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Friday, February 03, 2006 

MPV: Mazda's Popular minivan

Author: Kimberly Meyer
In Japan, the Mazda MPV is known, marketed, and sold as the
Efini MPV. This vehicle first made its way to public knowledge
in 1989. It was constructed to be a rear wheel drive vehicle.
Later on in 2000, it came back with a more modern front wheel
drive. Originally, the Mazda MPV was designed in its every
minute detail as a minivan. This was destined to be sold to the
American market.

The Mazda MPV was first constructed using Mazda's best platform
that time. The company used the Mazda 929's HC to be able to
develop and start out the Mazda MPV's LV platform. Later on in
the design and construction process for this vehicle, the Mazda
MPV was equipped with a V6 engine and an optional all wheel
drive. This vehicle features traditional hinged doors instead of
the sliding rear doors.

Making waves with the press, the Mazda MPV then earned its way
to being named a part of the Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best
list for two consecutive years - 1990 and 1991. This magazine
also featured the Mazda MPV as one of their "vehicles for the
coming (fuel) crisis". However, on the other hand, the Mazda MPV
made a big unwanted splash with crash testers. Out of the four
stars that a vehicle could receive from the Australian ANCAP
crash test, the Mazda MPV only received one little star. As for
the American IIHS crash tests, the vehicle received a poor
"Marginal" rating. The sales for this vehicle went really well
however it rapidly declined come the period when other
automobile manufacturers started constructing and introducing to
the market all wheel drivers and V6 engines.

In 1996, this vehicle underwent a refreshing. The I4 engine went
into retirement and it was replaced with a similar engine - a
2.5 liter unit. Come the year 2000, the Mazda MPV came with a
front wheel drive LW platform that was based on the Mazda 626.
This set of Mazda MPVs was considered to be the second in this
model's generation. It came this time to be more traditional
than the first batch. It held sliding rear doors and a front
wheel drive. However, what was different for this generation
includes a rear seat that folds flat into the floor and rear
door windows that are rolled down. In 2002, the changes for the
vehicle included a change in power by using the Mazda AJ 3.0
liter V6 engine along with a 5-speed automatic transmission.
This now has the capacity to produce 200 horsepower and 200
pound feet of torque. Other than that, upgrades included a
larger grille that sported a single chrome bar at the top, a
more aggressive look and new headlights and tail lights.

All genuine quality Mazda MPV parts
like a/c condensers, bumpers,
carpets, wheels, radiators, hoods, and catalytic
converters
to name a few have been made available for
customers and Mazda owners in great discounts and wholesale
prices at Mazda Parts and Mazda Auto Parts. The proven
reliability of
Mazda Parts and Mazda Auto Parts' collection keeps
customer loyalty for years.

About the author:
Kimberly Meyer is an expert when it comes to automotive issues.
She is the manager of her own car parts manufacturing company.
This 33 year-old maiden is also a talented writer.