Ok..now I am mad!!

[Unit 5302]

The Probe was nothing more than a Mazda MX-6 with a little different body treatment. LOL, one of my co-workers had a Probe with a Mazda factory badge inside the door.

The only Probe engine that was designed by Ford was used from 1989-1992. The 3.0L OHV V-6 in the Probe LX.

Hmm... may just be me, but Geo was discontinued as a brand altogether a couple years ago. Chevy Tracker, and Chevy Prism, and Chevy Metro are what they go by now if I'm correct. Oh, and Honda builds Saturn engines.

[ultraflo]

Excellent points Unit...

My sister had a '90 Ranger that had a Mazda motor and tranny

My mother has a '01 Ranger with a Ford 4.0L

Kinda confusing, I realize, but the old ranger is where I came up with the ranger being a glorified mazda...

My sister's '01 Chevy Trailblazer is an awesome SUV or whatever you wish to call it, 270hp in-line 6 pot! Damn, it's smooth!

As far as the hybrid technology goes, the Ford Escape hybrid due out in 2003 is claimed to get up to 40 mpg with its gas/electric engine.

"For all their benefits, however, hybrids do cost a few thousand dollars more than their gas-only counterparts. While you may be able to recoup that money in fuel savings within 10 years, it's still a big initial investment. And the batteries are guaranteed under warranty for only eight years, at which point customers may have to shell out as much as $2,000 for a replacement.

'People are not willing to pay extra money for fuel economy in the U.S.,' says Rich Marsh, who heads GM's hybrid-truck program. That's why GM plans to market its hybrid Sierra and Siverado pickups, due out in 2004, not on their tiny 2 mpg improvment in fuel consumption but on the benefits of their onboard electric generators and standard outlets for plugging in power tools."

...I just read this in TIME magazine. I would rather see cheaper prices at the pump than electric vehicles with no power. In the article, the author stated that Ford would not let him drive the Escape up the steepest of hills during a test drive.

[Mr 5 0]

Unit:

I read your last post with interest and found agreement with your analysis of China and Japan but I see Russia (and Putin) a bit differently.

Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister of Russia, is more than simply 'a soldier'. Yes, he was in the KGB for 16 years but he's also an attorney, was a university rector and held many administrative positions before becoming acting PM and then the elected PM in 1999. He's no peasant.

Putin has established a working relationship with President Bush, has reformed the tax code in Russia (they have a 13% flat tax which is wildly successful in bringing in revenue) and his economic policies have seen Russia's economic growth to rise over 8% last year, the biggest rise in decades. Oil sales have a lot to do with this, of course, but not all.

Communism is dead in Russia and Putin is a new breed of Russian leader. In short, this is not your father's Russia.

I believe Russia - and Putin - can be an excellent ally of the United States, especially if war breaks out in the mid-east. as I expect it will by the end of this year.

Of course Russians are xenophobic; they've lived in a closed society for 70 years and were told that Russia invented everything and the U.S. is an enemy. This will take time to recede, but it will.

Vladimir Putin is no JFK, but he's no fool either and he can and will bring Russia into the 21st century. I like him, as much as I've ever liked a Russian leader and as I mentioned before, things have changed in Russia.

[Mach 1]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Unit 5302
[B]The Ford Probe was discontinued in 1996, the Mazda B series is a glorified Ranger.

Ford/Mercury/Lincoln's Current Lineup.

-Focus
-Mustang
-Taurus
-Ranger
-F Series
-Escape
-Explorer
-Expedition
-Excursion
-Cougar
-Sable
-Mountaineer
-Continental
-Town Car
-LS
-Navigator
-Blackwood

I'm not seeing a whole lot of imports there.


Thanks for clearing that up for me Unit. I didnt take the time to do the reserach as you did, but the results were what I expected. The most Jap influenced car in that lineup would probably be the Escape, as its brother is the Mazda Tribute.

I think your right about the GEO name, as the last tracker I saw was a Chevy tracker, not a Geo tracker, but its still the Suzuki. Where the Ford Escape/MAzda Tribute was a joint effort between Ford and mazda, the Chevy Tracker is 100% Suzuki, So GM is selling Jap cars with the thier name on them. Not uncommon, but I dont see Ford doing it currently.

As far as Americans not paying more for a Hybrid vehicle, I agree with that, and the reason is simply the low prices for gasoline in this country. A lot of the world pays a lot more for gasoline (Europe is a good example) and they sell a lot more small, economy cars in those countries for that reason.

The low gas prices are a luxery we shouldnt count on forever and could go bye, bye at any time, which could make the Hybrid vehicles a success in this country some day.

[Unit 5302]

I have no idea what engine went into the Ranger in 1990 that would have been a Mazda engine. I think there was a 2.3L I-4 (Ford), 2.9L V-6 (Ford), and a 4.0L (Ford)

I wasn't really talking about recent history, Mr 5 0. I was talking within the last few hundred years. Russia has been invaded, and threatened so many times I believe it's been built right into their society not to trust outsiders. I think it's even moreso with the US since the US is known to now be more powerful than they are.

My critisism of Putin may be unjust. I know one of the major things he dealt with right off the bat was the banking system over there making tremendous amounts of profit by playing the monetary system, and that took definate guts and commitment.

What Unit 5302 is talking about:
In case the rest of the readers are not familiar, Russian banks were using their currency (the rubel) to make money. Banks would purposely cause fluctuations in the value of the rubel and exchange it for the rock solid US dollar. When the rubel dropped in value to next to nothing, banks would exchange "buy" rubels with dollars, and when the strength of the rubel had returned, exchange "buy" dollars with rubels again. It was a continuing cycle that hurt average Russians right down to the purchase of food, and the banking system was making a killing off of it. In case you may have heard something about the tremendous fluctuation of value in the rubel, this was it.

It just seems as though he hasn't been public enough to the rest of the world. I feel as though he could do a better job marketing his country, but maybe I'm wrong. I wish Japan would have pulled their head out of their you know what to help Russia build some oil drilling equipment instead of squabbling over a meaningless island that is Russia's fair and square.

[elliotness]

Finally something I know about,

I sat and read many of your positions about how "American" Ford Motor Company is. I love Ford products, however, let's not be naive about our cars.

If you are driving a Ford, parts from your car were assembled or made overseas. I don't want to get to deep on you but I can say with 100% certainty that Fords are not entirely American.

Ever heard of NAFTA.

Many companies, American companies, divert products to Mexico through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The companies, for instance, send parts to Mexico for them to be assembled. Mexican labor is cheaper, thereby making the end product cheaper. The product is re-imported into the United States as "American Goods Returned." This is totally legal and above board. This allows the company to import the goods without paying United States Customs Duties.

Some companies send parts to Mexico, say for instance parts for a carburator. When the parts return they are fully assembled engines. The company lists them as "American Goods Returned." Therefore, avoiding high duty (TAX) rates from the U.S. Customs Service.

So don't be so smug about "Ford" being all American, because they may not be.

Elliot Ness

[ultraflo]

Ford sold a pickup known as the Courier, which was a Mazda with a few styling changes made by Ford...

And I apologize for the incorrect info on the '90 Ranger
(my foot stinks, but I'm getting used to the taste)

Is the Fiesta an "all-American" ...what about the Festiva?

I'm getting a lesson on foreign affairs... what in the world have you guys been reading?

The Ford Fiesta is a POS German engineered box on wheels.

However...

The Ford Festiva was brought to the US based upon an original concept (mid 80's) by Ford Motor Company to provide an economical passenger vehicle for the first time car buyer, the primary target market being North America (US and Canada) Later, the nameplate would be applied to secondary overseas markets consisting of Japan, Taiwan, Dominican Republic, Phillipines, and Venezuela (South America).

Mechanical and primary styling aspects of the Festiva were based on an existing (then pending) design from Mazda (to be known as Mark 1 121) of Japan. Several styling cues from Ford (Dearborn, MI USA) were applied to the Festiva such as the aero headlamps and floating Ford emblem to ensure identification within the Ford product line in the late Eighties.

Actual production of the Festiva destined for the North American market was begun in 1987 by Kia Motors of Seoul, South Korea (the Festiva was final assembled in Sohari, South Korea). Kia was already manufacturing the Kia Pride (began in mid-86) for the South Korean market. Mid-86 also marked the beginning of Ford's collaboration with Kia. At the same time, Mazda began their own production of the Mazda 121 and Ford Festiva for the Japanese (apparently no Mazda 121's were sold in Japan), Australian, New Zealand and European markets.

Production of the Mazda 121/Japanese spec Ford Festiva ran from 1987 to 1992 and among the lineup was the only true high-performance model of the Ford Festiva from the factory that was ever offered (Festiva GT-X). Australia received the Mazda 121 (Japanese built 2-door) during the late 1980's. In 1992 Ford began importing the Kia-built 4 door hatchback, then later a 2-door hatchback. In 1994, they were replaced by the Aspire/Avella type bodystyle (still kept the name Festiva though).

Huh?

It is worth noting that the Ford Festiva sold in Australia and New Zealand to this day is actually based on the Kia Avella (same platform as the former Ford Aspire). In Japan, the current Ford Festiva (wagon) is manufactured by Mazda (based on pre-99 121 "bubble car", again related to Kia Avella).