It's likely to be a major operation but, as Hugh Hunston discovers,

one with high hopes

MAZDA Motor Corporation, founded in Hiroshima as a cork-producing

company during 1920, is currently undergoing early preparatory

procedures prior to major surgery courtesy of influential minority

shareholder, Ford Motor Company of Detroit.

When Ford's Edinburgh-raised chief executive officer, Alex Trotman,

declares: ''We're co-operating with Mazda to see where we can be of

assistance in difficult times'', you know pre-medication counselling is

under way.

Ford has held a 25% stake in Mazda, previously Toyo Kogyo, for 14

years, with the relationship extending to model cross-dressing, the

shared wardrobe including the factory in Flat Rock, Michigan, that is

the home of Ford's new Probe coupe and the Mazda MX-6 clone.

But the pains of trading with a burgeoning yen and too many models

chasing too few niches have combined to generate a predicted Mazda loss

of $290m this year and the arrival of Ford's company physicians.

Since 1989 Mazda has delivered 20 new vehicles using 16 different

product platforms and a bewildering array of 25 model names and numbers.

In Japan there is a confusing variety of different merchandising

channels supplying as many dealers as market leaders Toyota.

The talk of the motor industry is that Ford and Mazda will dovetail

product lines to avoid duplication, presumably in return for funding in

cash or kind.

Several new model programmes have been frozen or reviewed, including

development of the Ford Escort/Mazda 323 and next-generation Probe/MX-6.

In some Pacific and Australasian markets Ford Tracer is a Mazda 323 and

Ford Telstar a Mazda 626 in drag.

Ford and Mazda cross-pollinate in Korea courtesy of Kia Motors with a

new Ford Aspire (twixt Fiesta and Escort) hatchback heading for the US.

Kia's UK Pride is an obsolete 121 and previously was the Stateside Ford

Festiva.

Mazda is the custodian of Dr Felix Wankel's rotary engine principle,

nurtured by engineering doyen Kenichi Yamamoto.These clever but thirsty

units, dislodged from mainstream sales by the early seventies Opec fuel

crisis, survive in the RX7 sports car, the Japan-only Cosmo large coupe,

and a 929 large saloon.

Utilising Halewood capacity on Merseyside for the Escort/323 is now

back in focus, particularly as Nissan, Toyota, and Honda appear happy in

the UK. Whatever the outcome, Mazda is keen to retain an ability to

think original, and insiders argue that cars like the brilliant Miata

MX-5 roadster would not have become a reality under Ford stewardship.

In Britain the importer of the Hiroshima marque has to ration its

restricted quota by picking and choosing variations and volume, which

explains why just 3000 examples of the Xedos strain were sold last year.

Xedos, pronounced Kersedoss, is a synthesised name, a brand within a

brand. It was supposed to be Mazda's answer to Toyota's Lexus, Honda's

Acura, and Nissan's Infiniti, carrying the title Amati in the USA.

There are now three Xedos options, the mild-mannered 1.6-litre entry

model at #15,995 and 2-litre V6, both designated 6 and sharing the same

''compact'' bodyshell, while more recently the larger 165-horsepower,

#24,399, 2.5-litre Xedos 9 appeared. A V12 flagship was planned but

remains on hold.

Launched to the media at Gleneagles in the summer of 1992, Xedos 6 has

not dated and has a select clientele, including refugees from BMW and

Mercedes, and those moving up from the mass makers.

A compact sedan, by American definitions, it looks particularly svelte

in dark metallic colours. Fit and finish is up to BMW standards with

precise panel fit and door hangings. Inside, the car suffers from a lack

of European cockpit class ambience, particularly in the drab

charcoal-grey finish, and the switchgear is somewhat tacky. Heater

controls and ventilation switches operate in the opposite direction from

most contemporary rivals.

From the point of turning the ignition key the driver knows there is

something special under the bonnet. This V6, 24-valve unit is a jewel

which spins like a top all the way to the 7000-rpm red line and beyond.

It ticks over almost imperceptibly and inaudibly, allowing the driver

to adopt two driving styles. Leisurely mode one is to let the engine's

flexibility lug it around in the higher gears as it pulls out of its

boots, or mode two zings the revs round the clock and makes urgent

forward progress.

There is some degree of transmission shunt or snatch in traffic and

too much tyre roar on changing surfaces, a 626 shortcoming. But overall

Xedos's manners are responsive, and sharp and standard ABS brakes

reassuring.

At #18,122 the 144hp, 2-litre Xedos 6 comes well equipped but minus

driver's airbag and leather trim, available as standard on the #19,240

special equipment model.

For those interested in clinical statistics the Xedos 6 is capable of

a nominal terminal velocity of 134mph, standstill to 62mph (100kph) in

under nine seconds and average fuel consumption of 30mpg, giving a

390-mile pump to pump range.

PLUS AND MINUS

* FOR: something different and stylish from Japan, relative rarity,

seamless engine response, reliability and allegedly strong residual

value.

* AGAINST: Not over roomy in back, uninspiring interior and

ergonomics, gearbox/clutch action could be more slick.