[MX 121 DA-FT]

theres been ford badged mazdas since the 80's'. 626/Telstar, 323/Laser, 121/Festiva, MX-6/Probe etc. don't know how the partnership started, probably because back then ford weren't making enough cars for those market segments or maybe something to do with pricing since it costs more to design a new car then to license an existing design, maybe asian manufactured is cheaper too. ford owns about 30% of mazda now, ever since mazda went way downhill & almost disappeared due to their poor marketing & profits. with ford in control of the financing side of mazda, the manufacturer is now seeing much of the good money & a whole new lineup of models.

ford also owns jaguar as well