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Originally Posted by Allez
I've been a fan of Mazda since I bought my first new car, a 1987 Mazda 626. I view the days of major collaboration with Ford as not being the best for them. Since then, Mazda's really displayed a passion that many carmakers lack. It's one company where the engineers and drivers seem to be heard at least as loud as any beancounters.
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It's not great for Mazda, but Mazda also constantly had problems keeping themself afloat, so it was a necessity.
As for my opinion on Mazda... A bit of a rant ahead.
I have to disagree with you there. It's a company I feel conflicted about. I mentioned I like their newer designs and the reliability of their SkyActiv stuff, but passion? I am not seeing much nowadays. Now I understand that they are a small company, but killing Mazdaspeed branch and not offering anything really performance-oriented are hardly worth calling passionate. I love the ND2 Miata, but I am looking for something that can give the M cars and our SS 1LE a run for their money, or even something that can keep up with Golf R.
I mean, FFS, the king of toasters - Toyota, has been more passionate. Sure, Zupr4 is a lot of BMW but there is no question about Yaris GR. Even Hyundai has their Veloster N that's catching some traction. Where is Mazdaspeed3? Oh, dead, because apparently it's "childish". Yes, Mazda said Mazdaspeed is childish. I guess AMG, RS, 1LE, Shelby are all childish.
I know it is too much to ask for another rotary; a lot of RX-7 and RX-8 guys have accepted that. But when the brand can't muster up a hot hatch, yeah, I can't really call it passionate.
IMO, Mazda's fatal flaw is marketing. We can dump on BMW for selling X12345678 but that's also how they can reel in the money to make the M cars better. Mazda wants to go upbrand nowadays, but that could be an uphill battle. We will see how that goes...
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlaqWhole
Is it not? I thought they were the same platform. Or at least realistically comparable. I don't know anymore.
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Basically, Ford ditched a lot of stocks in Mazda during the 2008 financial crash to save themself. You know, that one that killed GM and Chrysler? By 2013, Ford really isn't getting involved in Mazda designs at all. As mentioned, anything SkyActiv is Mazda's own design.
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Originally Posted by Blobby
What is Kia and Hyundai’s relationship nowadays? I know they’re both owned by the same company at some level now. Multiple salesmen said the Palisade is just a rebranded Telluride and visa versa.
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They are the same company, yes, along with Genesis.