How Mazda found its automotive-marketing niche
In 2008, the floor fell out from the US economy. The automotive industry, in particular, was hit hard. In just a year, new-car sales dropped more than 30%, from 16 million units to 11 million. And the average age of a car on the American roads rose to 11 years, a new high.
For Mazda's North American Operations, the decline was just as powerful as it was throughout the industry. But it wasn't as crippling as it might have been for one of the legendary Big Three automakers, or one of...