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"Zoom-Zoom Live features four dynamic drive courses where the public can put their driving skills to the test in Mazda vehicles! Experience the all-new CX-7 crossover SUV on the “Target Hunt” Course. On this course, drivers will attempt to pilot the CX-7 within a predetermined time range and hit all targets for a chance to win prizes."

http://www.thefordblog.com/zoom-zoom-live-returns/

I attended last year's event and found it to be a blast. I really want to drive the RX-8 again and and really hit the slalom hard.  

WOW, there is certainly a joke in there somewhere about using an SUV to purposely hit things. Is the Nissan tour going to have a skills section where you have to chase down kids on tricycles in reverse?

Serioulsy though, I am sure this a lot of fun, and I may have to try and go. If nothing else I love having sales people try and talk me into buying a Miata when I can't even get in them with the top up.  

whack it's being held in DC. i'd go to this if it were around OC, i always wanted to try out the new mx-5  

Sounds like a fun event to me.

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Mazda 5 Accessories - Download The 2006 Mazda 5 Accessories Catalog by Mazda USA  

I attended both years- 05 and 06.  

I had been aware of Mazda's quality and performance for many years, but it had not happened that I owned any of their cars.  Then my girlfriend's daughter totaled her Camry, and she (GF) was unable to afford a newer car to replace it, at the time.  Turns out a co-worker was moving from her apartment and had an 89 MX-6 that was surplus- she offered to give it to Gale.  That's right, a free car.  A through cleaning (tree fall-out, mostly), a battery, and later a new clutch, and the 236,000-mile car was on the road again.  We got about 18 months and mileage knocking on the door of 300,000 before the head gasket blew- then we found another MX-6, this one a 90 model, that we scored at nearly the same price, so the first one was sadly sold.  MX-6 #2 went another year with little repairs needed, and was sold at a nice profit to a man who, at last report, was very pleased with it.  Sort of between the two cars, I bought an 88 MX-6 Turbo, very cheap, too, but it's issues proved to be too extensive to make repairs worth while.  

Zoom-zoom live was a real hoot.  The most interesting event was the Jinba Ittai Experience, in which you drive a MX-5/Miata around a very curvy course, trying to keep three golf balls from rolling off a lucite plate and into a lucite bowl, the whole contraption suction-cup'ed to the hood.  I understand this is popular in Japan, I thought it was a bit wierd and, well, Japanese, but there is no denying it takes skill.  My favorite event was, for 2005, the School of Zoom, where you go thru a short classroom course on trail breaking, then drive a RX-8 thru a Gymkana course with a Team Mazda race car driver sitting shotgun, critiquing your driving.  I found it both very illuminating and great fun, and I stood in line for it three times, in order to better hone my trail-braking skills.  The most popular event, both years, was the autocross, in which you drove  a Miata on a timed course; the fastest time of each event won something of value- and I forget what it was.  You can probably tell- I didn't win.  Did get several Zoom-Zoom Live Tee-shirts.  

For '06, the Jinba Ittai Experience was gone, School of Zoom was sadly replaced with a un-timed gymkana using RX-8's but no instruction or critique, and the promised MazdaSpeed 3's were experiencing production delays and thus replaced with the older MazdaSpeed 6's.  The timed Gymkana was driven in either MazdaSpeed 6's or MX-5's.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and would recommend it to anyone, regardless of driving experience or perceived skill.  That is, I WOULD recommend it, but, alas, Mazda has not seen fit to repeat the event for 07 or 08- a truly sad state of affairs.  In retrospect, it is obvious that Mazda was losing it's heart for the event even in '06.  Really too bad, as the 05 event played a part in me buying an 03 Protege 5, and the 06 event being part of why Gale just yesterday bought a MX-5/Miata.  

Please, Mazda, bring it back.