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D8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, September 12, 2001 DOES YOUR CAR WAX GIVE YOU BETTER OAKVILLE NISSAN 6 1 6 York St. Oakville W o le a w i PROTECTION THAN YOUR CUT-RATE CAR INSURANCE? Don't trust just anyone to insure your car, see me: B ob M c In to s h W ayne M cGill 2345V tyeaoftR d. #21, Oakville Direct: 9 0 5 -8 2 7 -7 1 9 1 all makes and models. 847-5671 .4 / i Oakiilk Beater Advertising Feature To advertise in this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 Called the MP3 because of its state-of-the-art digital sound system, this version of the Mazda Protege also has the kind of urban look that goes with the music. M azda officials said they knew they had a winner in Protege5 wagon when vandals started prying off the badges from the tailgate in parking lots. Based on that yardstick, the 2002 Protege MP3 is going to be a smash, because thieves are scaling high barbed wire fences at Mazda Canada head quarters to steal the special Racing Beat alloy wheels and the astounding Kenwood stereo system with its 10inch woofer. (A note to thieves -- the cars are now stored indoors at another location). And while I had the car, I kept it locked up in the garage overnight just to be sure. What is so hot all of a sudden about the Protege? People are lining up to get the Protege5 wagon (especially in yellow). And with only 250 MP3s coming into Canada this year, anyone with his/her order placed should be able to make a handsome profit on resale. But after a week with the car, you wonder why anyone would want to part company with it. It hits the sweet spot of the urban youth market with meanstreet looks and handling, not to men tion the sound system. It's sort of like a custom aftermarket car from the factory, the up side being that add-ons fit and work as advertised. Having seen the lengths and expense Mazda puts the boom boom in zoom zoom JIM ROBINSON Road Worthy affluent young people will go to in order to truly stand out, Mazda decided to go to aftermarket biggie Racing Beat to give the MP3 go and show to match the Kenwood sound. This they did by lowering the sus pension and adding re-valved Tokico shocks along with special springs and stabilizer bars. Then they dialed in a set of absolutely knock-out 17-inch alloy wheels and low profile tires. Open the hood and vibrant yellow stress bar con nects the front shock towers while the engine compartment is dressed to impress. With more aggressive body work, extended lower side panels and a big wing on the rear deck, the MP3 is not your everyday economy car. It was interesting to note reactions. Anyone middle aged or above seemed indifferent to the MP3. But at stop signs, the younger set nudged others in their car to take a peak. They certainly noticed - another indication Mazda is on to a good thing here. Power from the standard 2.0-litre, four-cylinder twin cam is increased from 130 hp to 140 hp (142 lb/ft of torque) which doesn't sound like much. And the nimble Protege as it comes from off the boat is already capable of carving up its competitors right out of the box. But with the Racing Beat/Tokico combination, the MP3 edges close to the sports sedan handling level at the expense of a slightly stiffer ride. So while it isn't all that much faster than the stock Protege, it feels like it. On the inside you get a lot of black cloth relieved by silvery inserts in the seats. The M azda Protege and its patented Optispace interior is unchanged which means lots of back seat room - but with the Kenwood sound system, I imagine the rear seat will be folded down most of the time so the 10-inch woofer in the trunk can do its thing. This car, of course, takes its name from the MP3 digital music format made so popular by Napster. What an In the trunk is a very large and lusty 10-inch woofer. MP3 does is compress the data so that you can get a lot more into one space. The Kenwood Excelon Z828 system is one of the first MP3 readers fitted to any car, not just from the factory, but anywhere. This four-channel, 280-watt system has a player that can read regu lar CDs but it can also read MP3 songs burned onto CD-Rs and replay them through the system without a bunch of software complicate things. The only hard part is learning how to use th'e remote that comes with the sys tem. There are buttons on the radio face as a back up, but they are each about the size of a grain of rice. While you can listen to the AM/FM radio, most of the people who buy this car are going to be audiophiles who love to mix and produce their own music. So with the MP3, it is a case of you can take it with you. These cars are also going to be rare. The mere 250 offered in Canada this year are offered in only Laser Blue Mica. Price is $23,795, which consider ing its uniqueness, makes the MP3 a future collector car at a price most can afford. But most people are going to pur chase a MP3 for the sheer fun of it, which is exactly what Mazda wants. With the Protege MP3, Mazda has taken the zoom, zoom, zoom and given it a healthy dose of boom. 0 % · * purchase financing for up to 3 6 m onths on new 2001 m azdasf MAZDA MPV event ° NO PAYMENTS, < 3& N 0 INTEREST FOR 6 0 DRYSP MAZDA B 4 0 0 0 SE PLUS lease fro m ej f f c * per m o n th /4 8 m onths d ow n p a ym e n t $3,800 NO SE C U R ITY DEPO SIT ON LEASES^ $ 5 ,0 0 0 dow n or tra d e e q u iv a le n t on le a se , fr e ig h t and P .D .I. in clu d e d . C onvenience P acka ge w ith · cru ise c o n tro l · po w er door lo ck s · po w e r w in d o w s £ m irro rs · a ir c o n d itio n in g · s ta n d a rd dual airbags · 3rd ro w tu m b le under s e a ts · 2nd ro w s lid e by slid e. · cash purchase fro m cash purchase fro m $ 3 ,8 0 0 dow n or tra d e e q u iv a le n t on le a se , fr e ig h t and P .D .I. in clu d e d . 4 L itre V6 a u to m a tic P ow er group AM/FM CD player flir c o n d itio n in g A lloy W heels Fog ig h ts 4 doors ... plus m u ch m ore O ffer ends m onth 00, 2001 Ht lease fro m OR o per m o n th /4 8 m o nth s 0 Oakville m azoa 1 2 91 SPEERS R O A D Norfo side between 3rd Line & 4th line UJhere Good Seruice Is H Fact. Hot Just fl Promise! www.oakvillemazda.com 905- 827-4242 1999 D odge D ak o ta Club Cab Finished in black clear coat only 41,000 kms., with balance of factory warranty. Features include automatic, air conditioning, hard tonneau cover, extended cab and more. 1999 Honda Accord Sedan Finished in forest green, low kms., w ith facotry warranty remaining. Features include: power windows, power locks, CD stereo, cruise con trol, t i l t air conditioning and more. 1998 M ercury M ystique Sport Finished in light beige, only 46,000 kms., with 6 month, 10,000 kms. warranty. Features include: power windows, power locks, alloy wheels, cruise control, t i lt air conditioning and more. SALE PRICE > 1 3 .8 8 8 I O fK W O n n O c h r 175 W yecroft Road,Oakville 905.845.6653 (between Kerr & Dorval) * & «& © i v <5 · Peace of Mind w ith DaimlerChrysler Canada In c backed w arranty y s iV r Oakville's 2000 · 2001 five Star Certified Dealership Vehicles are plus taxes and license.. · Roadside Assistance · Quality Reconditioning · Nationw ide Service