[ausrutherford]

Sell Mazda???!!! What would they be thinking!!!Mazda is their crown jewel and to sell it would also mean the loss of profit, ideas, and R&D. Everybody send a email to Ford on their website saying not to do it!!!!:yup:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/ford-planning-to-sell-mazda-stake.html

 

[Mr. Burns]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

[Klay]

I also don't think they should do it. I mean, the extra 1.36 billion that their stake is said to be worth won't get them very far. They should worry about selling off Volvo before their stake in Mazda.

 

[AMERICA 123]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Yep'

And bunch of other stuff - like the highest value in the family is Ford Europe - which just got more valuable than the rest of it combined and needs to be kept unfettered..

Like the Japanese market is now the best developed or developing market in the world NOT to be in - and is going to get much, much, worse.

Like Mazda is at an peak Apogee moment - going forward they flatten or decline slightly until the next wave up.

Like whats going to happening with the Yen, Euro and Dollar.

I don't like saying it , and under better conditions I wouldn't - its the smart thing to do.

They can retain some ties that will be useful for both - for awhile.

Count on it, Japan INC is not going to have the same number of Manufacturers, brands, and brand channels in two to three years from now.

If the OEMs can't get it done by themselves, the Japanese Government will 'suggest' a plan that will be followed - with an emphasis on folding Japanese firms in with each other.

A sensible one for Mazda would be Honda.

 

[Strapping.Young.Lad]

Why Mazda, Ford Transformed it from a POS to what it is today, making cars which are the best in their classes.


Don't sell em.

 

[Stéphane Dumas]

Yep'

Count on it, Japan INC is not going to have the same number of Manufacturers, brands, and brand channels in two to three years from now.

If the OEMs can't get it done by themselves, the Japanese Government will 'suggest' a plan that will be followed - with an emphasis on folding Japanese firms in with each other.

A sensible one for Mazda would be Honda.

I would had wished for Suzuki instead, since Mazda and Suzuki did some agreement like some Suzuki models rebadged as Mazda models (Suzuki Alto-Mazda Carol)

I'm not Nostradamus but I think the fate of the others like Mitsubishi Motors will be dark unless having the help of the French connection (Peugeot-Citroen?) like Renault did with Nissan. Subaru might regret, in the long-term, to be with Toyota...while Isuzu slowly vanishes

 

[AMERICA 123]

All three 'could' work as well.

Not completely certain, but those two together don't reach the critical mass requirement for outside Japan although its probably workable for inside.

Toyota already has some 'ties' with Peugeot Citroen, unfortunately.

IMO, Mitsu and Izusu ( and Mazda ) were effectively 'punished' for their overt American connections.

Given some of the factors some might expect that Mitsu and Toyota make sense.

The problem there is that w/o modification it would play havoc with Japan INC.'s supplier base - too much of too many things all one way.

Whatever, they will probably end up with 3- 4 'master' OEM's.

The tricky part will be the intersection if there is 'any' increase at all, with firms outside the Japan.

Their will probably be a fair amount of shuffling of 'assets' within all that as well ie they will reconfigure the industry in a complete sense.

The smart move for the Europeans will be to avoid buddying up with them.

 

[AMERICA 123]

Why Mazda, Ford Transformed it from a POS to what it is today, making cars which are the best in their classes.


Don't sell em.

True enough.

Completely irrelevant as well.

Its really about having to choose amongst a bunch of ****ty choices in a changing for the worst environment..

 

[Shawn704]

Didn't Ford mortage a lot of its assets including its stake in Mazda and the entire Volvo brand?

 

[Higher Rhymes]

...just like everyone here
I want to know why Volvo won't get the axe first?................

 

[RamJet502]

That would be stupid, Ford should sell Volvo first and lose Mercury second. Mazda should be a cash cow for them in the future.

 

[1931Chevy]

Unless I read it directly from a Ford memo I wouldnt believe this and remember Ford might be testing to see how much could they get in the though times but I would not expect them to sell Mazda

 

[stormwatcher]

With the world economy slowing down, this would be the worst possible time to sell Mazda. It's like GM trying to sell Hummer or the RenCen. Hopefully none of them get sold.

 

[LeSabre]

I agree that Ford shouldn't sell Mazda or Volvo.

We need to hear from Igor &/or Wescoent(sp?) or both. :yup:

 

[doh]

I cannot understand how GM and Ford think that when times get tough, they must sell the profitable brands/parts of themself, in order to make money.

They are sitting on a mound of cash (in todays stanards) Why sell profit making parts to fund profit draining parts of thier operations?

 

[blank disk]

NO way!!!
Get rid of em!!!!

There is little if any R&D gained from Mazda, and certainly little profit as well.
Ford gives them badge engineered products and powertrains for their showrooms, and we get very little back. The 6 derived Fusion no longer competes with a modern Mondeo chassis. Too much overlap exist, so I am fine with Mazda hitting the road once the european models are in place.

 

[ausrutherford]

There is alot of R&D from rotary engines, hydrogen and plug ins that Mazda is working on.

 

[AMERICA 123]

This could also possibly be part of what Ford needs to do for its next move.

The industry is going to lose about a 1/3 of its 'Oem - HQ - ownership diversity' over the next five years.

That's not the same number as brands and channels etc.

Then you have to factor in the emerge of the Chinese and Indian etc auto industries over the next ten - no matter what happens to the worldwide economy.

 

[genjy]

...just like everyone here
I want to know why Volvo won't get the axe first?................

Volvo is the only credible global luxury brand FoMoCo has left (Jag, LR, and Aston are sold).

Lincoln and Mercury have zero global appeal.

Ford, Mazda, and Volvo do. They should stay if FoMoCo wants to remain a global player.

 

[Higher Rhymes]

Volvo is the only credible global luxury brand FoMoCo has left (Jag, LR, and Aston are sold).

Lincoln and Mercury have zero global appeal.

Ford, Mazda, and Volvo do. They should stay if FoMoCo wants to remain a global player.

Interesting. Thanks for clearing that up!
But wasn't the original plan to make Lincoln a global brand and try to battle overseas like Caddy? Or simply globalize Ford's lineup to get rid of any overlap and simplify manufacturing so we get quality products across the board?

In other news, Volvo is interesting. I knew something bad was coming to the auto industry when they killed their R-DESIGN division. Soon enough, Dodge killed (most) of SRT, and many makes will probably follow suit..
Interestingly enough, their cars don't appeal to me. AWD is nice, but they axed the manual transmissions in the T5 AWD models and I still think FWD luxury is lame....... but their turbo engines are nice.

What percentage of Ford's business do Volvo and Mazda account for?