The productive partnership between Ford and Mazda took place in the early 1990s. In fact, Mazda was just one of the foreign car companies that Ford was snatching up at a very fast pace. The saying goes, “If you can’t beat the competition, then join them.” Ford was using a strategy that with a stronger force of vehicles, it could control more of the market. They were worried about both GM and Dodge at that time so they were doing what they could to grow and give them staying power.
Swapping of names on the vehicles from Ford to Mazda has been common. For example, the small Ford pickup known as the Ranger was then known as the Mazda B Series. For a decade ranging from 1991 to 2001, the popular Ford Explorer was marketed as the Mazda Navajo.
What you will find is that many of the production methods used in Ford and Mazda vehicles are identical. In fact, you can often swap out parts on these types of vehicles with each other. They will operate the same and perform the same functions, it’s just that the vehicles have different names. This dynamic partnership is one that quickly allowed both Ford and Mazda to generate more sales and to stay on top of their market. They were not losing as many consumers to other manufacturers as they had been.
The productive partnership of Ford and Mazda is still going strong. In 2006 they introduced three new vehicles under the Mazda umbrella. All three of them are doing very well. So are numerous models of the Ford lineup. Consumers often don’t realize that this strong relationship exists. Many believe that without it, both Ford and Mazda would be out of production today instead of being one of the top contenders in the automobile market.