I hope nobody here is waiting for a special-order RX-8...

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/northwest/story/5978114p-5256224c.html

Nearly 1,400 new Mazdas scheduled to arrive at the Port of Tacoma this weekend might end up at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean instead.
The transport carrying them began to take on water over the weekend and the Coast Guard urged its crew members to abandon ship Monday.

The Cougar Ace was carrying a total of about 4,800 cars from Japan to Canada when it began to list Sunday night in the stormy waters off the western Aleutian Islands.

“It’s sitting on its side, basically,” Petty Officer Stephen Harrison said.

Some of the Mazdas were due in Tacoma this Sunday, said Mike Wasem, spokesman for the Port of Tacoma. The port, which expects to import as many as 160,000 vehicles this year, expected to receive 1,376 vehicles from the ship, he said.

“It’s just an unfortunate thing,” Wasem said. “You’ve just got to hope all the crew is safe and sound.”

Most of the vehicles imported by the port are shipped by train to parts of the Upper Midwest and the East Coast, he said. In addition to Mazda, the port imports vehicles from Isuzu, Kia, Mitsubishi and Suzuki.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/images/unisys-images/20060725-images/NWS0725_SHIP_P.JPG

holy freakin shit, it probably had a bunch of silver ones on it.

HOLY!!! yes!! must be all silvers aboard
________
Iolite Vaporizer Website (http://www.vaporizers.net/)

holy freakin shit, it probably had a bunch of silver ones on it.
....and the ship was silver also I bet!!! The shipment was doomed from the getgo!!

The boat is 2 shades of silver!!! I bet a soccer mom in her new scooner hit the shit out of that ship well talking on the phone and applying some unflattering makeup.

The boat is 2 shades of silver!!! I bet a soccer mom in her new scooner hit the shit out of that ship well talking on the phone and applying some unflattering makeup.

I think I read somewhere in that news article that the woman driving the boat claims she didnt see the freighter. I think the excessive amount of Silver 8's extended their cloaking device to include the Silver Ship..... hehe.. sorry in a funny mood right now or attempting to be sawwy folks :Eyecrazy:

well there go the northwest allocations of vert hartop mx-5s and mazdaspeed 3s :(

Looks like the ship was Sunlight Silver AND Titanium Gray making it the ugliest colors possible.
Had there been at least 1/3 Brilliant Black in the scheme, it wouldn't have sunk a probably would have magically floated completely above the surface of the water to Tacoma.

Looks like the ship was Sunlight Silver AND Titanium Gray making it the ugliest colors possible.
Had there been at least 1/3 Brilliant Black in the scheme, it wouldn't have sunk a probably would have magically floated completely above the surface of the water to Tacoma.
plus it would arrive in half the time :mdrmed:

i'm with maniac. haha

what a shame. Time to go salvage some and sell them on the used car market.

"Whats that fishy smell in the MX-5 you ask? Mazda's got a sick sense of humor".

Hate to spoil your fun, but actually the ship is blue and white. That picture is just in grey scale.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/25/cargo.ship.reut/

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/americas/07/25/cargo.ship.reut/story.ship.ap.jpg

Looks like the ship was Sunlight Silver AND Titanium Gray making it the ugliest colors possible.


HEY!!!! :cussing:

Titanium Gray is a great colour lol... That said, it was either titanium gray, or wait for the next shipments of 8's to arrive (ard 6-8 months)

:shocked:

wow cool sad

:crying: Looks like the ship was Sunlight Silver AND Titanium Gray making it the ugliest colors possible.


Thanks Jeff, :crying:

When I saw the news at noon they were saying that the boat basically "tipped over" and all the cars were presumed to have shifted in their position and that it was a good bet that a portion of them would have body damage and that kept being stressed as the biggest concern at that point. They didn't say anything about the boat taking on water. I figured it probably would be since it is capsized, though. That really sucks. Those poor cars! :tear:

Hate to spoil your fun, but actually the ship is blue and white. That picture is just in grey scale.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/25/cargo.ship.reut/

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2006/WORLD/americas/07/25/cargo.ship.reut/story.ship.ap.jpg

LIES!! LIES I SAY...!!! arsehole spoiling our fun!! :anger:

LIES!! LIES I SAY...!!! arsehole spoiling our fun!! :anger:

I believe that's the new blue color.

I think the captain turned off the ships DSC to get 5 extra HP and save on diesel.

Here's the picture in color...

HOLY CRAP SHIT!!

My cars on a boat right now!!!! D*mn, i should of bought the extra insurance. Only a few more days till mine arrives in port
*crossing fingers*

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK

sorry big o your being in dallas means your "port" is midlothian they off load for midlothian in tacoma. there is a very good chance your car is on that boat:(

It appears that the ship couldn't handle the twisties. Where was it built, Detroit? :)

i am going to hell if his car is on that boat..

beers :beer:

three hour tour.

Why would his car be on that boat? Wasn't it going from the mainland to Hawaii?
That freighter was coming here, right?

my car is on the Mahi-Mahi... and the last i checked (2 min ago) its still floating in the pacific

only a few more days left until it reaches port in Honolulu

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81956&stc=1

^^^ LOL. Nice Work.

holy freakin shit, it probably had a bunch of silver ones on it.

:tear: :xyxwave: :crying:

I think the captain turned off the ships DSC to get 5 extra HP and save on diesel.

:yesnod: LOL!!!

I hope all the boat pictures were all faked - the boat seems too high to be full and its tipped when there are no waves? Does it use the same computer program as that tipped over love boat? Hey computer hackers can this boat be salvaged?

This has happend before, the most famous one being the TriColor (http://www.tricolorsalvage.com/pages/history.asp) back in 2003 with Volvo's, BMW's on it.

60% are Mazda3s and 25% are CX-7s. no word on the otehr 15% although i have made inquiries. also no word yet on what percentage of the 3s may be MS3s

I hope they salvage the boat. That would be great if it did not sink.

Then there would be plenty of cheap prats available.

That picture doesn't look real tho.

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81956&stc=1
ah ... so refreshing to see she's still around. i miss her!

This has happend before, the most famous one being the TriColor (http://www.tricolorsalvage.com/pages/history.asp) back in 2003 with Volvo's, BMW's on it.Thats the last thing i wanted to see right now :(

http:// ....and the ship was silver also I bet!!! The shipment was doomed from the getgo!!

CRAP Zoom!!! so much for Jim Sullivan talking about all this extra allocation of MS / CX cars in the next few months!

Why oh why did they have to turn the DSC off?????

no kidding. wait to the next video hits the fan.. which could be soon... since someone is not answering my email:(

keep me posted Zoom....

Looks like the ship was Sunlight Silver AND Titanium Gray making it the ugliest colors possible.
Had there been at least 1/3 Brilliant Black in the scheme, it wouldn't have sunk a probably would have magically floated completely above the surface of the water to Tacoma.

My car and I will take that personally. Hrmph :nono:

If they take off the captain and the crew she is ripe for salvage - The hull is still intact, wonder how the ballast chambers are arranged - here is our new 8 movie - haunted ship, approaching storm, brave crab fishermen, a treasure load of 8s - wonder how water tight the containers are and if they could be floated independantly - Would the ship right itself if they dropped the cargo? Need a big barge with a big crane....

I was at my dealer today, and one of the guys mentioned they have somewhere around 10 or 12 cars on this boat... still waiting to hear their fate.

holy insurance claim, batman!

Here's some post updates to that listed Cougar Ace...

From http://www.komo4.com/stories/44678.htm

:tear:

"Member Of Salvage Team Dies In Accident On Listing Ship

July 31, 2006

By Associated Press


ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - A naval architect from Seattle died in a fall on board an auto-carrying ship that is drifting on it side in the north Pacific.

The Coast Guard says he was part of a salvage team assessing the Cougar Ace Sunday when he fell about 80 feet and was knocked unconscious.

He was taken to a Coast Guard cutter where he was declared dead. His name has not been released.

The 654-foot Cougar Ace has been drifting more than a week near the Aleutian Islands, after tipping on its side while the crew was adjusting the ballast.

The ship is loaded with nearly 5,000 cars, mostly Mazdas that were destined for delivering in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Tacoma."


... accident you say?!? Could there be a continuting correlation to the silver cursed RX-8 possibly on board? :shocking:

Why didnt you just add this to the existing thread? It's not even a week old...

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=95159

yikes. on land or sea, the silver 8 and those who come near it, are cursed.

aw man, is was funny before joking about it being silver, but its scary to hear about an actual death. pray for the family.

I love my silver 8.

80ft? I wear a harness on anything over 12 feet....

i merged the two threads to keep the stories together

got this off the rsx site...pretty funny...

MULLIGAN!!

(check out zoom44's thread about how MNAO decided to just ignore all 8 owners from now on)

awful to hear about the death though.

:yelrotflm :werd:

Death is sad though.

http://www.alaskareport.com/coastguard10125.htm

they are towing it now.. check out the picture of the guys on it..


http://www.alaskareport.com/images/rescue33.jpg

there's also a video of the rescue here http://www.alaskareport.com/shiprescue.wmv

from a co-worker

we need that punk girl to kick it to the other side so it'll right itself !

How many Mazda sales guys will be offering a deal on inventory with "capsized damage"?

It'll put the "hail damage" stuff to shame.....

How many Mazda sales guys will be offering a deal on inventory with "capsized damage"?

It'll put the "hail damage" stuff to shame.....


look at expos post in the beginning.. the cars are going too look like that.

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81969

My brother is a crewman aboard one of the tugs that dragged and moored it to a bouy. Here's an excerpt from his email. He has quite a few pics that he will be uploading to his flickr account, I'll post the link when he does. They might be boarding it when they start the operations to right it. I'll see if he can get any inside pics of the damage to the cars.

---

You may or may not have heard about it, but a Jap car carrier called the Cougar Ace rolled over south of the Aleutians about a week ago. If you didn't see it on the news, google it. We were called out for the salvage job, but we had other ship assists to do. A Crowley tug finally towed it in to Dutch today. Us and 4 other tugs, coast guard, helped it moor to a buoy today. I'll get some pictures uploaded to Flickr later. It was pretty amazing. It had a 75% list, the keel and prop was sticking out of the water. One member of the salvage team died from a fall a few days ago. We are going to try to right it over the next few days.

Other than that excitement, it's been real slow up here. Most of the boats can't find any fish, so I'm making less overtime $ than usual. We're just going to the gym a lot and fishing for halibut every day.

If nothing else, at least the xenon headlights (of any 8's) will level.

If nothing else, at least the xenon headlights (of any 8's) will level.
haha, hate to laugh but that was pretty funny

small update, no word on photos from him yet. Though he promised to take a peek inside if possible.


They say all the cars are lashed down, and since it didn't go all the way over, most should be dry. They should give all the salvage crews some cars for hazard pay.

The boat is 2 shades of silver!!! I bet a soccer mom in her new scooner hit the shit out of that ship well talking on the phone and applying some unflattering makeup.



Ok so I'm two weeks late on reading this....but that comment was freaking hilarious!
Also...I've had my SILVER 8 for about three months now and still don't know what all the fuss is about with the "curse of the silver" comments.

^^^ Ohhh there ya go... now you just jinx'd yourself and guaranted to be another statistic. You might as well just run the car into a ditch yourself and get it all done and over with. =p

Here's a pic from the city of Unalaska's website:
http://www.unalaska-ak.us/vertical/Sites/{0227B6A7-A82F-4BFC-9D02-A4B2D3A8BC35}/uploads/{E8A1BAD4-3AF1-417D-A2F7-2C2A1D961657}.JPG
Are either of those tugs your brother's boat, Labop?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11536514@N00/sets/72157594232585176/

Not sure which one. He is usually on the Gyrfalcon, which I think is still in drydock. I need to ask the name of the ship he is currently on. I know they just took another tug up there to stand in for the Gyrfalcon, I'll get more info from him.

wow, that's really amazing.

Incredible pictures. I hope they can save most of the cars.

Another update from my brother, apparently he is on one of those ships.

I am on the Millennium Star. It is the tug that says Tractor Tug on the side. The Gyrfalcon is working down in Seattle and getting fitted with a bow winch for ship assist work. She will be back up in a few months. Hopefully I'm off so I can make the trip.

The cougar ace is still anchored up with an 80% list. The are divers on it right now trying to dry out the engine and pump rooms. When they are ready to pump ballast and right it, we will stand by alongside, maybe with a line up to help pull.

I have a lot more photos, but I'm maxed out until pro takes effect.

ok, hope they can save those cars that havent been damaged... with the ship tilted like that, i bet all the cars are right up on each other.... all the paint must be screwed up, not to mention the mirrors are also all damaged...

look at expos post in the beginning.. the cars are going too look like that.

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81969

Probably not, the Tricolor sank, which is why those cars are so disgusting. They say the cars were lashed down on the Cougar Ace too, but I doubt whatever they used to lash down the cars can handle an 80% list... Probably just a ton of body damage with a lot of salvageable navigation systems... :)

-P23

Here's a pic from the city of Unalaska's website:
http://www.unalaska-ak.us/vertical/Sites/{0227B6A7-A82F-4BFC-9D02-A4B2D3A8BC35}/uploads/{E8A1BAD4-3AF1-417D-A2F7-2C2A1D961657}.JPG
Are either of those tugs your brother's boat, Labop?

I see a Future Carfax commerical outa this, not sure why I just do.

Even if they were dented a bit, it would be ever so cool if the salvage gang could get some cars- great advertising! And there are some nice places to enjoy driving in Alalska (there is at least one really good road (during summer). Sorry to hear fishing is down - we have a lot of fishing boats at Morro sitting idle because of new fishing regs - was sorry to hear other fishermen not having luck!

^^^ i'm not trying to start problems or cause any negative feelings with what i'm about to express, but am i the only one that notices that that has nothing to do with the topic at hand or even the topic within the topic. its more along the lines of random thoughts quickly typed about whatever memory that the current topic causes you to remember. i believe you are a fine person winfree :), but your mind works differently in processing current information.

I see a Future Carfax commerical outa this, not sure why I just do.

^ I can see it too.....

"Fresh off the boat"
or
"NEW SHIPMENT"

holy crap! thatz sad!

One heck of an insurance payout.

here's the latest update.

http://cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_cougar-ace2.html

they have reduced the list to 57 degrees and are pumping more water today if the weather improves.

From the pictures, it looks like the weather was unusually good - no major waves! How rare is that! Alaskan seas are notorius for being ship killers - and it's wave action that would smash around the contents of the container boxes - if the cars are not too beat up this might even end the curse of the silvers! :ylsuper:

Dills - you are correct - you have been posting stuff that has nothing to do with this thread! But since you insist - some engines have pistons, some are rotaries- not all minds process info the same way. How nice of you to notice and share! If you are trying to be a troll you are a success! :bootyshak

^^^ i'm not trying to start problems or cause any negative feelings with what i'm about to express, but am i the only one that notices that that has nothing to do with the topic at hand or even the topic within the topic. its more along the lines of random thoughts quickly typed about whatever memory that the current topic causes you to remember. i believe you are a fine person winfree :), but your mind works differently in processing current information.

I still can't understand how that f8cker didn't go under. Taking on enough water to hit an 80% list, but still kept up? That's impressive.

Wierd - isn't it? Tell's you the weather must have been a miracle! Did'nt they have a cruise ship do something like this?

the crew at least did thier job of sealing all the hatches in the ship that's what kept it afloat. it probably was a problem with a bilge/ballast pump failure that made it list and it got out of control very quickly. once the engine came out of the water there wasn't jack they could do and abandoned ship. so far everythting has gone textbook. it's sad that a salvager died, but impressive that the crew saved the boat, got off of it in high seas and that they were able to tow it to port and keep it afloat.

They had a discovery channel film on Alaskan salvagers - I sure hope this operation gets to be something like that - it has all the ear marks of a great story! Pity about the man down - hate when one of the brave guys gets it! My helicopter unit (129th Air Rescue) did some saves in the Alaskan waters so got some first hand hate for bad weather there and some real respect for Coast Guard and Salvage operations! Keep this post going to the end!

^ I can see it too.....

"Fresh off the boat"
or
"NEW SHIPMENT"

"Sea Worthy Vehicle"
or
"Fresh Ocean Scent"

Oh and a discovery documentry would be nice. Be interesting to see the how's and why's the ship did what it did.

We'll see how that galvanized metal resists seawater corrosion.

heard today that most of the cars are intact, and that most are actually hanging from the straps. some straps failed and the cars went tumbling into the rest. it supposed to be righted very soon, they brought in some special pumping equipment or something.

can't wait to see some pics.. being in the oceanographic busines has it's perks :)

^^^^

This also from cargolaw.com and a spectator...

"Was passing thru Dutch Harbor last week and took the attached picture of M/V Cougar Ace on the evening of Aug 11. Spoke with one of the salvors who said it was very stable and the grapevine had it that it would be rightened soon. We'll see. The cargo of Mazdas is said still to be intact, although hanging from straps that are stretched to the limit. Many jokes in Unalaska these days about beachcombing Mazdas"

^^^
Where did you read/hear about the tie down straps failing and some cars crashing into each other....the above quote does not state this? :)

someone who was aboard or nearby yesterday... i guess it's the talk of the town up there since the fishing hasn't been going so well. i've also heard that dutch harbor isn't doing so well this year because puget is paying MUCH more this year. almost $1 pound more. it's something big up there.

Would the salvage company actually get to own and sell the cars, or would they revert to the insurance company? Would they take the ship into its orginal port and off load it or have a big car sale off the dock? I can just imagine everybody in some little fishing villages doing trucks and snow buggies in the winter and then zipping around in 8s when the weather permits - Can you imagine 1000 8s on the Alaskan Hwy driven by crab fishermen, trappers, prospectors, oil riggers, soldiers, Alutes and a few fancy ladies from Fairbanks? Kids and big dogs looking out the back windows! Epic! :rock:

Good news is the cars are strapped down pretty well. Also, the Mazdas are in the part furthest from the water near the top.

Would they still be under Warrenty? If not would it knock the price down to the point it would be worth a flight to Alaska just to pick one up?

It would be interesting to know if they are in good enough shape to still be consider driveable and sellable. If they are intact that is pretty amazing. Think of the stories you could tell about your new car and it's traumatic trip.

I also haven't heard anything about straps failing but I did hear that a lot of them were hanging and fully intact.

she's up..

http://208.219.69.31/caup.jpg

Good news is the cars are strapped down pretty well. Also, the Mazdas are in the part furthest from the water near the top.

the whole boat was mazda's, that's all this ship does is move mazda's. also the top was in the water, infact cargo area #9 had taken on water and was partly responsible for the list. the cars would/should have been loaded as low to the bottom as possible to keep this from happening. I'm sure that now she's uprigth we'll get some pictures inside very soon.

http://208.219.69.31/cadeck.jpg

Since some of you seem to know . . .

What is the capacity of this beast?

Since some of you seem to know . . .

What is the capacity of this beast?

4,813 automobiles on board. it estimated capacity is north of 5,000 vehicles. it has a record of 5,214 in one delivery.

60% of the cars are Mazda3s & 30% are CX-7 SUVs. the other 10% is unspecified.

so according to your percentages:
2887.8 Mazda 3's
1443.9 CX-7's
481.3 unspecified (unrecognizable?) wrecks
(The decimal point are for the ones that broke apart)
Maybe?

I wonder how it will affect the CX-7 rollover rating when they had 1400+ roll at the same time :) JK
I really hope most of them made it OK it would be a shame to have to put down that many cars.

there were some few RX-8s on there and a few cars non-mazda i am told. all of the Mazda cars will be given to tech education centers around the country(even like high schools i hear) non will be salvaged or sold. dealers should all have a list of their allocated cars that were on the ship

wow, what a shame.

Can you imagine a high school shop class with a dozen 8s to play with?

there were some few RX-8s on there

silver??? :mdrmed:

the whole boat was mazda's, that's all this ship does is move mazda's. also the top was in the water, infact cargo area #9 had taken on water and was partly responsible for the list. the cars would/should have been loaded as low to the bottom as possible to keep this from happening. I'm sure that now she's uprigth we'll get some pictures inside very soon.

http://208.219.69.31/cadeck.jpg

omg! that thing is huuuge!

*thats what she said*

Can you imagine a high school shop class with a dozen 8s to play with?

We had a brand new Camaro Z28 in my 'auto shop' class......needless to say it was abused :)

What do you do on "shop class" with a car??

Is it like learning automotive paint and bodywork, or basic mechanics...?

All I got in "shop" was to learn how to make ceramic "ashtrays", making crappy wood furniture, and how to use an SLR camera

What do you do on "shop class" with a car??

Is it like learning automotive paint and bodywork, or basic mechanics...?

All I got in "shop" was to learn how to make ceramic "ashtrays", making crappy wood furniture, and how to use an SLR camera


You didn't have an auto shop class which taught basic auto mechanics?

I know I didn't. My school didn't offer one. It was a small private school. They didn't offer much of anything. It sucked. :mad:

^^

What she said. My school sucked too.

But I learned to wrench by myself with those generic auto repair books (and the model specific ones), by pestering the mechanics evry time my car went in for service (they hated me because I would stick my nose under the car while they worked) and by screwing up my first car several times.

there were some few RX-8s on there and a few cars non-mazda i am told. all of the Mazda cars will be given to tech education centers around the country(even like high schools i hear) non will be salvaged or sold. dealers should all have a list of their allocated cars that were on the ship
I wanna find the school that gets the Rx-8(s) and go back to school!!

Varies from place to place - They used to soup up tractors at Coalinga hi, even had some running on nitro for racing - and they had courses on backhoe repair and use at their Jr. College - taught people how to avoid the oil pipelines.... some car company sponsored some of them...

But it would be nice to have an adult night class on 8 mechanics - I would attend that course!

I wish I could have taken auto shop in high school, it sure would save a lot of learning I am doing now! Sadly I was stuck in AP calculus ... yup, i was one of those dorks!

My brother posted some more photos. I found out he is sharing his account with one of his shipmates (who is a better photographer). Most of the photos are from his shipmate.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tsmcgrrrrr/sets/72157594232585176/

--

They had an autoshop class at both high schools I went to. Wasn't interested at the time, but now I wish I had.

Those pics are pretty wild. Thanks for the link Labop.

RSD - dork's rule!! I'd give up all the calculus I don't remember anyway for just a few hours of "auto shop" class.

ship is back up and under her own power. they did a brief walkthrough last night, and i guess they are going to do some cleanup of the mess ( oil and transmission fluid, coolant etc ) from the cars and then the ship is going back to the owners. they are still worried about the condition of the cars, some are loose and most areas/decks have some damage, in places severe. there should be pictures shortly.

http://208.219.69.31/ca815.jpg

interresting article here http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0822/biz/stories/biz-mazda-8-22-06.htm about the effect or lack of on aparticular dealership and its customers here in Oregon.


includes a new figure- total value for the cars- $91 million!

includes a new figure- total value for the cars- $91 million
hope they had insurance

yeah it was insured

Damaged during transit= totaled and destroyed.

I'd love to get one of those brand new "salvage/totaled" cars to strip and make into a race car. Mazdaspeed could sell them as "off road/racing shells"

Can you imagine a CX-7 rally monster?
Or a stripped down 3 (MS3) to spank honda challenge cars in the road course?

I wanted to see friggn cars falling off the side of a ship.... these pictures dont nearly saticefy my thirst for distruction.

interresting article here http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2006/0822/biz/stories/biz-mazda-8-22-06.htm about the effect or lack of on aparticular dealership and its customers here in Oregon.


includes a new figure- total value for the cars- $91 million!

Proves a point the "THE Dealer" knows nothing or is misquoted, ....to say that ALL the cars will never make it to market is wrong!!....

I understand there are some that have little to No damage apart from fluid losses,
do you think these will be junked?..

Here we would have at least 2 or 3 cars that have some damage on every ship of Mazda's, either while at sea, or by the handlers at dock......they are repaired and sold as NEW....
So what makes the US any different?

All of these cars will be either scrapped or sent to various tech centers around the country (tech schools high schools with an auto shop class etc) for use in training etc. none will be sent on to dealers.

So any chance they will make any of them "off road only race shells"??

All of these cars will be either scrapped or sent to various tech centers around the country (tech schools high schools with an auto shop class etc) for use in training etc. none will be sent on to dealers.


Where is your source for your comments?

Zoom, I find it somewhat unusual to think that None of the 4800 or so Mazda cars are unsuitable for sale....we have had brand new cars here damaged by hail stones the size of tennis balls, panel damage, smashed glass etc, all were repaired and offered as storm damaged...with full warranty.

91 Million $$$'s is a lot of stock to be written off by any insurance company.

MNAO. same as always

Where is your source for your comments?

Zoom, I find it somewhat unusual to think that None of the 4800 or so Mazda cars are unsuitable for sale....we have had brand new cars here damaged by hail stones the size of tennis balls, panel damage, smashed glass etc, all were repaired and offered as storm damaged...with full warranty.

91 Million $$$'s is a lot of stock to be written off by any insurance company.

That is what Lloyds of London is for... . Mazda's deductible is probably near a million bucks. Actually, the shipping company is probably the one who pays that. Either way, I'd say total write off. Lloyds can take that blow, or any other major insurance company in the shipping industry. When you're insuring ships that cost tens (or hundreds) of millions, losing the cargo but not the ship is OK. It is just a matter of scale.

I don't think it is unusual at all. Have you ever seen what a car looks like after saltwater corrosion? Granted, ALL of them probably aren't damaged. But without an eyewitness, how would you be able to tell? Some of those cars will have been sitting for a week in salt water. I wouldn't want any of those cars even for scrap.

Hail damage is a bit different than salt water corrosion. One is cosmetic, the other affects the structure of the car, wiring, interior, even the internals of the engine...

^^^REALLY!!!^^^
I said some...repeat SOME could be still salvageabble....not ALL were in any sea water, there were few that actually slipped from their tie downs, so why would these cars NOT be sold as new...

Sorry Zoom, what do you think MNAO are going to tell you... until and they are inspected OFF ship Any comment is surely speculation.... I think it is naive to think that at this stage NONE will be for sale, I cant see any structural or safety issues with the "intact" models.


The REALITY is Labop that the cars were NOT lost at sea and very few were actually in sea water, an Insurance company whether its Lloyd's or any other won't payout for no reason.

IF there is NO damage to say 20% of stock...thats 900 cars, do you think they are going to be written OFF!

dude i have no patience for this today- do you honestly believe that after all the stuff i post on this forum that i would say something like this with out it being F'ING true? i didnt just call the 800 number and ask for Fs sake. when was the last time i talked about anything like this where what i said was not true? IF you cant believe it for some fing reason that's your hang up- dont f'ing question the veracity of my statements.

Where is your source for your comments?

Zoom, I find it somewhat unusual to think that None of the 4800 or so Mazda cars are unsuitable for sale....we have had brand new cars here damaged by hail stones the size of tennis balls, panel damage, smashed glass etc, all were repaired and offered as storm damaged...with full warranty.

91 Million $$$'s is a lot of stock to be written off by any insurance company.


Well he did say scrapped or sent to Tech schools..
Now.. thinking rationaly.. if they are "sent" it really translates into "Donated" which means um tax write off for most companies especially if its a 15k+ for each car that is donated. I'm sure the ones that are "Severly" water damaged will be written off for insurance not by mazda's but rather by the shipping company (it was THEIR boat that tipped over not Mazda's if I remember correctly). I highly doubt that the designers of the hold down straps intended to hold these cars at a list of what was it 75 degree's for how long of a time, so gods now what kind of hidden damage might be lurking on these cars? That and salt water even if it didnt touch all the cars they where still exposed to it since it obviously found its way into the cargo bays. But 'eh whateva..

dude i have no patience for this today- do you honestly believe that after all the stuff i post on this forum that i would say something like this with out it being F'ING true? i didnt just call the 800 number and ask for Fs sake. when was the last time i talked about anything like this where what i said was not true? IF you cant believe it for some fing reason that's your hang up- dint f'ing question the veracity of my statements.

Excuse me Charlie. I have no "hang ups on this issue mate"....and where have I accused you of lying....? GEEZ....you are sounding very arrogant, and Its not my fault that you don't have the "patience for this today".

I personally have not seen any pictures of the Cougar Ace's inventory...have you, and If so can you post them or a link?..

IMO for publicity and product image reasons MAZDA NAO are not going to say anything else on the cargo's future until they are offloaded...IMO!

How would ANYONE know if they purchased a car that was on this ship or not...

Take it easy ZOOM!

^ From that dead fish smell and salt water taste replaceing the fresh car scent hehehe.

I'm in the industry. And from Mazda's perspective all these unit are as good as sold. The loss will most likely go against Mitsui OSK's insurance. Mazda will maintain salvage rights and destroy or donate all the units. This isn't the first time this has happened.

well i'll say this, apparently it's easier to get in to fort knox than this ship. nothing new is happening it's just sitting there until they decide what to do.

I personally have not seen any pictures of the Cougar Ace's inventory...have you, and If so can you post them or a link?..

:spank:

Ask and you shall recieve. Link to video discussing Mazda RX-8 engine recall and new pics of damaged cars inside the Cougar ACE. Charlie is right!!
http://www.autobytel.com/content/research/channels/index.cfm/channel/cartv_video/action/showvideo/vid/n_0146/vcat/News/pagenum/1

So how do we get Mazda to donate a car or two for a contest - especially for 8 owners who would love to have a second one just to keep in wraps so it won't get scratched? Ot how about for people who have kept their Mazdas running the longest - I'll bet there are some 3s and 6 owners out there who would love to have a chance like that!

Actually, I'm Director of Operations for Mazda's Special Assessment, Procurement and Distribution Department. We were paid $1 over invoice by the Natiponal Oceanagraphic Institute to purposely scrap those vehicles in that area, and create a man-made reef for Ichthyology studies. This can be verified by studying soon-to-be-released pictures of the operation. They will show that NONE of the cars had valve-stem covers. :hahano:

At the end of the contracted 10 year period, the cars will be salvaged, then sent to Australia where they will be sold as new. :mdrmed:

^ Bwahahahahahaha!

^^^REALLY!!!^^^
I said some...repeat SOME could be still salvageabble....not ALL were in any sea water, there were few that actually slipped from their tie downs, so why would these cars NOT be sold as new...

Sorry Zoom, what do you think MNAO are going to tell you... until and they are inspected OFF ship Any comment is surely speculation.... I think it is naive to think that at this stage NONE will be for sale, I cant see any structural or safety issues with the "intact" models.


The REALITY is Labop that the cars were NOT lost at sea and very few were actually in sea water, an Insurance company whether its Lloyd's or any other won't payout for no reason.

IF there is NO damage to say 20% of stock...thats 900 cars, do you think they are going to be written OFF!


ASH8,

I'm sorry if you misinterpreted me, but I wasn't trying to imply that ALL of them were lost at sea. I was just saying that replacing cargo is less of an expense than the cost of the ship. And an insurance company, like Lloyds of London, wouldn't feel the hit from losing some/all cargo compared to paying for a new ship AND cargo.

Take a chill pill man. zoom is typically in the know quicker than the rest of us. Show some respect and calm down.

My friend that works at the dock told me this ship is coming here to Portland next week for salvage. They are going to spend two weeks unloading this ship, a typical auto ship takes about 4 hours to unload. I asked him to snap some pictures for me, if I get them I will put them up here.

EDIT: He also says that no seawater got to the cargo, but the cars are only held down by 4 motorcycle tiedowns, so probably all of them have damage.

Yes, and I have also heard there are many that don't have panel damage. just fluid loss.

1.Brake fluid would damage/lift off paint in engine compartent...if any leaked..
2.Battery acid...same as above.
3.Coolant
4.Engine oil..
5.Auto Trans fluid

Would be great to see pics.

An update...

http://mazdanews.com/node/view/358


a little older info:

http://mazdanews.com/node/view/341/54#54


-Bern

"While we do not, at this time, know the full extent of the damage to vehicles on board, none of the Mazdas will be sold as new", said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of MNAO. "Those beyond repair will be immediately scrapped. It is possible that those vehicles which are repairable would be made available for sale as used cars through Mazda's dealer network in the U.S. and Canada. We will only be in a position to decide on any used car sales once the vessel has been unloaded and each unit comprehensively inspected."

"In the interests of transparency and customer peace of mind, we will post a listing of all vehicle identification numbers (VINs) on our consumer Websites, www.MazdaUSA.com and www.mazda.ca so that there is no confusion as to which vehicles were on the ship," stated O'Sullivan.

Interesting...slightly different from "those who think they have their finger on the pulse"....said....all cars will be scrapped....or none will be sold...or all will be given to tech schools......

A I said before once they are inspected and check they WILL be offered for sale in the USA and Canada....

^ Ash.. companies make descision changes all the time. What others might of heard could as up coming fact could of changed for any amount of reason's.

Actually, I'm Director of Operations for Mazda's Special Assessment, Procurement and Distribution Department. We were paid $1 over invoice by the Natiponal Oceanagraphic Institute to purposely scrap those vehicles in that area, and create a man-made reef for Ichthyology studies. This can be verified by studying soon-to-be-released pictures of the operation. They will show that NONE of the cars had valve-stem covers. :hahano:

At the end of the contracted 10 year period, the cars will be salvaged, then sent to Australia where they will be sold as new. :mdrmed:

Now Looks like you guys in the US and Canada are stuck with them :mdrmed: :mdrmed: :mdrmed:

^ Ash.. companies make descision changes all the time. What others might of heard could as up coming fact could of changed for any amount of reason's.

Really now, you don't say...

You recall looking at my past posts on this subject how 'others' here castigated my thoughts from my F**king experience at Mazda wholesale in Australia...

Perhaps it is they "who should have some respect" :)

Interesting...slightly different from "those who think they have their finger on the pulse"....said....all cars will be scrapped....or none will be sold...or all will be given to tech schools......

A I said before once they are inspected and check they WILL be offered for sale in the USA and Canada....


i dont understand where this arguement with you and me started- but now you are insulting me again when i have never sad a bad word about you. i always welcome your contributions. and i respect your knowledge and experience. you for some reason have chosen to disrespect my contributiuons. "those that think" is directed at me . just so you know i came on the forum today just to make sure this was talked about. because it is different from what "the pulse" told me previously. yes it says "possible" that those that are repairable will be sold biut htat the decision hasnt been made yet. because they are still discussing things with the insurance company. basically they said "we dont want any of them" and the insurance company bulked at the decision. so they will wait the final decsion until they are all off and individually inspected

which will start to happen over the next couple of days. the ship docked here in Portland today. I formally requested access to the dock to take photographs of the ship and vehicles. i hope to post some here and send them off to some of the journalists that have been helpful to me over the last year. I was denied for the moment. I was toldthey (Mazda and the ship owners) had decided there would be no access to teh dock except by employees to limit any safety risks. Im not done yet though. I have a few avenues to try. ill at least get some from the fence if nothing else...

i dont understand where this arguement with you and me started- but now you are insulting me again when i have never sad a bad word about you. i always welcome your contributions. and i respect your knowledge and experience. you for some reason have chosen to disrespect my contributiuons. "those that think" is directed at me . just so you know i came on the forum today just to make sure this was talked about. because it is different from what "the pulse" told me previously. yes it says "possible" that those that are repairable will be sold biut htat the decision hasnt been made yet. because they are still discussing things with the insurance company. basically they said "we dont want any of them" and the insurance company bulked at the decision. so they will wait the final decsion until they are all off and individually inspected

which will start to happen over the next couple of days. the ship docked here in Portland today. I formally requested access to the dock to take photographs of the ship and vehicles. i hope to post some here and send them off to some of the journalists that have been helpful to me over the last year. I was denied for the moment. I was toldthey (Mazda and the ship owners) had decided there would be no access to teh dock except by employees to limit any safety risks. Im not done yet though. I have a few avenues to try. ill at least get some from the fence if nothing else...


Zoom, I respect your input and knowledge immensely, however, I am not about to start any "argument", I think you should look back to page 9 and see the responses by you and others.....If someone is free to question my views then equally I have the right to do the same...

"dude i have no patience for this today- do you honestly believe that after all the stuff i post on this forum that i would say something like this with out it being F'ING true? i didn't just call the 800 number and ask for Fs sake. when was the last time i talked about anything like this where what i said was not true? IF you cant believe it for some fing reason that's your hang up- dont f'ing question the veracity of my statements."

I never questioned your integrity or honesty...did I, and I have up until today not used that tone of reply...I felt disrespected using such language as you did directed at me...I call this as an insult also...


The facts are ...what I posted previously based on my experience in wholesale bond stores and shipping with Mazda here, I was correct...that's all.

Your comments...'All of these cars will be either scrapped or sent to various tech centres around the country (tech schools high schools with an auto shop class etc) for use in training etc. none will be sent on to dealers.'...

appears to also be incorrect at that time....as you were told... I NEVER said you lied...all I asked, as many do to me, where/who is your source.

You are mistaken if you think I intentionally insulted you, and I apologise to you now if you have interpreted it this way....

I am over it...I trust we will remain club member associates and mates...

Cheers Charles...
Ashley :smoker:

PS...Good luck with the pics...

I talked to my friend that works at the docks again yesterday, he said:

-They will begin unloading tomorrow or Friday, and are now thinking it could take a month

-It looks like only 30 are totalled

-The inside of the ship got a heavy dose of oil and gas

-They will open the hoods and disconnect the battery on every vehicle before towing it off the ship to a large tent area at the terminal where Mazda will be going over every car.


I will be going with this friend to the Oregon/Oklahoma game Saturday (Go Ducks!) he is still planning on snapping some photos for me. The rumor is that a insurance person fell and died while inspecting the ship, that might be why they are keeping zoom44 away. Also, the longshore hall is very protective of their territory.

hi guys,

i brought a cake for you two to share to stop the arguing. here, have some :D:

http://www.villagehatshop.com/media/BIRTHDAY%20CAKE.JPG

ok ash good . thats settled then. i heard Jay Amestoy on the local radion news this morning say IF any of them are salvageable they will be sold as USED but withthe full warranty from the factory. thats going to be a nice package - used car price/new car discount. of course they have to inspect each car still. ANd yes someone did die but i dont believe it was the insurance man. it was on eof the early people on board to try to save the crew and ship.

i think i will try to work out a "local news outlet" field trip to the dock. get everyone in at once for their pics etc. wait until the cars are mostly off .

its been on the news on the radio on several different stations several times since yestrerday

its been on the news on the radio on several different stations several times since yestrerday

There seems to be a reporting frenzy by the local media. They talking heads are all reading the same old tired copy waiting for some news to break. :boring: Best local report I have seen is when one of the local anchors turned the cars into Nissans, but was corrected by the helicopter reporter later in the broadcast. Several newscasts seem to try adding interest to the story by showing old scenes of the listing ship with voice over by the helicopter reporter hovering over the currently upright ship.

Gee...some great bargains to be had with a full warranty also....." I wonder I if I could convert to RHD....naaa.......

PS...Thanks for the cake...LOL~~~~~

Only 30 totally trashed....I expected a lot more, considering the list on the MV Cougar Ace/Marty Johnson...those ties downs held well..


As far as the docks go.....here is my take...what do you think..
Shipping stock is paid for before it leaves Mazda Japan, so the actual owners are MNAO.

I would not be surprised to see them covering any wire fencing etc to prevent the media and others filming. But, in the end someone will (Zoom) get the pics..

Here, and I am pretty sure its similar in the US.
Only (we call them) 'warfies' are permitted to drive off rolling stock (Union bans/strikes if anyone else touches them), for customs reasons no one that is not authorised to do so can enter ship and or touch stock while in "Bond" store before they are released by customs.

Here, stock stays in Bond and is released when taxes (duties,GST) are paid for each car as they are prepared for pre-delivery to the dealers...the reasons for this is so the distributor does not have to pay a massive one off check for all the cars to federal government departments...they pay it in lots as cars are released from Bond.
Some models can stay in Bond for many months before pre-delivery to dealers...ie slow selling models.

Yeah, as far as I know the guy that died was Mr.Marty Johnson a Naval Architect and Engineer.

Darn Zoom!!!! You beat me to it, LOL. I just got to the newspaper and on the front of the Business section in the Oregonian it says the Cougar Ace was towed to the Port of Portland for repairs and that the cars on it would be sold as used.

Thought I might finally beat you to some information. :tear:

So who is going to sell them - and what kind of a discount?

OK, so we've got CX-7's Mazda3's (Any Mazdaspeed3's?) What else???
RX-8?
Mazda6/MS6?
MX-5? (Spec Miata anyone???)
Mazda5?
Can't think of anything else worth having right now, but anyone know??

Although I can guarantee the insurance guys, people at MNAO and the higher ups at the dealerships will have first dibs on the best ones.

So who is going to sell them - and what kind of a discount?


That is the real question. I would assume they will be delivered to the dealers as planned, but who knows. I have emailed Mazda, and this was the response:

Thanks for contacting Mazda.

No final decisions have been made as of yet. Please continue to visit
our website for updates regarding the shipment of vehicles that were
aboard the Cougar Ace.

Again, thank you for contacting Mazda.

Where are you ZOOM!!??....have you got the Cougar Ace pics yet?

My friend is having a hard time getting on this job due to some weird union stuff. So (shock) I doubt I'll be able to come through with pics. :(

Good luck Zoom!

hey it takes time- i ve got to network thru alot of people plus im job hunting and taking care of my nearly 2 year old;)

researchign this morning found this pretty good article from edmunds. cant remember reading it before so if its a repost sorry.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Columns/articleId=116606

might as well link the other i am reading too

http://www.cargolaw.com/2006nightmare_cougar-ace.html

Only 41 of the 4,813 cars were found to have shifted.

real numbers

just checking in to see updates. Hopefully we can get some pics soon.

was just at the Port building downtown. got acouple people to call who were on lunch. then im heading out to the Port to see if i cant at least get some pics today of the sahip at dock. dont want to just go up to the security point and say "let me in!!"

show them your RX-8 administrator badge and they'll let you right in!! Good luck with the photos though Zoom...

real numbers

WOW that's bloody amazing, considering the list of the ship...

At a guess there then should be very few with any actual panel damage...?
As I posted earlier probably just fluid loss leaks and paint blemishes because of them...

Gee, some great bargains for all..

Gee, some great bargains for all..


I wish I could get some news on pricing from Mazda. I heard something crazy like 70% off, but that cannot be true. I'd guess more like a thousand or two less than what dealers are doing with incentives on weekends. Which would still be pretty cheap (30% off ish).

the oregonian is on board in my quest to get some more info- waiting to hear back from a couple of local tv news outfits. then i will be talking with Mazda with their backing :) Mazda has very effectively locked down any info from the port folks. a lady at the company that actually does the unloading actually apologised to me on the phone for not being able to say anything- she couldnt even say if the ship was still there or no. you could tell she was embarrassed. the Port media relations department was the same way.

Why is it such a big deal? I don't see why they'd have anything to hide unless they would attempt to put get the cars back to market (but I doubt they'd do that underhandedly). Didn't they already say they were donating the cars?

no that story changed along the way- many of the cars have no physical damage. basically the insurance company balked at the idea of paying for all of them until they were all off the ship and checked individually.

Insurance companies are the same world wide...won't pay out unless they have to.

MNAO appears to have banned all media access, interesting to see the lengths they go to to protect Mazda's product "Image"...

So far nothing surprises me and confirms what I said weeks ago....apart from the very low numbers of damaged cars...I think I originally said 10%.

I wonder if any one of those would come to new york

IT would be pretty sweet dealer if they selling it as used and comes with Full Warranty coverage.

first hand account from a longshoreman

I am one of the Portland Longshoreman unloading the Cougar Ace. It's slow going. We are pulling off 75 to 170 cars per shift. We are loading them onto one-car flatbed trailers pulled by Chevy pickups. I've only seen one damaged car myself (body damage); a silver CX7 with the rear quarter bashed in. We are cleaning off most of the cars with rags and spray bottles. They have battery acid and a mix of oils on them. Lot's of the cars are perfect looking, though all have indeed been on their sides. I'm not surprised the lashings held most of the cars. Those lashings are very strong and they are meant to pretty much hold a car to the deck no matter what. But some broke loose in the lower decks; cars slammed into other cars (side to side) and there are a few cars that are t-boned around deck poles. I have not see the lower 2 decks myself yet but my partners tell me that along the water side of the ship there are cars that were under sea water and you open them up and it's mold city. Judging from what decks I've been on and what I've heard, at least 90 percent of the cargo is good and good looking. I'm going back on the ship tonight and will update.

Hauled out another 120 cars last night. There are about 20 or 30 that were a total loss. Totally submerged in salt water for a good spell. They were covered with algae and mold with rust creeping out of the cracks. I wouldn't want one of those. Can you imagine what the salt water has done to the electronics and all the sensors? Man! The walkers told me that they are going to the smasher. I steered one beautiful jet-black CX7 out of the 3rd deck from the top. Totally perfect except for a giant glass etching job from some battery acid dripping on the windshield. It needs new glass, but other than that, it's wonderful. lot's of the cars look perfect after we clean them up though. And most of the others just have little blobs of bad paint from the brake fluids and battery acid. Back to the ship tonight.

this guy is taking a big chance- There is still an information blackout in force so they have to talk annonymously. im trying to arrange a better way. Made another effort at it today. i didnt get these comments myself mind you - this fellow sent them in to website.

thre were 4800 or so cars on board so at basically 100 per shift (they are pushing them off by hand) its slow going and will take awhile yet. Ive been told that this is actually starting to have an effect on thewhole west coast as the timing is starting to back things up at other ports etc.
\hmm maybe i should get a job pushing cars at the port.......

Thanks Zoom,

Yeah, Battery acid and brake fluid damage mainly, its pretty amazing that these cars are in such good condition

Tho don't you think that acid/fluid will be all over the engine as well? I'm assuming it can't be good for rubber parts etc.

id have to jon the ILWU local 8....

My dad is a casual longshoreman and has been working on this ship. I haven't had a chance to ask him about it yet. Some weird union dispute has made it so all the fulltime longshoremen like my friend are forced onto other jobs and the casuals are stuck on the Cougar Ace. My dad isn't much of a storyteller, so I doubt he would have much to add to what Zoom posted.

ask him how i can become a casual, please:) im serious- i dont have a job and i could push cars for a little while:)

ask him how i can become a casual, please:) im serious- i dont have a job and i could push cars for a little while:)
^^ install glasses cam!!

ask him how i can become a casual, please:) im serious- i dont have a job and i could push cars for a little while:)


It's extremely tough. Every few years they will open up about 50 casual jobs. Then hundreds of people will line up and apply. After that it's pretty much luck of the draw. Going from a casual to a permanent employee is even harder. If I hear they are going to accept applications (and I remember) I'll send you a PM.



Anyway, I just talked to my dad so I asked him about the ship. He pretty much echoed what was already said. He has seen one car with extensive damage from smashing into a pillar. He saw several other cars with minor dents (maybe from falling debris?) My dad is a man of few words, he basically said the work is slow and easy.

I was scanning the Mazda site for any new info and I saw the car list. It looks like about 200 RX8's were on the ship. I had no idea it was so many.

here is the link

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=aboutPress

only Mazda3s for Canada but i bet that set them back. the 3 outsells civic regularly in canada. not having stock must hurt. ohh 5 Mazdaspeed6s shame. quite afew MX-5s as well

Also looks like about 30 MX-5 PRHT Models too in that mix...FX70's

ouch..

yeah i figured- there were supposed to be some here already. hope they salvage some.

wonder is the cars will all come with a salvage title?

Its been a month, I wonder if anyone has ran across one of these cars for sale on a used lot.

well if you have they wouldnt have that many miles on it.

I asked Mazda how one would go about buying one of these and they said to "keep checking their website for details"

Well, there hasn't been any details. I really wonder what their plan is.

all the cars are off and have been sorted into fix and crush groups. the "fix" cars will be cleaned up and then sent out to the other normal mazda ports (including the 2 inland ports ) to get repaired and processed out to the dealers. this will still take some time. the insurance still has to settle on everything before the cars move.

Thanks for the up date Zoom......
Can you put one ....MMMMM..... MX-5 PRHT in the post for me...:)

When attorneys & insurance companies get tangled up, things will get delayed.

It’s not just dealing with damage claims.
This is a very big transporter that is out of service.
There has to be production inventory backlogging in Japan.

About 20 years ago there was a damaged Toyota shipment here in Jacksonville.
The Insurance company was so pissed at the litigation that they had a bunch of drivable cars sent to the crusher under Heavily armed guards!

tragedy... all I want is a navigation system......

Just saw that page 34 of December's Car and Driver has finally publicly made the Cougar incident known. A 2x3" picture of the cougar as well as a lil section talks about the incident.

Oddly, the 8 wasn't even mentioned to be on board...claims CX-7's and Mazda3's

I know this had fallen off the map with my inability to get mazda to talk about it before or during 7stock. but i just got this report, written by my freind Mark Rechtin of Automotive news who helped during Mulligan gate and broke the story on the engine recall, it includes the final tally of the vehicles

December 15, 2006

Mazda to scrap all cars on board Cougar Ace

Mark Rechtin

LOS ANGELES -- Mazda North American Operations will scrap all 4,703 vehicles that were aboard the freighter Cougar Ace when it foundered at sea this year.

Previously, Mazda stated it would have engineers evaluate all the vehicles to determine which to scrap or to sell through a used-car program. However, given that the provenance of the vehicles might come into doubt in several years' time, Mazda decided to avoid a potential customer-satisfaction nightmare by scrapping all the vehicles.

The Cougar Ace went into a 60-degree list on its trans-Pacific run in July when its ballast was displaced, but the ship was towed into port and righted. Some of the cargo was under water. Other cars were dry, held in place by their mounts, and showed little visible sign of damage.

"We just couldn't take the risk of there being unforeseen issues down the road," said Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes.

"There were two camps of potential buyers. One was, 'Where can I get one cheap?' The others were worried they might get one by accident and weren't going to shop Mazda as a result."

The tally of lost vehicles was 2,475 Mazda3 sedans, 329 Mazda3 five-doors, 56 Mazda5 minivans, 1,329 CX-7 crossovers, 214 RX-8 sports cars, 5 MazdaSpeed6 sedans and 295 MX-5 Miata convertibles.

Although maritime insurance is a relatively convoluted process, the main insurer of the cargo was industry conglomerate ACE Ltd., based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

dont want to say i told ya so ash my freind but........:D: i think you owe me a pint, mate!:)

^pwnd!

Thanks zoom. Though this did make my mind rattle a bit in it's housing. This was soooo long ago . . . attention span failing . . .

:rollingla

dont want to say i told ya so ash my freind but........:D: i think you owe me a pint, mate!:)

Yeah I do...WOW..sorry about the other thread..I got it at 5.02...and did not open mail...

Thats a lot of cars to scrap...
Think of all that GOOD gear...engines, tranny's, diffs....etc,etc...such a waste..

:D: :D: ...had a good laugh on my other post....delete it Charlie if you want..
you should have started a new thread on this news, I did look at General first!! :D:

So, yes, I do owe you a beer ..a slab (24,30,36 375mil cans)....MMMm.. is that...

XXXX (Four EX) Queensland Beer..
Fosters
West End "draught"...my beer..
Bud..

You better send me you postal address...hang on you probably will...I am getting deeper in...how about when you come to Australia...

ALL those Mazda's....gee

excellent - when i visit australia in a few years- you buy:D: some of the that West End Draught sounds good.

excellent - when i visit australia in a few years- you buy:D: some of the that West End Draught sounds good.

You are ON...West End Draught is a great beer (my states beer), I have 12 cans in the fridge at the mo.. :beer05:

excellent - when i visit australia in a few years- you buy:D: some of the that West End Draught sounds good.

oh,

all the good cheap parts that could have been... that hurts, thanks zoom.

beers :beer:

I'm sure some parts will get in the used parts system......they always do.

oh,

all the good cheap parts that could have been... that hurts, thanks zoom.

beers :beer:

still could be- paul's on it;)

still could be- paul's on it;)

yeay:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

glad to see your alive, did you ever get an answer on that motor ? from a while back?

beers :beer:

more from Alan Ohnsman at Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=a4LCtVsc_taQ&refer=japan

Barnes said Mazda's Irvine, California-based North American unit decided not to donate some of the vehicles to auto-repair training programs at technical schools, as O'Sullivan initially had said might happen.

Some components will be salvaged and sent to U.S. and Canadian dealers for use as replacement parts, Barnes said. Many materials will also be recycled by the company, he said.

good to hear that mazda did the right thing.

WOW...thats quite the loss to swallow...

Im impressed.

update today from my inquiries with Mazda- none of the MX-5s on board were PRHTs. They hadnt started shipping them to the states yet when that ship left port