Ford Cuts Mazda Stake from 11% to 3.5%

Chris

Chris

Chris

Maybe we should call this 'Chris's Miata Newsgroup' lol!

Chris

I don't know about that. Ford engineering seems to be pretty damn good these days.

plus the fact that ford is reducing its share of ownership in mazda apparently has not had an impact of the business relationship between the two companies per the last paragraph in the article.

Fords discount program also applied to Mazdas in the past. Don't know about the future.

On

Umm, everyone here realize that (part) ownership does not have to have a one-to-one correlation to sharing technologies or sharing facilites or sharing parts bins?

In other words, Ford owning 3.5% of Mazda does not mean 3.5% of your MX-5 is made by Ford. This is something for the accountants and investors to worry about, more than the car buyer.

cheers

Don

Right. The Ford content of Mazdas (and the Mazda content of Fords) won't be altered by this change in stock position. Both companies still benefit from shared technology and economies of scale. Ford simply needs the cash right now--it avoided bail-out, but at the cost of a huge debt load.

From what I can see, Ford's investment saved Mazda from collapse after its significant blunders (RX-7, Millenia, etc.). Mazda's engineering turned around Ford's death spiral of quality and imagination. The Fusion hybrid is a very impressive vehicle, if you like that sort of thing. So is the new Mustang.

The new 5.0 is going to be a massive hit. It's a magic number for Mustang fans and the car finally has competitive horsepower for its class. However, it's too damned big.

It's too big for us crazy Miata guys but seems to me, pretty reasonably sized when compared to it's competition like the massive Camaro and overly large Challenger. I'm not thinking that buyers in that target market would be impressed by a car the size of which impresses you and I. I could be wrong but I think that segment dictates somewhat 'large' American metal. It would be great to see them use Mazda's intensive weight reduction technology on their cars but that probably gets somewhat expensive in technology and cost of light weight materials and cost is king also in this ultra competitive segment. Looks like the Mustang's base price is $22,995. Also just checked 2011 Miata base price: $23,900, for information only.

Even the 6cyl Mustang sounds quite impressive, with 305hp and (just checked), 19 city / 29 hwy / 22 combined, it sounds like it does pretty good. I would expect 20mpg in normal 'spirited' driving which, is close to what I used to get in normal 'un-spirited' driving in a 6cyl Accord.

I'm definitely rooting for Ford. Sounds like we finally get a good Focus now (pun intended!).

Chris

I never thought I would say this, but I agree, go America (cars)!

One of my friends bought the new Challenger this year, and it is a very nice car to drive. It is very big, I agree. He also has a dually pickup and a motor home, so the Challeger is his small car. We'll see how it holds up over the long run. I love how it looks.....

He also considered the Camaro and the Mustang, but the Challenger called out to him the loudest.

For the first time in many years, the domestic offerings are stirring my interest as much as the imports.

Pat

I have to say that imho the Challenger is miles ahead of the Camaro and Mustang in looks but from what I've read, they both handle better than the Challenger. But, in this class, looks are BIG so, it wins there and if you go SRT8, well, the sound and power are quite impressive. I can't imagine buying a V8 car though personally.

Chris

Gotta agree with you again, on the Challenger looks. He does have the V8, and yes, he will pay for it the next time gas hits $4.00 to $5.00 a gallon. My gas-sipping Accord will look even more attractive then. It gets better mileage than any car I have ever owned before. At 2850 pounds, it is only about 300 pounds heavier than my first Miata.

Pat

i had a '88 honda crx that regularly got 45mpg, and once over 50 on a long 200+ mile highway drive. that was an amazing car, but didn't handle like the miata, and was surprisingly bad in the snow for a fwd. i think it was just too light for snow. that car makes me wonder what the big deal is about today's hybrids. i mean if 20 years ago they could make a gas car get millage like that then what is big deal about things like the prius given all of its complexities and cost. yes, i know the prius has greater seating capacity, but still it doesn't impress me as a significant mpg achievement in the face of the old crx. and the crx did not have any problem stopping when you pressed on the break pedal ;)

The biggest problem with achieviong gas mileage like that of the CRX HF and the Geo Metro and the orginal Plymouth Champ/Dodge Colt be Mitsubishi is that today's tiny cars weigh anywhere from 700 to 1,200 pounds more than those cars because they have:

1. Lots more airbags
2. Lots more soundproofing
3. Lots more electric motors for window winding, mirror manipulation, etc.
4. Lots more solenoids
5. Lots more speaker magnets (really!)
6. Lots more.... well, just lots more stuff

Wider wheels, wider tires, bigger engines, more performance (the "hot hatches" of the 1980's would be considered slow turds as entry-level diesels today, and family sedans with Miata-like acceleration numbers are routinely castigated as "bog slow" in magazine comparison tests) all conspire against big numbers.

It's not supposed to stop when you press on the break pedal, it's supposed to break. It's supposed to stop when you press on the brake pedal.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

That is sort of like stopping and opening the bonnet to look at the motor when the "Check Engine" light comes on?

SH

Ya, aaaaaaaa, sorta!

cd