Mazda Says Sayonara To Flat Rock, Good Riddance To Ford

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Today, the last Mazda6 will “roll off the assembly line in Flat Rock today as the Japanese automaker hands the keys to the plant back to its one-time parent, Ford Motor Co.,” says the Detroit News. It is part of a sad and messy affair that makes Ford look stupid and vindictive.

The AutoAlliance International plant has been run as a joint venture between Ford and Mazda since 1992. Officially, the plant remains a 50-50 joint venture between the two automakers while both are looking into a final dissolution. Ford spokesman Todd Nissen: “We continue to study various possibilities for the future of AAI, but we don’t have anything to announce at this time.” The next-generation Mazda6 will be built in Japan.

Ford had bought a small stake in Mazda in 1979, and increased its holdings until Ford was Mazda’s largest shareholder and effectively controlled the company. Ford and Mazda shared plants and platforms throughout the world.

“When the financial crisis struck the auto industry in 2008, CEO Alan Mulally believed Ford’s engineers were using Mazda as a crutch,” says the DetN. More importantly, Ford’s shares of Mazda “were one of the few things Ford could still sell after mortgaging almost everything else to finance Mulally’s restructuring plan.” Ford reduced its 33.4 percent of Mazda to 13 percent in 2008, and cut the remainder down to a symbolic three percent in 2010. Sumitomo group firms and other companies with which Mazda enjoys close business ties were the buyers.

The formerly amicable relationship between Ford and Mazda quickly turned hostile after the first chunk of shares was turned into badly needed cash. If an executive from Ford wanted to attend a meeting at Mazda, the matters discussed had to be carefully vetted beforehand and signed-off in advance.

Former Japan-insider Ford turned into an enemy of Japan. Ford is a ringleader in the new rounds of Japan-bashing, it financed the embarrassing new “study” of the American Automotive Policy Council, which repeated old charges of a closed Japanese market, and of imperiled American jobs. Hopefully, Ford did not pay too much for the study. It was a re-release of old fiction, a sloppy re-hash of old lies without new proof.

As the former manager of a Japanese car company, Ford has intimate knowledge of Japanese business practices. If Ford can’t come up with proof to back up its embarrassing and childish allegations, we can safely assume that there is none. Mazda, which has most of its production in Japan, is worst-hit by the obscenely high yen, and must mutter choice Japanese invectives when Ford’s executives or presumptive researchers paid by Ford tell their crude lies about Japanese currency manipulation. If there is one Japanese car company that could need a free trade pact between Japan and America, then it’s Mazda. Its estranged mother Ford is against it.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Pch101 Pch101 on Aug 25, 2012

    "Former Japan-insider Ford turned into an enemy of Japan. Ford is a ringleader in the new rounds of Japan-bashing, it financed the embarrassing new “study” of the American Automotive Policy Council" Honestly, this is a very odd statement. Ford has been supporting lobbying against the Japanese auto industry for quite a long time. This was true during the time that it owned an interest in Mazda. There are European automakers that also oppose Japan being part of the trade pact. Here's a press release from the ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association) that argues against it. (You will notice VAG, Mercedes and BMW are all ACEA members): http://www.acea.be/news/news_detail/auto_industry_sceptical_about_benefits_of_eu_japan_free_trade_agreement So, Ford isn't doing anything that every other automaker in the US and Europe isn't doing with respect to Japan, and Ford's position now isn't different from it was before. This "grudge against Mazda" angle has no substance to it. Follow the money, and it should be pretty obvious why American and European automakers don't want to help their Japanese competitors to increase their exports.

  • Billfrombuckhead Billfrombuckhead on Aug 25, 2012

    "is worst-hit by the obscenely high yen"?????????????? Only Zimbabwe has a higher debt per capita than Japan! Japan has been cooking their currency for decades with American companies, American workers and Japanese consumers suffering from this state socialist policy. Adam Smith called this mercantilism and was against it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_public_debt If Japan is such an open market why did uber competitor Hyundai have to withdraw from Japan?

  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
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