Phantom purple owner!... add me to the list!!!... S.Austin!

 

Initially, I somewhat dismissed this thread, assuming that the information on the reportedly outgoing and replacement colors were false. However, I was at my local dealership this morning for a scheduled maintenance on my car, and there was a Crystal White Pearl Mica Mazdaspeed3 in the lot! After seeing the changes to the interior appointments firsthand, I found them to be, as I had expected, disappointing: (1) the brushed gunmetal surfaces have been replaced by piano black... too reflective and distracting when sunlight hits it, not to mention a fingerprint magnet (2) the gray sport cloth on the seats and door panels are replaced by black alcantara and the "perforations" on the alcantara are red in the center (3) the Mazdaspeed scuff plates are now color coded with the body instead of metallic (4) instead of blackout gauges, they are now white with red markers/numbers when lit up.
Another noticeable change is the addition of a Mazdaspeed logo, affixed to the plastic dashboard piece positioned above the glovebox and left of the a/c vent. On a positive note, the CD player is now MP3 compatible. I'm sure the new interior appointments will still appeal to many, but I'm VERY happy that I got my MS3 before these changes were made! Attached are a few pics I took with my phone's camera.

[IMG]local://upfiles/11245/717B910BB3DD4F8EA4003BC5CCF886B7.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/11245/91A75DEA1FFC4C23BDBE80AAD215989F.jpg[/IMG]

 

Here are some additional photos...

[IMG]local://upfiles/11245/C893C89CF7F342568ED7C0072E7794E3.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]local://upfiles/11245/F2213F0DA8C142D7A2C616159D131CEB.jpg[/IMG]

 

My Mazda Dealer is not a Speed Dealer, but they did have a new dark blue that looked really sweet there.

 

i love the white color... omg.. but u kno wat.. now that the silver is gonna unavailable (is it?) my car will be even more rare! and i love the interior of the car.. NOTHING needs to be changed.. except the A pillar pannels and roof cloth.. the bottom half of my interior and gray, black, red stiching. and the A pillars and up are beige.... yuck...

 

i went to the auto show yesterday and they had the red 08 speed 3 there.. i saw the inside.. i dont like it..

that i didnt notice

 

I wonder if this only applies to the 2 new colors: Crystal White Pearl Mica and Galaxy Gray. Surprisingly, I did not fall in love with the MS3 in white, like I thought I would. The softness of the pearl mica just doesn't convey the car's sportiness; this colorwould be more appropriate for a luxury sedan or a car with a less sporty nature (or a girl's car). I much prefer Virgin1's Rally White! Mazda should have customized a stark white color for the MS3 and given it an appropriate name like Arctic White. Since the new white MS3 is a disappointment to me,I'm even moresatisfied with my color choice of silver. Heh-heh...

 

Here's an eBayauction link for a 2008 Crystal White Pearl Mica Mazdaspeed3 (obviously the link will expire soon after the car sells):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda...spagenameZWDVW

There are some nice pics that feature the internal trim updates on the MS3. In one of the pics, you can even see how the center of the perforations on the alcantaraare red. In addition, you'll see that the scuff plates now match the car's paint color... I find this to be the oddest update, as I think scuff plates should always be an unfinished or "naked" metal.