1989 Mazda MX-6 and the 1989 Ford Probe

1989 Mazda MX-6 GT

By Warren Brown, Washington Post
May 6, 1988

The lobby of Mazda Motor Corp.'s assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, tells much of the story. On the left sits a gleaming, white 1989 Mazda MX-6 sports coupe. On the right, there's a stunning, black, deliciously malevolent Ford Probe GT. The two cars are mechanical and structural clones, built side-by-side on the same assembly line, the offspring of a relationship in which Ford owns 25 percent of Mazda.

The sense of de'ja vu one gets from sitting in both sports coupes is no illusion. The layouts are similar: Both have relatively low roof lines, but enough headroom and legroom to seat four comfortably. Both have elliptical, hooded instrument panels conforming to the top curves of their steering wheels. Both have conveniently located, pod-mounted controls.

Oh, but on the outside, how these two front-wheel-drive cars differ! In exterior appearance, they are like warring siblings, each bent on establishing separate identities, consequences be damned! The MX-6, slightly square of face and body, is the more conservative of the two. Its minor concessions to style are modestly flared fenders -- cute, inoffensive things.

The Probe is another matter. It has a low-slung, rounded, almost menacing body, a design reminiscent of a Ferrari Testarossa. It's a wild child, capable of attracting as many enemies as friends. Even the Probe's name causes trouble, and that's unfortunate and unfair. Several women called me, demanding to know why Ford gave its car such a "sexist name." In truth, the Probe name has been around for years, mostly riding on Ford's experimental show cars. In that context, it meant "Probe into the future." The meaning hasn't changed. The interpreters have.

Complaints: The lower-level Probe and MX-6 cars are a bit disappointing in acceleration. Cars that look fast are supposed to move that way. These move, but only after grumbling through the lower gears. The Probe comes in three versions - the GL, LX and GT. The MX-6 also has three faces, the DX, LX and GT.

All models are equipped with the Mazda-designed 2.2 liter, inline, overhead cam, 12 valve (2 intake, 1 exhaust), 4-cylinder engine. But the GT packages have something extra: a turbocharged 2.2 that gets 145 hp at 4,300 rpm versus 110 hp at 4,700 rpm in the non-turbo GL, DX and LX. If you're more interested in driving than styling, get one of the GT models.

Praise: Both the MX-6 and Probe are all-around delightful sports coupes, particularly in GT dress. They are highway cars that also turn in a nimble performance in the city.

Head-turning quotient: Parents probably would feel more comfortable seeing their children in an MX-6. The car simply looks more responsible than the Probe. But if you don't have to worry about your parents, the Probe's the ride.

Ride, handling, braking: Both the MX-6 and Probe have excellent ride and handling. Both have good brakes -- power-assisted, ventilated front discs, with self-adjusting rear drum brakes in the less-expensive models and solid rear discs in the GT cars. Anti-lock brakes are available for the GTs. The Probe employs a stiffer suspension, which means it gives a noticeably harder ride than the MX-6.

Sound system: 80-watt, four-speaker, AM/FM stereo radio and cassette. Very good.

Mileage: About 25 to the gallon (15.9-gallon tank, estimated 390-mile range on usable volume) for both the Probe and MX-6 GT cars equipped with five-speed manual transmissions. The GL, DX, LX models have a tad better fuel efficiency with manual gearboxes, a tad less with automatic transaxles.

Price: The 1989 -- repeat, 1989 -- Probe and MX-6 are on sale this spring. Base prices range from about $10,459 to $14,000, depending on the model chosen. But fully equipped GT packages in both cars could cost $17,000-plus. Prices, at this writing, were not firm.

Purse-strings note: Keep in mind that the Probe and MX-6 are, essentially, the same cars and that both are based on the in-many-ways comparable Mazda 626. Forget the slogans. Shop both Mazda and Ford dealers to get the best price.

Mazda History

The Toyo Cork Kogyo Company, founded in 1920 in Hiroshima, Japan, first used the name Mazda for its first three-wheeled truck, the Mazda-Go, built in 1931. Company founder Mr. Matsuda chose the word Mazda because it was the name of the Zoroastrian god of good and light, Ahura Mazda.

1931 Mazda-Go (Mazdago)

Mazda Motors Logo (1934)

1960s

The year 1960 was the birth of Mazda as an automaker. In just this decade, the marque progressed from a 16 horsepower (12 kW) keicar to a Wankel engined sports car, the Mazda Cosmo. Mazda also entered the United States market at the end of the decade. The first four-wheel car, the Mazda R360, was introduced in 1960, followed by the Mazda Carol in 1962.

1960 Mazda R360 Coupe
1962 Mazda Carol Sedan

1966 Mazda Familia Sedan
1969 Mazda Luce Rotary Coupe

1970s

Internationally, the 1970s were the heyday of Mazda as a performance leader. The Wankel "rotary" engines outperformed their piston-based competitors by a large margin, and Mazda made the most of the powerplant by putting it in almost every product they sold, from the Rotary Pickup to the RX-7, and even the large Luce sedan. The only exception was the Mazda Chantez keicar, because other car makers vetoed the move.

1970 Mazda Capella Coupe
1975 Mazda RX-4 Coupe

Mazda Motors Logo (1975)

However, the 1970s also saw Mazda's first financial crisis, which led to Ford taking a 25% stake in the company. The first RX-7 released in 1978 would be a strong image leader for Mazda, but actual sales revival would not come until the early 1980s. The 1979 deal paved way for Ford selling badge-engineered Mazdas in Asia and Australia, such as the Laser and Telstar. These models replaced the models from Ford Europe sold throughout the 1970s. Ford also used the Mazda models to establish its own retail presence in Japan - the Autorama dealers sold these cars, plus the occasional Ford US and Ford Europe models.

1976 Mazda Cosmo Sport

1980s

The 1980s saw Mazda transition from a niche Japanese player to a part of the global Ford empire. Having said that, the 80s saw the most mainstream success for Mazda. The early-80s 323 (GLC in North America) and 626 were massive hits, with the 323 taking the number one spot in Japanese car sales, overtaking the Toyota Corolla. (This is still very significant today whenever a non-Toyota tops the sales charts).

1980 Mazda Familia Hatchback

Mazda also contributed to Ford's lineup, most notably with the MX-6-based Ford Probe. Mazda also began building the new-for-1988 626/MX-6 in the United States. U.S. production was initiated via a joint venture with Ford called AutoAlliance International.

In the late 1980s, Mazda embarked on a disastrous attempt to diversify its brand names. It chose to do so because market research revealed that the Mazda brand has the connotation of economic, budget cars both in Japan and abroad. With the aim of doubling its sales, Mazda launched three new brands in Japan, Eunos, Efini and Autozam. Eunos was to have a counterpart overseas in the US-market Amati luxury division, and Xedos in Europe. However plans for Amati was pulled at the last minute, and the rumored V12-engined flagship was shelved.

1989 Mazda RX-7 GT Hatchback
1989 Mazda MX-5 Convertible

Mazda finished the decade with the revolutionary Eunos Roadster (Mazda MX-5 or Miata outside Japan) sports car (for the 1989 model year). This model revitalized the world sports car market, which was filled at the time with expensive, heavy GT cars. Despite complaints of plaigiarising the Lotus Elan, the Miata has been very successful till this day.

1990s

The 1990s were a decade of decline for Mazda. The third-generation RX-7 sold poorly, and the Miata could not sustain the company's sales. The rest of the lineup was poorly-received in the United States and Japan; their popularity in Europe didn't seem to make up for the losses.

The number brands was also an attempt to match Toyota and Nissan, both of which had multiple chains in Japan. A common opinion is that the sheer number of models had overwhelmed the company - in 1993 Mazda sold seven models based on the 626, yet they only amounted to 1/3 the sales achieved by the comparable Toyota.

In other markets, Mazda's identity crisis saw it confused over which logo to adopt. The "mazDa" lettertype was introduced in 1975 as part of Japan's first CAD-assisted corporate identity redesign. In 1991 a new logo was introduced, but was soon swapped for a rounded-off version because the original had an uncomfortable resemblance to Renault's logo. The new version is consistently used in 1990s Mazdas, but never became as well known as the lettertype. To resolve this issue, Mazda commissioned for a new logo in 1998, which it uses till this day and features in considerably larger sizes on every model.

Mazda Logo (1991)
Mazda Logo (1998)

Mazda and Ford continued joint efforts. In 1994, the Mazda B-Series line was split between an international (Mazda-designed) version and North American clone of the Ford Ranger. In 1998, Mazda and Ford opened a new plant in Thailand, AutoAlliance Thailand. Patterned after Mazda's Hofu plant, AAT is now an important manufacturing location for the company.

Current Day

The badge-engineered models came to an end in the early 2000s, as Ford replaced the Laser with its own Focus, and Telstar with its own Mondeo. Ford and Mazda have moved onto collaboration in a more fundamental sense, by way of platform sharing.

Mazda MX-6

The Mazda MX-6 was a front-wheel drive sporty coupe produced by Mazda between 1988 and 1997. It was larger than the MX-3 and MX-5 (Miata), and less sporty than the RX-7.

The MX-6 was mechanically identical to the Ford Probe. Both cars shared the Mazda GD platform (1988-1992) and GE platform (1993-1997). Along with the Ford Probe, the Mazda MX-6 was designed and built in America in a joint venture with Ford called Auto Alliance.

1988 to 1992 MX-6

The first generation MX-6/Probe appeared in 1988 and lasted until 1992 in the United States. In some markets the model years were from 1987 to 1991. It was based on a series of futuristic concept cars of the early 1980s. It was a large coupe, based on the Mazda GD platform, and was powered by a 2.2 L SOHC straight-4 cylinder Mazda F2 engine. The base engine produced just 110 hp (82 kW), but a 145 hp (108 kW) turbocharged version was available.

This generation was available in several trim levels, which differ depending on the market the vehicle was sold in. In the United States, the MX-6 was available in DX, LX, LE, and GT trim levels:

DX was the "bare bones" model, offering the base 110 hp/130 ft.lbf F2 2.2 L engine and few options, but most MX-6s sold in the U.S. were equipped with air conditioning.
LX added power windows, power locks, and power mirrors, as well as an optional electric sunroof.
LE was a rare "Leather Edition" model that included all options from the LX, plus leather seating surfaces and a leather wrapped shift knob on manual transmission-equipped vehicles.
GT included all options from the LX, but also stepped up to the F2T 2.2L turbocharged, intercooled engine, which put out 145 hp and 190 ft.lbf of torque delivering a significant performance boost. It also had 4 wheel disc brakes with ABS and 3 way adjustable suspension.

In 1989, Mazda offered a special four wheel steering (4WS) option on MX-6 GTs destined for the U.S. This system consisted of an electronically controlled rear steering rack that turned the rear wheels opposite to the fronts at low speeds to improve cornering, and turned the rear wheels with the fronts at high speeds to improve highway lane change manuvering.

European and Asian spec vehicles commonly received either the 1.8 L SOHC or 2.0 L SOHC FE engine in GLX models, or the 2.0 L DOHC FE engine (sometimes called FE3) in their GT models. 4WS was a common option for European MX-6s. Austrailian vehicles were almost always equipped with same the 2.2 L turbocharged F2 motor as the U.S., as well as 4WS.

1993 to 1997 MX-6

The second-generation car came out in the United States in late 1992 as a 1993 model. It used Mazda's GE platform and Mazda-designed engines, and was available in two trims:

The base car came with a 2.0 L FS inline 4 producing 118 hp (88 kW)
The LS version came with a 2.5 L KL V6 producing 164 to 170 hp (122 to 127 kW), depending on the year.

In Japan, the 2.5 L V6 was the higher performance KLZE, while the 2.0 L was a I4 called the FS. In Europe and America, the 2.5 L V6 was a lower performance KL03. In Australia and Japan, four wheel steering was an option.

Don's Thoughts

My Mazda MX-6 has been one hell of a good car. Now with over 146,500 miles, it still gets around 22 mpg in town (22.2 mpg February 2006), and around 30 mpg on the highway. The MX-6 loves to cruise the interstate around 75 mph, so I usually set the cruise control at 70. I use Castrol GTX High Mileage 10-30, and it still doesn't use or burn any oil. I use regular unleaded gas, with a tank of high-test every few months to clean the fuel injectors. As a California car with stricter emission controls, it's only rated at 95 horsepower. But it still has some get up and go!

The interior is in great condition, thanks to the dark window tinting I had installed in 1995. I also added vent visors in 1995, but in 2003, someone broke into the car here in the driveway overnight, breaking part of the vent visor and window for some change. The paint has faded badly on the trunk lid and roof, yet not on the hood which is pretty weird. I used to keep a good coat of wax on it, but finally gave up when the paint really faded. Thankfully, no wrecks or dents, only some very minor door dings from parking lot jerks. I'm seriously considering getting a high quality paint job with the original factory color. I've always used Simple Green to clean the engine compartment, so it looks great. Air conditioning still blows cold air. The four speed automatic transmission has a neat feature - a power or economy switch. In the power mode, the shift points change and the transmission shifts at higher rpms providing some pretty snappy pickup. When I go for rides up in the mountains or on the way to the coast, I leave it on power mode.

I pulled a U-Haul trailer cross country in 1995, and the car did remarkably well with the exception of an afternoon driving through Arizona on Interstate 10. It was 118 degrees in Phoenix, and between the outside heat and the weight of the trailer, the engine temperature started to rise too much. I ended up turning the A/C off for several hours. I like the fact it has a tachometer and real gauges, no idiot lights for this baby. The instrument cluster is easy to read. The split rear seat (1/3-2/3) folds down so there's lots of cargo room. With the seats up, there is room for 4 adults. I still have the original AM/FM/Cassette stereo and factory speakers which still sound great. For trips, I use a Sony Walkman with a cassette cartridge and cigarette lighter adapter. The car handles great in the snow and ice, although the depth of snow and ice from our January 2004 snow and ice storms tore both boots on the CV joints, so those will have to be replaced when they start to go bad.

There is a sticky hydraulic lifter which comes and goes, which is rather weird considering Power Mazda charged me over $900 to replace the lifters in 2002. Later that year, Power Mazda was not upfront with me when they told me my power steering pump wasn't available aftermarket, but they were willing to replace it for over $800. So I drove the car for 10 months with no power steering (not fun) until I visited AJ's Automotive on 13th Street SE. $267 and a day later and I had power steering again...

The only time my Mazda hasn't started for me was during two different heat waves here in Salem, and both times it was due to the battery crapping out from the heat. The first time the battery was eight years old and was long overdue. The second time the battery was still under warranty. My Dad shared many "words of wisdom" with me over the years: always get your tires and batteries from Sears, and do your own repair work. They've served me well.

Over the years, I've had to make the following repairs:

replaced alternator once
replaced serpentine belt once
replaced power steering pump once
replaced fuel filter once
front disc brake pads once
complete brake job all around once, including calipers, rotors, and drums
replaced tires once all around
replaced hydraulic lifters once
replaced timing chain twice - both times I had the engine oil seals replaced as they had the engine apart anyway
automatic transmission fluid changed three times
replaced CV joints twice
replaced battery twice - always get a Sears DieHard!
replaced radiator once - the new one is all metal verses the original plastic radiator
three complete tuneups
and regular oil changes at 3,000 to 3,500 miles

Over the years, Mazda has used the following slogans:

1980s ... It just feels right
1990s ... Passion for the road
2000s ... Zoom Zoom

So putting them all together, we have... "Zoom zoom, it just feels right for passion for the road". My MX-6 and I have an agreement... whichever one drops first... loses!

Update July 2006: As one chapter closes, another one opens. After 13 years, my MX-6 has a new home with a coworker and family. She's already looking better, and plans for a new sound system and paint job are in the works. In her new life she's a high school commuter. I've only spazzed a couple of times when looking out the front window to find she wasn't there. She served me well, but it was time to close that chapter. When I first bought her, I didn't know if I'd stay healthy long enough to pay off the loan. 13 years and 100,000 miles later, we're both still here. As my wiser sister says, it's a guy thing. I do get visitation rights, though ...