The non-powered antenna mount arrived from Trussville today, so right after work I spent the next hour or so tearing apart the trunk to swap out the powered one for the fixed mount. I had to undo the CD Changer from it’s base and various other trunk trim bits, so I could remove the plastic pocket for access to the antenna mount mounting.
I coughed up $45 for the OEM Mazda unit because of where it is mounted in the fender. If I bought a generic one and just clamped it to the fender, then someone pulled or bent at the antenna it would do the same to the thin metal fender below. The OEM mount is basically the powered one without the motor that clamps onto the fender and is bolted to a metal piece making a very rigid system.
While I had the unit apart I painted the shiny bit that is the nut on the top semi-flat black to match all black plastic mounting base and the antenna, which I still don’t have. With a deck full of MP3s, who needs the radio? I may want to get one before Saturday though, that is the next possible time I would be using the radio, Car Talk comes on at 10:00AM.