[OzMartin]

I certainly see FCA leaving Mazda as an incredibly good thing for Mazda, Was there last month and went for factory tour of both Toyota and Mazda.
Agree Mazda do a lot for the team they have.

One legacy from Fords is that the pace is more frantic at Mazda building cars and produced end of line rework that day vs Toyotas was slower and did not see rework at the end of the line.
However it was hard to judge as I was shown regular consumer models 15 hours build time at Mazda to Prestige hybrids at Toyota requiring 20 hours.

End result is I think Mazda has breathed a sigh of relief with Ford out of the equation and co-operation once agreed between Japanese companies is just phenomenal that in West we could NEVER achieve.
Eg Factory making x-part is destroyed, fellow car maker may assists with their suppliers to help out ASAP.
Here is the west we would just laugh at our good fortune now that our competitor is in trouble... This is the attitude I am talking about.

If Toyota can get more euro design, throw some data out and really improve the drivers experience - ie drivers type of car, put newer efficient drivetrains in,
They will have amazing success.

Bring it on I say as consumers win with better driveable - more enjoyable cars with both better performance and style while getting that Japanese engineered build quality which why many choose to buy from Toyota a car appliance in the first place as locally in Australia most families cannot afford to risk a lemon as we have no decent laws. Toyota Mazda etc are seen as a very safe bet here for reliability.