Any news if they'll work the all wheel drive from the 6 in to the 5? Seems like that'd be huge for sales in the north east. If so, any ideas when?

[:-] I think it whould take a little bit :( 2008 [:@]

While patiently (not!) awaiting delivery of my M5, I am beginning to obsess about some of the things that I worry about with this car. I am primarily concerned with the tires. I frankly hadn't been all that attentive to the fact that these were of the low-profile variety until someone posted about it on one of these forums. I live in central New Jersey fairly close to the shore, so we don't typically get too much snow. The last couple of years however, have been exceptions to this rule. I guess my question is: are there others out there who are concerned about how this car will handle snow/slush/ice when it inevitably shows up? Is it going to be necessary to purchase a set of snow tires and have all that rubber hanging around in storage? Am I going to be advised to switch to a taller tire and/or a smaller rim? My guess is that the size of the stock tires and wheels are what the car is engineered to have on it. Any input on this issue is appreciated.
p.s. This isn't exactly on the topic of AWD, but I didn't want to start a new thread.

Agreed. I thought that would be big sell in the North East.

Mazda is selling AWD version of the Mazda5 in Japen... you can check out the Mazda's Japen website.

http://www.premacy.mazda.co.jp/spec1.html

on any car that has nice alu rims, you are going to want a set of winter steelies and appropriate tires. thats just a given. The salt we put down on the roads is really hard on the finish. I'm ordering a set of 16 inch steelies and Pirelli winter carving for the Toronto winters.

AWD would be nice, but you still need good winter tires