I hear you DrBoost. I was pretty ticked off when Mazda copied the Ford Contour with their 626. But then everybody was going jellybean, then, so I guess I can't blame them.
I see similarities among all of those pictures, but I also see the general sweep of automotive styling trends among most cars.
rogerbvonceg wrote: I hear you DrBoost. I was pretty ticked off when Mazda copied the Ford Contour with their 626. But then everybody was going jellybean, then, so I guess I can't blame them.
That's pretty interesting, considering the 626 was around for at least a decade before the Contour was. 
Weren't the Contour & 626 pretty much the same under the skin. Seems the small Ford truck of a few years ago was a rebadge Mazda. Didn't Ford own a big chunk of Mazda a few years ago, or was it vice versa. Perhaps they still do.
MX6= Probe
Contour = european ford POS
M2Pilot wrote: Weren't the Contour & 626 pretty much the same under the skin. Seems the small Ford truck of a few years ago was a rebadge Mazda. Didn't Ford own a big chunk of Mazda a few years ago, or was it vice versa. Perhaps they still do.
I think Ford topped out at 26% ownershipk, and last i heard they had backed out entirely. I'm still not sure exactly what Ford did for Mazda other than give them some operating money at that time. All of the Ford/Mazda joint ventures seemed to consist of Mazda designing a car, and then Ford slapping their own body panels on it.
The amusing part is that i'd bet you could still get a much higher percentage of parts for your Ford Probe/Escort at the Mazda dealership than you could at the Ford dealership. After my third time of going to the Ford dealership for parts for the Escort, being told "Sorry, NLA" and then going to the Mazda dealership to find they had the part IN STOCK, i don't even bother going to Ford anymore.
Contour and 626 shared nothing.
The 626 "Jellybean" look and the Contour were pretty much at the same time. In fact, if you looked around in early to mid 90's, jellybeans were everywhere, which was my point.
My earlier comment was poking fun at DrBoost.
The small Ford truck of which you speak was the Ranger and yes, it got rebadged as a Mazda. The Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute share much, as well, but the origin is Ford.
Mazda6 and Fusion share a platform that grew out of Ford's Mondeo, but it's a newer Mondeo platform than that of the Contour and Mercury Mystique and Mercury Cougar.
Same Ford Duratec V-6 architecture in Escape, Tribute, Mazda6, Mondeo, Contour, Mystique, Cougar, some Taurus, etc. etc.
rogerbvonceg wrote: Contour and 626 shared nothing. The 626 "Jellybean" look and the Contour were pretty much at the same time. In fact, if you looked around in early to mid 90's, jellybeans were everywhere, which was my point. My earlier comment was poking fun at DrBoost. The small Ford truck of which you speak was the Ranger and yes, it got rebadged as a Mazda. The Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute share much, as well, but the origin is Ford. Mazda6 and Fusion share a platform that grew out of Ford's Mondeo, but it's a newer Mondeo platform than that of the Contour and Mercury Mystique and Mercury Cougar. Same V-6 architecture in Escape, Tribute, Mazda6, Mondeo, Contour, Mystique, Cougar, some Taurus, etc. etc.
Other way around on the B2200/Ranger of that time as far as i know, or they kept separate motors. The early B2200s had an FE or F2 motor, both of which are mazda motors, and a mazda transmission, closely related to the RX7 TII and Miata units. This was up to the early/mid 90s. Later B2200s or B2600s whatever they were called were rangers.
I don't want to be a jerk, but can we get back on track please? Specific question. How are the automatics behind the six?
In reply to czracer:
I don't think you're being a jerk. We did sorta hijack the thread. I wish I could give an informed answer to the question. Sorry.
Sorry for participating in the derailment. I tried to get it back on track, asked if you wanted auto or manual. I think the auto would be okay! It's a decent enough auto in my LS, and in something like the GS300 (the 6-cylinder model) it's almost as fast as my LS with the V8. Power/Econ mode switch actually helps some, and the GS has button shifters if you want to pretend F1.
Well, after looking a little more I'm thinking the IS300 is about the only Lexus I'm into. I haven't found a G35 w/a manual trans, and I'm a little concerned about jumping into a BMW. Any other suggestions? I drove a WRX wagon (I know it's AWD, and not what I was looking for) the other day, and while nice and powerful, it seemed cheap, and I can't get passed the fact that every boy racer is into them! Also, we do lots of head gaskets on them...
In reply to czracer:
Did you try a GS400?
Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to czracer: Did you try a GS400?
Haven't found one yet. I've read that maintenance on the Lexus 8 is not fun, so I'm looking at the 6 harder.
All I've done on mine in the year and a half I've had it is oil changes. And even that is so much simpler than on my past BMWs. No factory computer reset tools, no big trays underneath the engine - about has hard as changing the oil on a Civic. I hear some of the gaskets are pretty hard to get too. Other than that, I don't know.
we used to race Supras in the old Speedvision Cup in both turbo and NA form, and pretty much they are the same as the IS300 under the skin. I also used to know someone that raced an IS300 in a professional series as well, but it was not exactly a stock class. Anyway, point is, they are unbelieveably tough cars. They simply don't have the same wear issues the BMW, Mazda, GM, or Ford's used to have that we raced against.
We basically did nothing other than maintenance, nothing. A whole season on a single clutch, no hub issues, easy on brakes, no transmission issues..etc. These are all items that used to be consumed on a regular basis by the other guys. I'd say the IS300 is one of the last of the bulletproof Toyotas.
That said, i own a G35 and love it. I get about 22mpg everyday in town, is fairly fun to drive, and feels kind of like a hot rod really. It's also very comfortable and nice, and things just work. It is very, very different than my previous BMW experience in that regard. Although I still love them too. It is an automatic though, althought it seems to suit the car well. Not sure I'd want a stick in it after living with mine for a year now. I have other cars for that anyway.
You really need to go drive a few cars though and see which ones you like best. Like you, I have a bad back, and not all seats work for me. I've had some people tell me that car "X" has the best seats ever, only to leave me in pain after a few miles. It all depends on the person I think.
After looking for a while, I found a 2004 IS300 Sport Design with 60k miles, and a clean title. It's an automatic w/the steering wheel shift buttons. What is the longevity of this transmission? Is the remote shifting any good? I "conceded" on getting an auto over a stick because I can't find a clean manual, and I'm not going to be racing it, and to be honest, I like driving an auto the older I get.
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