[king chile]

http://mazda3forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=1945&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

this guy who seems to have some kind of affiliation to mazda, claims that the 3 is 90% ford, from what I've seen discussed on this forum before the only thing ford has it's hands in the 3 is the suspension.. or so i thought? can anyone clear up this mess?

 

[98LX]

I'm not sure if it's 90%, but the 3, Focus, and S40 are practically the same car.

 

[raitchison]

To be more specific. The 3 is based on the C1 platofrm, the only other vehicle that's available on the C1 is the Euro Only Focus C-Max small minivan.

The 2005 Euro Focus and the 2005 Volvo S40/V50 will also be based on the C1.


The current first generation Focus, released in Europe in 99 and in the US in 2000 is based on the C170 platform. The US and Euro Focus are something like 99% identical.

When Europe gets the C1 the US is staying with the C170 and getting a minor restyle. Apparently Ford of North America thinks that the C170 is "good enough" for ignorant Americans.

As for how much of the car is "Ford" depends on your point of view, Ford & Mazda (& a couple other Ford divisions) joint developed the Duratec HE Engine then Mazda made modifications for their cars. The C1 Platform itself is based on the C170 and joint developed by Ford, Mazda & Volvo, with input by other Ford divisons.

As a former Focus owners, I can completely feel the Focus "heritage" in the 3, this is NOT a bad thing believe me.

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

The new Volvo S40 is a C1 car as well.

Mazda is Ford... get used to it. It's pretty pointless to nitpick which piece originally came from where, because they're all Ford now.

 

[srotman]

Mazda is almost 100% owned by Ford, which means Ford has the controlling share in teh company. In regard to the 3, however, the car is almost 100% Japanese. Look at teh 6, it's built in the US, however the 3 is built in Japan. Indeed the 3 has some similarities with the Focus, but as mentioned earlier, it's to the Euro-spec model, which is WAY MORE RELIABLE! The only true similarities are in the platform. From there up, even the engine, it's all true Japanese Mazda. That's why I'd consider a 3 for myself, I know it's not at all American

 

[zaimon]

Mazda is almost 100% owned by Ford, which means Ford has the controlling share in teh company.

WRONG. Ford owns 33.4% of Mazda in Japan, just enough for controlling interest. Your other points are very valid tho.

I like to think of the Mazda3 as a Ford/Mazda/Volvo joint venture. Although final manufacturing is done by Mazda in Japan, it was engineered by all three companies.

 

[bkboyz]

zaimon is correct. Ford will get some tech off mazda, but mazda3 is still made in japan!

 

[98LX]

If it helps, the word "Ford" does not appear on the MazdaUSA site at all.

 

[bluong1]

The last number I saw, C1-platform cars share 42% of their components.

PS: join-venture development is one thing, sharing components is another. They are NOT to be confused.

 

[zaimon]

join-venture development is one thing, sharing components is another. They are NOT to be confused.

In this case I guess you can say that the Mazda/Ford/Volvo trio can claim a little bit of both sides. Nonetheless, the "signatures" each of the three cars has does not hint at and involvement the other two manufacturers have had in the engineering. My 2 cents.

 

[jimmyc]

If it helps, the word "Ford" does not appear on the MazdaUSA site at all.

go to www.mazda.com

and look what's written on the bottom right.
"FORD MOTOR COMPANY"

...

 

[Bombadil]

All we can do is guess.

However I think it likely that the predominate engineers who worked on the platform and engine were Ford's. Ford had the most at stake, as this is the platform for the next Focus. The engine is a Duratec design. I suspect other parts of the car also had significant Ford engineer involvement.

It would be very hard to slice and dice each part to determine how much of it "is Ford." However I would not be surprised if somewhere around 50%, or perhaps even more, of the Mz3 had very substantial Ford engineering influence.

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

If it helps, the word "Ford" does not appear on the MazdaUSA site at all.

It DOES appear on the Mazda CORPORATE site. In very LARGE letters. "Ford Motor Company" right on the bottom.


Edit:
Oops, jimmyc already said that

 

[vaBooM]

What difference does it make? You act surprised as its never been mentioned before.

Now if you said the new 3 was 10% GM... then we got some problems.

 

[king chile]

i know that ford had some hand in mazda, but i was told that for the 3 they had very little to no involvement in the production of the car and that all the mechanics are japanese engineered. if the car is 90% ford than it seriously makes me reconsider buying it (the reason i wasn't consdering a mazda in the first place) i don't care how much better american-made cars are becoming, the reputation is terrible, the parts are expensive, the depreciation is intense, and the reliablity (which is my number 1 concern) is shit. fuck man, if this turns out to be true i'm going and getting a honda

 

[funkyfreshmonke]

fuck man, if this turns out to be true i'm going and getting a honda

go ahead. .

 

[king chile]

fuck man, if this turns out to be true i'm going and getting a honda

go ahead. .

maybe i just will

 

[cowtown]

Well it is pretty much Mazda, whether engineers from here or there contributed and some parts are from the common bin doesn't really mean much other than you get more car for your money.

Ultimately it's still built in Japan and refined by Mazda.

I mean really it doesn't matter in the big picture. But if you are that biased and short sighted then by all means enjoy your Honda, but don't complain when the replacement parts are more expensive and you aren't getting as much car for the money.

Really some people need to open their eyes.

 

[king chile]

you're the one who needs to open your eyes... the replacement parts and depraction value are both terrible for american cars.. NOT japanese, you just re-stated my point but for the wrong argument so your opinion means nothing to me because you have no idea what you're talking about. Also, american cars statistically have a shitload more go wrong with them than japanese, i owned a dodge neon.. got it with 100,000 miles in seemingly perfect shape and treated it like a baby.. i got rid of it with 130,000 miles after replacing a blown head gasket, brakes, tires, and when i got rid of it, it was leaking oil and tranny fluid, needed a new alternator, ANOTHER new head gasket, ANOTHER set of new brakes, the doors and windows had all kinds of things wrong with them, and god knows what else. the thing is that this car HAS to be reliable i live alone and have to depend on friends if something breaks down, I just can't risk owning a piece of shit. BTW if i sound heated it's because I'm getting attacked for having an opinion that the majority of people have expressed and shared on this board that american sucks and japanese owns, i think what's going on is blind pride for your vehicle. don't get me wrong, i think the 3 is great, there are a few things i would change, but I'm most likely buying this bitch tomorrow, I'm just concerned about reliablity, and I would appreciate people discussing this ford thing like adults instead of jumping down my throat about it. Now, what i heard is that ford helped mazda out when it was crashing and own some stock but that mazda is pretty self-contained when it comes to letting ford add their parts and ideas to mazda's cars (and the cars that did get ford parts were disasterous.. someone mentioned a transmission in some old 626 that had an assload of problems) 90%??? think about it folks... might as well go out and buy one of those POS focuses you guys are always bashing

 

[zaimon]

So where exactly are Honda's manufactured?

I believe the Accord in the USA (Michigan or Indiana?) but not sure about the rest of them.