Auto News 5

Poor Mazda. The Japanese carmaker tried for more than two decades to sell Americans a small utility vehicle, but no one cared. Remember the Navajo, a rebadged Ford Explorer two-door that debuted for 1991? Neither do we. Mazda followed up with the Tribute, another rebadged Ford. Like the Escape it shared almost every part with, the Tribute was a fine vehicle in its day, but Ford's marketing machine made sure its version always far outsold Mazda's. Then came the CX-7. Sure, it was sleek, but it couldn't decide if it was a compact crossover or a mid-size crossover. Consumers were clear on one thing, though: they didn't want it. Actually, they didn't even know it existed. So Mazda watched enviously as the small-crossover segment grew, dominated by the Escape and the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4. Then, for 2013, Mazda brought out the CX-5, and the skies cleared.