Mazda and Ford
 

Does the Rx-8 share any parts with Fords, or does Ford have anything to do with them being built?

i believe... no. i think our cars are 98% if not 100% japanese? like the EVO is 100% manufactured from japan?

i knew for a fact if ford had anything to do with our 8's.. i would, sadly.. not have bought the car.

None that I am aware of, fortunately for us Ford hasn't gotten around to screwing up the rx8 like it has done with Jaguar and Saab.

yeah thats what i was worried about

Saab is a GM subsidiary, and has never done spectaculary here despite putting out some very nice cars lately. Perhaps you meant Volvo, but they're much improved in engineering and sales since Ford bought into them (and Ford benefits much from the partnership as well).

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It's kind of sad that someone wouldn't purchase a car based on who had a hand in building it, rather than based on the merits of the car itself.

The horn had to come from Ford. :)

It's kind of sad that someone wouldn't purchase a car based on who had a hand in building it, rather than based on the merits of the car itself.


with ford's past reliability issues if the rx-8 was a ford i would not buy it on the other hand with toyotas reliability history if the rx-8 was a toyota id have no problem...an example thats a little off but u get the idea

I think it did...

What's wrong with the horn? Myself, I like it.

hmm... never thought about it. what does the japanese rx-8 horn sound like?

Somebody locked an F-150 and the horn went off. I did the same; identical !

Funny, that was earlier today too.

Nothing is wrong with the horn - it is much better than the one that is on my MS Protege. That horn has to be straight out of Japan. High pitched and annoying.

The window switches look awfully familiar as well. Explorer, possibly?

Yes, the horn sounds right out of an American car which I think is a good thing. If I'm not mistaken, that is because there are actually two horns, right? I just know I was very pleasantly surprised the first time I used it. One of the things I always found annoying about Japanese cars was their single, high-pitched horns, sort of an "angry yet feeble" sound. I wondered if they did that to save weight, to minimize the electrical current draw, or just out of cheapness. American cars, on the other hand, always had the louder yet more melodic sound of twin horns, except for Cadillacs which often came with three horns. That gave the Caddies a very distinctive tone that sort of says "get out of my way, I'm important".

...or "get out of my way im a really old guy"

^^^^ Funny but true :lol:

I don't think old people buy Escalade's of V-Series'. The only car that old people buy is that Develle. Lincoln on the other hand...

Some do. I saw this really old guy stooped over with a cane trying to crawl up into his Escalade. :eek:

Oh, I wasn't trying to say that there is anything wrong with the horn. I much prefer it to the typical Japanese horn. Just that it obviously isn't a Japanese horn.

Wow. Cool. So for once "Japanese" does not automatically equal "better" ? !

:hahano:

What issues? Been through 4 Mustangs with no major issues. Plenty of family/friends who have beaten Ford Rangers and Taurus to hell, but they kept on ticking...

Nissan... several there... some treated like sh!t and no problems.

Toyota... several there with no problems... best was a pickup driven from brand new to 250,000 miles.

Honda... repeated clutch slave unit problems (but car was never tracked or raced), repeated timing belt issues.... transmission problems with an AT car... repeated "regular" servicing several times a year involving the replacement of several costly components...

Sometimes you get the Friday car. Sometimes with a lot of care a "so so" car can turn out to be pretty decent. And there is also... what's your definition of "reliable"? For me... you treat it like shit and it still runs. Keeping it running doesn't require several costly "services" a year. It never leaves you stranded. Squeaks, rattles, bad erogomics, panel gaps... that has nothing to do with reliability.

Funny, isn't it... how if Honda's USDM sales significantly dropped... they'd about be out of business... considering they can hardly sell a car in their home market. Mazda? A decent number. Subaru Legacy? Many... almost like the Honda Accord or Toyota Camry in the US.

my man your username is japan ...you obviously understand quality...i wonderwhy it is not america

A "quality" car and a "reliable" car are not necessarily synonymous. BMW's, MB's, Audi's, VW's, Jaguars (particularly the pre-Ford ones)... high quality materials and many "bells and whistles". Fit and finish has often been quite good on some of those cars as well, but even today they are not the bastion of reliability. Would YOU want to own a BMW M3 (e36) out of warranty? Ferrari's and Lamborghinis have been notorious for both the amount of time they spent in the shop vs on the road and the pure cost of maintenance and repairs...

Japanese is not = quality. Japanese is = obsessive complusive about details... not becaus eof something like pride or what you think of as work ethic. It has to do with
1. Unquestioningly do whatever you're told
2. Happily do repetitive mindless work
3. Don't make mistakes... mistakes get you singled out and chastied... usually publically. This is a big "no no" for Japanese... as ingrained into them throughout their lives.. particularly by the educational system.
4. Generally don't rock the boat... who are you to say different... since "we're all the same..." and what can you to do change anything... you're just one nobody...

i know the ford probe clutch and the rx8 carry the same aftermarket part #s....

and damn the Parnelli Jones mustang is dead sexy, but 50k... not.

hope they do the gt-r in orange...

beers :beer:

^ I agree... the Parnelli Jones mustang is damn hot (even better without the rear louvers). Saleen did a better job with this one than the standard Saleen Mustang... But no way I'd get either one at around $50k...