestigious award from the most discerning automobile critics, based upon back to back testing against competitive vehicles, certainly attests to Mazda’s engineering expertise,” he continued.

The 2007 MAZDASPEED3 went on sale in September and has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $30,995. The car is equipped with a 2.3-litre, direct-injection, turbocharged engine, dynamic stability control, traction control, limited slip differential, 6-speed manual transmission, 18-inch alloy wheels, front and side airbags and side air curtains.

The Canadian Car of the Year awards, bestowed by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, are based upon a rigorous testing program that includes “real world” driving on public roads and on a closed high performance driving circuit. Journalists evaluate each vehicle in its class based upon back-to-back testing, on the same roads, under the same conditions, to ensure objective evaluation in twenty-one separate parameters.