mitchmiller

What exactly is fords association with mazda. I am thinking that the reason my 8 rattles and only has one power seat is due to Fords influence, since they are known for making the worlds worst cars.

jsh1120

You obviously have no experience with owning a Saab, a subsidiary of GM.

mpt_yellowRX8

Yeah, SAAB calls those screw ups "quirks" and hopes that people learn to live with them.

army_rx8

ford is the largest single share holder in mazda....therefore as per japanese law they get the controling vote of the stock holders...so basicly what they say goes...which isn't bad...since b/c of ford we get to have our rx-8's:D

jsh1120

I'm hardly a defender of US auto makers, not having owned an "American" car since a '63 Dodge Dart in college. Have to say, however, that the overall impact of Ford's control of Mazda and Volvo, two marques with which I have some experience, has been positive, especially compared to the impact of GM on Saab. (I have a 9-5 Saab wagon, the last truly Swedish Saab.)

My impression, and it's only that, is that Ford's impact on Mazda and Volvo has been primarily limited to vast infusions of cash and providing access to technology that neither carmaker would otherwise have had.

I've owned a couple of "pre-Ford" Mazda's, an '87 626 Turbo and an '89 MPV. Liked both cars very much (though my 626 burned up an engine in the first 8000 miles), but neither came close to the quality and performance of my RX-8. Also had the last pre-Ford Volvo (an 850 turbo wagon) and despite some early reliability problems in the Volvo's after Ford took over, my impression is that the new Volvo's are significantly improved cars. Add to that the fact that Ford has incorporated much of the design and technology of Volvos in their own models (e.g. Ford Freestyle), and I'd have to say that Ford has made some good moves.

On the other hand, GM's control of Saab has been spotty. The 9-3 sport sedan is probably better than its predecessor. But the 9-2 Saaburu is not what one would expect from a European manufacturer. (Not surprising since it's built in Japan.)

Finally, it seems clear that Daimler has virtually saved Chrysler from extinction.

In any event, the era of cars reflecting national identities is clearly over. Virtually all cars are "world cars" these days, a trend with both positive and negative characteristics.

mitchmiller

If the Japanese hadn't showed us how to make a real car, we'd still be driving around heavy, gas guzzling shitboxes

RX Renesis

doesn't ford own only like very little of Mazda's share? somewhere around 30%??? so how is Ford the ones to make the calls?

Speed-ER doc

I was an import snob myself for 20 plus years since my first American car in 1983, a used Ford Mustang II. That was the biggest POS I have ever driven, and I promised myself I would never buy American. Since then, I have owned a Celica, an RX-7, a 4-Runner, an SC400, a Miata, and the RX-8, and I was happy with each.

The RX-7 had several expensive electrical problems, however, and the RX-8 had a couple of minor annoying issues (oil pan, seat heaters, weak A/C), although I never experienced the flooding that some had, or any major problems until it was rear-ended.

I haven't had a single problem with my 2004 Ford Mustang after 6000+ miles, and haven't heard many complaints on the Mustang forums either. My Ford has fewer issues than either of my Mazda RX models. In fairness, I didn't have any issues with the Miata.

People need to get rid of some of their old myths about Ford.

army_rx8

ford owns a lill over 30% of mazda...but they are teh sinlge largest share holder (i.e. no one group owns more shares than they do)...as per japanese law this males them the controling vote. I don't know spicific details about it..but i'm sure you can look it up online.

such as this http://waw.wardsauto.com/ar/auto_ford_raises_mazda/
http://www.hoovers.com/ford/--ID__10...O1&cm_ite=ford

speedweasel

I got a first hand look at the influence between Mazda and Ford when I bought my '93 Probe GT....It had the exact same engine as the 626.
That was a good thing since that engine was pretty awesome on the track!
I doubt Ford could have built an engine that good in '93....still too old school.

brillo

As Mazda's go, the RX8 has about as little of Ford in it as possible. That said, nearly all of Fords cars now are either Mazda or Volvo based, so I think people will find the quality of Ford's cars has gone way up. Ford's influence has really helped Volvo, Mazda and Jag, and only Jag is still not quite in the black but their reliability has gone way up.

Ford has seemed to figure out how to do the parent / foreign sub. relationship right, which can't be said for GM. Ford opens up its wallet and its R&D, and gets to leverage the cars made by Volvo and Mazda.

The ford Fusion (Accord/Camry/Altima) is a Mazda6 based car, the focus is going to be the Mazda3/Volvo S40, the 500 is based on the Volvo S60 platform, the new mustang is based partly on the Lincoln LS/Jag S type platform.

I think Ford is in a better position than GM or DCX in terms of product slate and quality.

speedweasel

Brillo...I think you hit it on the head....
Im also starting to see Daimler-Chrysler relationship working out.
Hmmmm....Daimler/Chrysler/Toyota? That would be cool!
Rock solid cars that last forever but with a little cush.

Just bought a 4runner and love thehell out of it!
A poor man's Range Rover!

RX8-79

I should HOPE they'd have the bugs worked out after 10 years.

army_rx8

lol...well bugs minus human error are probable pretty good...wasn't/isn't ford one of the most reliable car companies out there i though i read that somewhere (problems per 1000 cars was the lowest or something like that)...now if only the general public believed so:p

truemagellen

its 4am and I can't fall asleep...for some reason I laughed outloud at this post :p

and if it wasn't for hot little asian women we would all still be with heavy, food devoring shitboxes :p

shaolin

Okay, here's what I know:

Yes, Ford owns about 32% stock share in Mazda, which makes them controlling share holder by Japanese law. This was initiated by Mazda in a last effort to avoid bankruptcy...you can thank the RX-7 for that. By owning the largest share, Ford is the controlling holder, but has made it clear..that Mazda will always remain MAZDA. Mazda engineering is 100 percent Mazda, only difference now is that Ford execs sit at the top and give red lights and green lights to different projects. The whole 4-door sports car idea is what "tricked" Ford into letting Mazda do the RX-8.

Think of Ford as an international investor. First off, they know they don't have the best track record in the automotive business, but oogles of cash. So instead of going back to the drawing board in automotive design, they invest in foreign aspects of the market. If you buy your foreign competitors, but keep their identities evident, you can make ALOT of money. Thus, Ford owns Jaguar, Aston Martin, Range Rover, Volvo, and Mazda.

Since then, all of these marques have improved significantly. Ford dollars allow these companies to come out with new designs without worry of running out of investment dollars. Another added bonus, is that with this new "family" of companies, you get alot of cross-designing and sharing of ideas. Now, you have design cues going back and forth, and Ford's designs significantly improve....Ford's original intent. It's a win situation for everyone. Now, instead of those crappy old Escorts, Mustangs, and so on, we have the Mazda 3 based Focus, and a Mustang that actually seems to be promising.

Ford is probably the best thing to happen to Mazda since the Cosmo in 1968.