For recent years one of the most interesting trends so far in the auto industry has been the spread of performance branding wherein manufacturers offer sports oriented versions of some or all of their product lines.

This new marketing concept has become one of the most appealing aspects of modern automobile promotion which can take many forms and cover a wide array of price levels. At the top of the market are vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz AMG range, which includes everything from the small C-Class to variants on the SL sports model and even up to the full-size SUV ranges.

To match Mercedes AMG range, BMW has launched its M-cars which are performance upgrades of models like the 3-Series and 5-Series. Volkswagen not be lag behind has also launched its Audi with an “S” prefix to denote a model that offer something special under the hood and in the suspension department.

It is quite noticeable that Japanese nameplate products have not been very active in joining the performance branding trend but that doesn’t mean that they are completely abandoning the concept. As a matter of fact, Mazda the producer of top-of-the-line Mazda header has its Mazdaspeed upgrades which is obviously have a lot to do with performance enhancement. In a way this is Mazda’s way of showing how performance branding can boost the appeal of a range of vehicles.

Mazda have done Mazdaspeed versions of four of its models namely the rotary-engined RX-8 sports coupe, the Mazda MX-5 sports , the Mazda3 hatchback, and the Mazda6 four-door sports sedan. Mazda differs from most of its performance version rivals by offering added upgrades individually rather than as part of a full package like Mercedes AMG or BMW M-cars. This means that Mazda customers can upgrade their vehicles without necessarily having to spend a fortune by simple buying performance kits which cost less and yet significantly improves the performance of the car.