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.
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