there's a mazda car i was really interested in, but then i found out they were owned by ford. i am not and never have been a fan of ford cars and hearing this news really let down(to each their own). would ford owning mazda have a big influence on the quality? how long have they owned them?
2007-08-14 04:41:38 · 5 answers · asked by Ripcity-zen 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Mazda
As a corporation yes Ford owns controlling interest in Mazda. If that is going to throw you then you should avoid LandRover, Jaguar, and Volvo as they own controlling interest in those car companies as well.
Now down to the nitty gritty...corporate ownership does not mean they are all "Fords." Ford does use innovations and materials from the other companies it controls with the Ford line of vehicles, to include Lincoln and Mercury. This does not mean however that they mess with the quality of the companines they control. Cause if your a Toyota or Nissan fan you might wanna avoid them as well. As I bet you would be shocked to realize they have partnered with Ford in the past to mutually help the other out with their car lines. Examples of this are the Rav4 which is a Toyota in the US and Ford Maverick in Europe...the Nissan Quest and the Mercury Villager both in the US market.
Every car company produces a lemon or good concept, but bad performance vehicle from time to time...however I know folks who dish GM and Chrysler just as much as Ford gets dished. So why don't you go test drive the Mazda your interested in and discover for yourself what a nice product and vehicle they produce.
2007-08-14 14:46:31 · answer #1 · answered by avgordguy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The first I knew of Ford and Mazda working together was back in the early 70's. The Ford Courier and Mazda B1600 were both made by Mazda. Some of the Couriers had the Ford Motor (think it was the 2300 Pinto motor)
I think the Mazda's are better built than the Fords. In 1991 when Ford came out with the Explorer, Mazda had the same SUV with only the name badges changed. During the first year of production, we got more service bulletins for repairs on that vehicle than on all the other Mazda products combined.
Mazda had problems with some of their cars, eg. early rotaries (R100, RX2, RX 3, RX4), first FWD GLC (81-85).
For the most part, Mazda is very responsive to getting the right. As bad as the FWD GLC's were, the 86 and later 323's were almost bullet proof.
2007-08-15 16:29:22 · answer #2 · answered by the mazda mechanic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ford only owns controlling share and they have for quite a few years. They don't own Mazda. That said they share a lot of parts back and forth. The Mazda3 is based on the Fords global small car platform along with the European Focus and a Volvo. The Mazda6 uses a Ford V6 and Ford and Mazda have both made several other vehicles off that platform. Mazda B-series, SUVs (Navajo and Tribute), and MX6 are completely Ford . The old Protege/323, 626, 929, Miata were completely Mazda.
Mazda and Ford (despite the bad rep) make great cars and you should have no worries about buying one.
2007-08-14 16:27:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mazda still uses its own engines and designs.
The Mazda 3 and Ford Focus share the same suspension and chassis.
Same with the mazda 6 and ford fusion.
But Mazda's are still more reliable than Ford's because they use there own drivetrain and everything else.
2007-08-14 20:19:18 · answer #4 · answered by C7S 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
FORD ONLY OWNS 27% OF THE MAZDA STOCK
ford dont "own" mazda they only have part of it to make the ford small cars better using mazda technology
example: ford focus uses engine and trans and others parts totally made by mazda
example: mazda3 is totally made by mazda not ford at all ! !
example: mazda pick-ups are made by ford only some body parts and emplems are mazda
all new models of mazda including cx7 and cx9 are totally made by mazda
2007-08-14 13:01:15 · answer #5 · answered by MazdaTech_PR 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋