Mazda without Ford

[coolmazda5]

" *Excluding Mazda6 "

LOL. Would it be as in:
We did not test it against the Mazda6 because we know it would be a sure defeat, OR, we already have the results but we won't show them (yawn)... it is our bro afterall

 

[paging_drburgos]

i think those of you that have driven the 6 know the answer. I've driven both and the 6 drives like a 3series beemer in comparison to the fusion. the fusion felt like grandpas old car.

 

[BLACKMS3]

I've been a Ford Fan all my life and still am. The only reason I even considered a Mazda was the fact that it was owned by Ford and they share platforms... The actual reason I went with an MS3 is the style and bang for the buck....for my daily driver....

I've owned 3 Fords and still own 2...

My first was and is a 1966 Mustang... you can't argue anything about that car... in the first year they were released, ford sold over 1 million of them... suck that!!!

My second one was a 2000 Ford Focus... I never had a single issue with this car... I beat (and I MEAN BEAT) that car into the ground.. powerslides, reverse donuts, 360's... you name it, it was done..... Hell, I only changed the oil maybe 10 times in the 115,000 miles I owned it and it was still kicking like a champ... the only reason I got rid of it was I didn't want to have to drive 2 cars from Virginia to here.

My third one was the 2004 Expedition... now I don't keep this thing pristine one bit.. it's a truck (basically) and I bought it for that. It's been up mountains (literally) dragging a trailer with 4-wheelers piled in maybe half a dozen times and never once complained.... Been cross country from Washinton state to Washington DC 4 times....... not one issue in over 80,000 miles..

I will never understand why Ford has a bad rap..... I think people in general are complete retards and can screw up anything if given the chance....

 

[coolmazda5]

I will never understand why Ford has a bad rap..... ...

My 3 cents :

1.
I believe you've been lucky with your Fords, especially with the recent Ford Focus. The statistics on that car (especially the first years models) tell it otherwise (unfortunately)

2.
I think it has to do with what you have had. Reality is that Ford quality and design have been degrading over time. In the family we have owned several Fords as well:

Awesome cars
1970(?) and 1974(?) Ford Mavericks. Best cars. My dad still talks about them every time he can. Fast, fun to drive and ride plus both stick shift (Stick knob looked like a billiard ball)

Very good cars
1980 Ford Fairmont and 1985 Ford Carry-All (similar concept to a Chevy Suburban, very few made). I had a lot of fun with them and never gave me a problem whatsoever. 8 cyl Gas Guzzlers though. I learned how to drive in the Fairmont, so good memories as well...

OK car
1987 Ford Tempo GS. Oh well, did its job (mom's car) but was soooo slow and not very appealing...

Terrible car
1989 Ford Tempo GLX (top notch trim, bought brand new). Our last Ford. Man, that thing was better looking if you want, but if it was not the air conditioning breaking one day, it was an auto tranny oil pond in the garage, a broken window elevator or the electric antenna stuck in the middle of the way, just out of the blue (yeah with the recommended lub). It spent more time at the workshop than any other car I ever had.

After that, Mazda was my first purchase within the Ford "family" and happy with it so far... Maybe things have changed back for good in some aspects but...

 

[Antonio DiMarco]

You really can't compare an '89 Tempo with....

My 3 cents :

1.
I believe you've been lucky with your Fords, especially with the recent Ford Focus. The statistics on that car (especially the first years models) tell it otherwise (unfortunately)

2.
I think it has to do with what you have had. Reality is that Ford quality and design have been degrading over time. In the family we have owned several Fords as well:

Awesome cars
1970(?) and 1974(?) Ford Mavericks. Best cars. My dad still talks about them every time he can. Fast, fun to drive and ride plus both stick shift (Stick knob looked like a billiard ball)

Very good cars
1980 Ford Fairmont and 1985 Ford Carry-All (similar concept to a Chevy Suburban, very few made). I had a lot of fun with them and never gave me a problem whatsoever. 8 cyl Gas Guzzlers though. I learned how to drive in the Fairmont, so good memories as well...

OK car
1987 Ford Tempo GS. Oh well, did its job (mom's car) but was soooo slow and not very appealing...

Terrible car
1989 Ford Tempo GLX (top notch trim, bought brand new). Our last Ford. Man, that thing was better looking if you want, but if it was not the air conditioning breaking one day, it was an auto tranny oil pond in the garage, a broken window elevator or the electric antenna stuck in the middle of the way, just out of the blue (yeah with the recommended lub). It spent more time at the workshop than any other car I ever had.

After that, Mazda was my first purchase within the Ford "family" and happy with it so far... Maybe things have changed back for good in some aspects but...

...carsFord has built post Millenium. Their quality has increased dramatically over the past several years. The first year Focus was a disaster but the follow-ups have been pretty reliable.

 

[coolmazda5]

...carsFord has built post Millenium. Their quality has increased dramatically over the past several years. The first year Focus was a disaster but the follow-ups have been pretty reliable.

Yes, I agree, but the experience and the impression of the brand gets stuck for some time. I actually drove the Ford Fusion once (stick shift). I like the front lights and grill but I don't feel like buying a Ford, yet.

But coming back to the topic. A close example today would be KIA. The CEO is a quality freak and the KIA quality has improved considerably lately, it seems. Still, I would not consider a KIA on my purchase wish list due to the impression that we (wife and I) have of it (e.g. KIA are unreliable, cheap and bad designed cars)

 

[StealthWyvern]

My 3 cents :
Terrible car
1989 Ford Tempo GLX (top notch trim, bought brand new). Our last Ford. Man, that thing was better looking if you want, but if it was not the air conditioning breaking one day, it was an auto tranny oil pond in the garage, a broken window elevator or the electric antenna stuck in the middle of the way, just out of the blue (yeah with the recommended lub). It spent more time at the workshop than any other car I ever had.

After that, Mazda was my first purchase within the Ford "family" and happy with it so far... Maybe things have changed back for good in some aspects but...

You had problems with the tempo? That was one of my first cars and I went dukes of hazard style with it! God only knows how many nutrel drosp I did in that thing and it never gave me problems tell around 180k. The tranny was on its way out (my fault completly)

However my history with cars is the harder I beat them the longer they last.... Iknow makes no sense but thats how it appears to be with my cars.

I've had several fords myself and never had any problems with ford that I didn't cause. I.E. Tempo Tranny

 

[paging_drburgos]

back on topic. this isnt the 60's and ford isnt one of the best auto manufacturer's. That being said i think Mazda could definitely survive without big brother.

 

[BLACKMS3]

I disagree on both accounts...... but opinions are like bellybuttons, everyone has one......... well, except KyleXY but that's another topic

 

[DeadGeneration]

I have only owned the protege5 but our family is mostly chevy. I did however ride in a mustang fox body yesterday for the first time (seen millions just never had the displeasure of riding in one til yesterday). I honestly never realized how much crappy plastic they use in those things. It's like air plane interior plastic, everywhere. Not like the smooth nice pleasant unnoticable protege plastic, it's like textured .05 cents a car to make plastic every where lol. That and they should have never put a backseat in that thing, my head hit the roof and it was smaller then a 2 door civic back seat.

 

[DeadGeneration]

oh yea, and she put seat covers over the seats so that should also tell me some thing about the cloth quality and appearance.

 

[DeadGeneration]

That being said. I would still rip everything apart in the car and set it up for speed or drag. Although, better off with just a 5.0 at that point.

 

[Captain KRM P5]

my father is a die hard fordiphile thanks to his father and after long last he has decided to never buy one of thier cars ever again. the only decent ford he ever owned was a Ford Galaxie as a teenager and we all know those were different times with different standards entirely. he owned a Ford Pinto, which despite being rear ended numerous times never exploded, however was riveted together with various bits of sheet metal before crumbling apart. Thats just the body. He owned a late 80s F150 which went through V8 engines and transmissions before the dealership gave up on it. then both fuel tanks rotted out. he owned a Ford Aerostar which is without a doubt the biggest piece of s*** vehicle my family has ever owned - that includes the 1987 Chrysler Laser we owned. The van went through two engines, one transmission, two sliding doors and a back hatch - in the first month of ownership. After that we went through two more engines, six more transmissions another back hatch, several of Ford's finely engineered digital dashboards not to mention it rotted out as if it were sitting in a salt mine. Next he bought a Ford Expedition which I'll admit was a nice truck. 50,000 miles into ownership the front end of the truck, while in the driveway, fell to the ground with a loud snap. The front torsion bar simply snapped in half while sitting there. Ford told us that there was a manufacturing defect on the bars of those trucks, navigators and f150s. to put icing on the cake, they decided against warrantying the part because they had no idea how to keep it from happening again. last ford he bought for my mom was a 97 mustang GT droptop. that was two years ago and its getting traded in thanks to the "built ford tough" level of quality.

normally i'd be the first to say each company has its issues, but when every single car from that brand i or my family has dealt with has been considerably worse than those of other brands we've been through, i have to say i'll be damned if i ever own a pure bred ford product. as long as the window sticker shows 51% or more made in japan i'll be ok.

that said, mazda was in dire financial straits in the late 70s and early 80s and would have been bankrupt had ford not bought into them.

 

[paging_drburgos]

that said, mazda was in dire financial straits in the late 70s and early 80s and would have been bankrupt had ford not bought into them.

Well that changes my opinion somewhat because I didnt know that. So i'll change my statement to "Mazda can survive today without ford". yeah im comfortable with that one.
I'll shut up now.

Ford does make good trucks though. Cant knock em there.

 

[asmo 03 mp5]

Ford does makes good trucks except the 6.0 diesels from 02-04 they have a ton of problems, most of the rest are great.

 

[BLACKMS3]

That was an issue with the engine manufacturer Navistar though, not Ford... Ford actually spent millions in recalls to fix the issues with the customers and in the end, sued Navistar because of them....

 

[Captain KRM P5]

I just remembered that mom's ride is now a Ford Escort Wagon (2002??)! It seems that it has had no major trouble so far (keeping on mind that the car has no garage and its care is neglected) ...

Oh well, Ford is talking about selling Volvo, Jaguar LandRover (?) as part of their Back to the Basics "plan" I guess, so Mazda may be an option (?)

i don't see them selling mazda. its one of thier more successful brands right now and there is alot of cross platform pollination

 

[coolmazda5]

Some credit goes back to DiMarco and BLACKMS3 on new millenium models...

I just remembered that mom's ride is now a Ford Escort Wagon (2002??)! It seems that it has had no major trouble so far (keeping on mind that the car has no garage and its care is neglected) ...

Oh well, Ford is talking about selling Volvo, Jaguar LandRover (?) as part of their Back to the Basics "plan" I guess, so Mazda may be an option (?)

 

[1sty]

Neither company could survive without the other today for very long. THis is why most all car companies are really part of a large entity now.
Seeing that only really Honda is left as a single entity as even toyota has aquired subaru. However, honda has been building parts for other cars (GM) so we will see.

I would not be suprised that at some point Ford looks to unload mazda to keep enough cash flow to continue operations. Mazda would sell for more then any of their other devisions.

 

[paging_drburgos]

wow i know this is off topic but i had no idea toyota purchased subaru...wow.