4 posts tagged “mazda”

I remember at the time there was quite a lot of excitement around this car—then as the years went by, we realized it was another boring bread-and-butter bubble. All the Ford Telstars made it on to Autocade today, and here they are. This is, as far as I can tell, more accurate than the claptrap on Wikipedia.

Ford Telstar (GC/AR/AS). 1982–7 (prod. unknown). 4- and 5-door sedan. F/F, 1587, 1789, 1998 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC). Mazda Capella (GC) with new front and rear ends and Ford badging. Mechanically the same. No coupé. Five-door badged TX5. Big technological advance on Cortina, which it replaced in Australia and New Zealand, though in the latter market, a station wagon variant was missed. Popular and a welcome all-rounder in the mid-sized market at the time, and Ford’s main entrant through most of the Asia-Pacific, but more seemed to be affectionate toward its predecessor. Sold at Autorama dealers in Japan.

Ford Telstar (GD/AT/AV). 1987–96 (prod. unknown). 4- and 5-door sedan, 5-door wagon. F/F, F/A, 1587, 1789, 1998, 2184 cm³ petrol, 1998 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC), 1789, 1998 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Mk II Telstar, introduced alongside Mazda Capella (GD), and with a stronger resemblance to the donor vehicle. Station wagon for the first time from 1988, but sold only in Japan and New Zealand; sedans appeared more mature, larger. Five-door still called TX5. DOHC and four-wheel-drive models for this generation, as well as a larger 2·2-litre unit. Improved on its predecessor in terms of quality and refinement, but more of a domestic appliance. Station wagon continued as part of closely related GV series after 1991, while sedans went to GE platform that year; GD wagons were still assembled in New Zealand into the mid-1990s.

Ford Telstar (GV). 1992–7 (prod. unknown). 5-door wagon. F/F, F/A, 1789, 1998 cm³ petrol, 1998 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC). Instead of coming up with an all-new wagon for the GE-series Capella and Telstar, Mazda put the GD through an extensive facelift, and sold the result alongside GE. The effect was somewhat incongruous—bumpers and plastic trim looked like afterthoughts and blended poorly with the original shape—but GV kept the company in the mid-sized wagon market in Japan for much of the 1990s, when it faced financial difficulties. Mid-term revisions in 1994.

Ford Telstar (GE/AX/AY). 1991–7 (prod. unknown). F/F, F/A, 1789, 1991 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Another variation on the Mazda Capella (GE)—Mk III for want of a better term—as before with relatively few changes from original Japanese model. Overall a bread-and-butter bubble with typical rounded styling of the late 1980s–early 1990s. Telstar II launched in Japan in 1994 and overlapped standard GE run. GE built also in South Africa by Samcor, 2·0 and 2·5 only.

Ford Telstar II (CG). 1994–7 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/F, 1789, 1991 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC). Odd amalgam of rounded centre section of GE-series Telstar with formal front and rear ends favoured by traditional Japanese sedan buyers. Mechanically a GE four-cylinder. Same sheetmetal as contemporary Capella. Introduced in Japan after Mazda’s multi-brand strategy collapsed, and front end meant to ape Mazda Sentia; Ford simply took what was available for the Japanese domestic market and badged it a Telstar.

Ford Telstar (GF/GW). 1997–2001 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan, 5-door wagon. F/F, F/A, 1840, 1991 cm³ (4 cyl. DOHC), 1998 cm³ diesel (4 cyl. OHC), 2497 cm³ (V6 DOHC). Final Telstar, but very conventional. Mazda Capella (GF) twin was developed as a reaction to the company’s overambitiousness of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and resulted in a very plain car. Telstar had four-door sedan and wagon; no five-door. Diesel from 1998. Sold in Japan, and not widely exported as Ford shifted to promoting the Mondeo and Contour in most markets.

This was a bit disappointing. What is the 900th entry on Autocade?

Ford Telstar (GC/AR/AS). 1982–7 (prod. unknown). 4- and 5-door sedan. F/F, 1587, 1789, 1998 cm³ (4 cyl. OHC). Mazda Capella (GC) with new front and rear ends and Ford badging. Mechanically the same. No coupé. Big technological advance on Cortina, which it replaced in Australia and New Zealand, though in the latter market, a station wagon variant was missed. Popular and a welcome all-rounder in the mid-sized market at the time, and Ford’s main entrant through most of the Asia-Pacific, but more seemed to be affectionate toward its predecessor. Sold at Autorama dealers in Japan.

   Well, at least, unlike the Wikipedia entry on the car, it’s accurate.
   A hundred to go and then I’ll announce the site more widely.

After the ANZAC Day service, we had morning tea. Some of the Miss New Zealand contestants came in after they had their hair and make-up done. Two veterans, Richard and Ken, loved the attention they got—especially Ken, who said, ‘I’ll have to start saying my prayers earlier tonight.’
   I was snapping away on the cell, though I missed the one where some of the present-day soldiers from Linton were getting food and froze when a few of the girls got theirs, bending over to do so. I was told by one of the pageant folks that the lads stopped and forgot they were holding their own food and drinks. I would have, too, probably.

   The ladies have a chat over morning tea.    Two real characters, Richard (wiping his mouth) and Ken, loved the attention—and Ken was a real charmer with the ladies!    Miss Horowhenua, and eventual runner-up, Priyani Puketapu, spots my cellphone poised to take a shot.    A general shot and you can see the plate with the sausage rolls has had good business.    This was the last van-load of contestants to depart. I don’t know what the sergeant is saying here but was there a love connection? (I love the fact that this Mazda van has the slogan ‘Home of Holden’ on the tailgate!)

We should have some confidence in the MG TF under Nanjing—principally because its competition is worried. The closest rival, the Mazda MX-5 Mk III, in pretty much every respect the better car, has spawned a limited edition in the UK to coincide with the relaunch of the TF at Longbridge last week.
   Limited editions and the British go together like Morecambe and Wise, but this quotation in Motortorque was telling:

“Since the demise of the MG TF and Toyota MR2, there is no longer a defined ‘roadster’ segment within the non-premium sports car market,” commented Mazda UK´s Managing Director Rob Lindley.

   Mazda gently reminded people that the previous MG had died and there were dangers about buying the resurrected car. It’s very subtle, but I am sure that the MD’s statement was geared to do that.
   However, it just shows that Mazda is concerned that a relaunched TF will snap sales up, and there’ll be Brits holding off buying an MX-5 because of the developments at Longbridge.
   I think NAC MG has been very kind to Mazda given that it could bring up the war … oops, did I just write that? Whatever you do, don’t mention the war.
   I mentioned it just then, but I think I got away with it.
   ‘You started it. You invaded Manchuria.’
   Speculation in the British media is about the MG TF’s price, which by most accounts needs to be lower than it was when MG Rover collapsed in 2005.
   Meanwhile, Paul Stowe, NAC MG’s own blogger and the company’s quality boss, is rightly upset about the negative tone some in the British media have taken. He points out two alternatives in his blog, in some way reinforcing my own points that NAC didn’t have to reopen Longbridge, and that its boss, Yu Jiang Wei, should be applauded for pushing through its restart last week.

PS.: To those who do not know me, I should point out that no malice is intended toward the people of Japan in this post. Most of my Japanese friends know my sense of humour and how I use World War II as part of my humour.—JY