With all the delays and the high demand of the new mustang, do you guys think it was a bad decision to produce 2 cars in the same plant. Do ya think it would be feasable to move the mazda 6 production elswhere in order to crank out more mustangs. The demand is going to be the same or more in 06( a lot of people wait for the 2nd year production) and remember the cobras have to be built also.

 

Was at mazda dealership other day (sis likes the 6--im working on getting her to change mind in favour of stang) anyways,was talking to salesmanager and he told me the 6 will be made back in japan in just under a year from now.He said for that matter,all mazda's will revert back to being made in japan over time...

 

Horrible to say this, but the Mustang needs the Mazda 6 and any other possible product the may come off the Mustang to be built there. Mazda will not leave that factory they are half owners. Main reason the Mazda 6 won't leave is the simple fact that true right now demand is right out the roof. Awsome cool great, but in two years (yes I know that is a long time) the cars will be all over the place and when the demand is down some it will happen that factory has to have other products to pick up the slack. One of the reasons the Mustang was almost killed after the 1989 model years is if car isn't hitting that magic sales number for the right profit margin then it get the ax. Now that being said that did not happen to Mustang luck and decated fans like ourselves prevented that. Having another product in that factory very different from the Mustang that should never suffer the same kind of sales slack (sedans) will help pervent the car and the factory from drifting into the low production numbers area. As long as the Mazda 6 and the Mustang in total produce and sell over 300,000 a year between the two of them will help insure our beloved car will not end its current life span.

 

I have absolutely no idea if the Mazda 6 is going to move in the near future or not. However, as many on here already know Ford has long run Mazda. The portion of Mazda they own is enough to make them majority shareholder and really consitutes legal ownership of Mazda by Ford.

If Bill Ford says Mazda is going to move production then Mazda being half owner is going to mean absolutely zip. When you own 1/2 of a production facility it is always easier to get your way when you also own the company that owns the other half.

That said, I can see the logic in moving Mazda Six production, especially if another car is to be built on the new Mstang's chassis. Wether or not it happens, who knows?

 

One thing to that though, if the Mazda6 did move to Japan for all production. Imagine the price hike, have to figure in shipping those over the oceans too! I don't think Mazda wants that.

 

Not a chance. The Flat Rock built cars are different under the skin than the Hiroshima built cars in many ways. Plus the V6 is only sold in the US-CAN Market.

To move total production back to Japan would mean a near doubling of production. Mazda doesn't have the production capabilities in the plants there to do it.

 

I've heard the V6 will be available in Europe next year.

 

I'd be happy if they just cut back Mazda 6 production and increase Mustang Production at least for the '05 & '06.

I'd be curious to see Mazda 6 sales to current Mustang sales.

 

I can't give you the numbers but Mazda6 sales are supposed to be up by 30% over last year.

 

Before purchasing our 05 Mustang we stopped by the Mazda dealer to look at the 3 as well as the 6.
We were trading in an 03 Saturn Ion and the dealer was giving us a low trade in for it I asked why and he gave me the line about "American cars dont hold their value etc" I had to cut him off and interject that Mazda is 1/2 owned by Ford and the Mazda 6 is made in the same factory as the Mustang! He wasnt very pleased that I called him out on that so needless to say we got up and left!

 

[quote=elwhit95,March 14, 2005, 3:03 AM]
Horrible to say this, but the Mustang needs the Mazda 6 and any other possible product the may come off the Mustang to be built there. Mazda will not leave that factory they are half owners. Main reason the Mazda 6 won't leave is the simple fact that true right now demand is right out the roof. Awsome cool great, but in two years (yes I know that is a long time) the cars will be all over the place and when the demand is down some it will happen that factory has to have other products to pick up the slack. One of the reasons the Mustang was almost killed after the 1989 model years is if car isn't hitting that magic sales number for the right profit margin then it get the ax. Now that being said that did not happen to Mustang luck and decated fans like ourselves prevented that. Having another product in that factory very different from the Mustang that should never suffer the same kind of sales slack (sedans) will help pervent the car and the factory from drifting into the low production numbers area. As long as the Mazda 6 and the Mustang in total produce and sell over 300,000 a year between the two of them will help insure our beloved car will not end its current life span.

very well put

 

I walked out on the first Mazda dealer I visited as well. They tried to give me a low trade on my Acura. I ended up at a Mazda dealer in Houston and had a much better experience. I love my 6. I'm still trying to find a way to keep the 6 AND afford a Mustang GT! I'm afraid the 6 will be a casualty if I can't find a way.

 

yeah I got lucky because I got to keep my(now my wifes)02 Nissan Altima. I really like that car.

 

The MazdaSpeed 6 will be made in japan, but not the regular north american 6's. It's too bad though, the speed 6 will come with some features (nav, HID's) that are avaialble in europe and japan, but not here due to the lack of tooling at the north american facility.

 

Isn't AAI independentaly owned and operated? If this is the case ownership of the plant means squat anyways.

 

No, it's jointly owned by Ford and Mazda. That's where the "Alliance" comes from in "Auto Alliance International".

 

From what I understand, it isn't tooling that's the issue. This was discussed heavily on a Mazda6 board I frequent and the reason they aren't offered in the US is due to the union contract at AAI. It isn't in the contract that union employees are to install nav but the union will also not let AAI farm it out to another shop either. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that but that was the generally accept reason on the Mazda6 forum.

 

Actually the AAI plant is almost it's own entity. My "guy on the inside" says there are times when it is like they don't work for Ford at all.

 

They don't work for Ford. They work for AAI, which is the Ford/Mazda joint venture. It isn't operated like any other Ford plant in the US.

 

Ford owns 33% of Madza not 50%.