Custom "Make" badge

[TheresGabe]

Umm... confused by the Kia/Ford love on the idea. My car is 100% MAZDA assembled by kia in Korea... It's all Mazda parts. (Unless you are talking about an Aspire.) Maybe a re-vamp of a Mazda logo would be cool?

[M3NTAL]

Custom "Make" badge

I like the idea of a ecoboost badge for us boosted folk

[FB71]

Umm... confused by the Kia/Ford love on the idea. My car is 100% MAZDA assembled by kia in Korea... It's all Mazda parts. (Unless you are talking about an Aspire.) Maybe a re-vamp of a Mazda logo would be cool?

Well, let's see... Ford owned Mazda then, and Kia made all of the stampings and plastics. Mazda only made the drivetrain. Hitachi and Mitsu made most of the electrical... So, FoMaKia sounds good!

[TheresGabe]

Ford owned Mazda US. Mazda Japan completely seperate entity. Go sit in a Festiva, and then sit in an aspire. Festiva = Mazda. Aspire = Kia. Go sit in a 323, 626, mx-6, Mercury Tracer etc from the era... The festiva is WAY more Mazda than it is anything else. The only reason Kia had a hand in at as all, is that Mazda workers wouldn't work for as cheap as South Korean workers. Saying that a Festiva is a Kia is like saying that it's a Saipa. Ford/Mazda just licensed Kia to assemble it.


The first generation Ford Festiva was designed by Mazda in Japan at the request of parent company Ford.The Mazda-designed and built three-door hatchback was launched in Japan in 1986 under the name "Ford Festiva". Festiva utilized the front-wheel drive layout, and its mechanicals consisted of rack and pinion steering, independent front suspension with struts, coil springs and sway bar, and a torsion beam rear suspension. The Festiva was facelifted in 1989, receiving a redesigned grille insert and tail lamp lenses. In Japan at launch, the Festiva three-door was offered in L, L Special, S, Ghia, and Canvas Top specification levels. Ford retailed the Japanese market Festiva via the Autorama dealership network.

Facelift Ford Festiva β sedan (Japan)
In mid-1986, another Ford partner, Kia Motors in South Korea began production of the Festiva under license as the "Kia Pride". Starting from mid-1987 for the 1988 model year, Kia began exports to Canada under the "Ford Festiva" name, with United States sales commencing by the end of 1987. Ford offered a single 1.3-liter B3 four-cylinder engine and three trim levels: L, L Plus, and LX. The two base models featured a four-speed manual overdrive transmission, with the LX upgraded to a five-speed unit. A tachometer and tilt steering wheel also featured on the LX trim, as did alloy wheels, remote mirrors, cloth interior seating, and an AM/FM cassette radio.[14] Ford released a minor facelift in North America for the 1990 model year. At the same time, the engine's fuel delivery system transitioned from carburetor to fuel injection, and transmission choices were revised with a standard five-speed manual transmission and optional three-speed automatic.[11] Ford also replaced the manual front seat belts with motorized versions, and fitted manual rear seat belts as standard. For the 1991 model year, the L Plus and LX models were combined into a single GL trim. Optional power steering was deleted for 1992, and the GL gained alloy wheels and the availability of a "sport" package. The final 1993 model year brought no changes. Over the life of the Festiva in the United States, Kia exported roughly 350,000 units. The agreement with Ford materialized in accordance with Kia's strategy implemented in the mid-1980s to progressively fill the void at the low-cost end of the market slowly being abdicated by the Japanese brands pursuing more expensive models with higher profit margins. Compared to rival automakers in Japan, and also Europe and North America, Kia's main competitive advantage was its lower-paid South Korean workforce—which translated into lower-priced cars.

[FB71]

Ford owned Mazda US. Mazda Japan completely seperate entity. Go sit in a Festiva, and then sit in an aspire. Festiva = Mazda. Aspire = Kia. Go sit in a 323, 626, mx-6, Mercury Tracer etc from the era... The festiva is WAY more Mazda than it is anything else. The only reason Kia had a hand in at as all, is that Mazda workers wouldn't work for as cheap as South Korean workers. Saying that a Festiva is a Kia is like saying that it's a Saipa. Ford/Mazda just licensed Kia to assemble it.

I have to disagree. Ford owned nearly 70% of all Mazda operations from the mid 80's thru the early 2000's. I've owned Festivas, Aspires, Tracers and 323s. All the engineering was Mazda sourced.
For the Festy and Aspire, the actual engine and trans were Mazda sourced. Kia was brought into the mix because Mazda was busy building more profitable vehicles in Hiroshima, and did not want to run a "loss product" on a high pay line (like you said). Kia was contracted by Mazda to build all 121/Festiva products. Sheet metal and plastic parts were manufactured locally in Korea, because, again, Mazda simply did not have the capacity to produce them themselves. Other products took precedence. Ford was looking for a price leader to get folks in the door, and fuel econ leader to help offset Crown Vics and Mustangs, now that the feds were scrutinizing CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy). Ford turned to Mazda, Mazda offered the 121, and the rest we know. The Aspire was certainly Mazda, and not Kia. It was styled by many of the same folks who restyled the Probe. I spoke with one of them, many years ago, at Ford's PDC (Product Development Center) in Dearborn, when I worked for Ford. The same person also worked on the Escort ZX2. I don't recall her name, but she was a somewhat homely Japanese lady, probably in her 50's at the time.
Kia would not become a true manufacturer till a few years later, attracting the attention of Hyundai, resulting in Kia's acquisition by Hyundai in '98, when South Korea finally went full on capitalist. Up till then, both Hyundai and Kia were state funded and controlled.

[DriverOne]

I like the idea of a ecoboost badge for us boosted folk

Hey, check this out!

[TheresGabe]

I'm going to have to kindly disagree as well. The Festiva is 100% Japanese design and "flavor" There is a difference in design between Korean cars and Japanese cars. I've owned 5 festivas, an '88 Tracer, Two Aspires, and 3 hyundai's... The Festiva is an example of mid-80's Japanese design. It looks more like a Toyota MR2, or even a first bodied CRX, on the interior than it does an aspire. In 1993 when it became a mandatory issue to offer airbags in the US, Ford didn't want to pay the money to have mazda re-work the aging festiva to put airbags in it, and gave the control Kia as far as the design and interior design on the aspire. A 1993 Festiva feels VERY similar to a 1990 Mazda 323 when you are sitting in the drivers seat. a 1994 Aspire feels VERY similar to sitting in a 1994 Kia Sephia (And surprisingly similar to the same time period Hyundai Accent) when you are sitting in the drivers seat. I'm sure there is somewhere else we can discuss this. Hit me up with a PM if you want to...

[Huli]

Re: Custom "Make" badge

Okay... well that is enough negative... how about an example of what you DO like?

[Bert]

I'd like a badge that says "Don't laugh, it's paid for".

[Prafeston]

They make those in stickers...that would be a really long badge!

[TheresGabe]

I really like my "Size Matters" badge... And I said before I think a play on the mazda sign would be cool... Maybe Festiva, but in the MAZDA font?

[Festevil3]

I really like my "Size Matters" badge... And I said before I think a play on the mazda sign would be cool... Maybe Festiva, but in the MAZDA font?

I like this idea! (edit: The mazda festiva font)

@huli
What kind of artwork or examples are you looking for?

[Prafeston]

How about, "Not Compensating"

[Huli]

Re: Custom "Make" badge

Doodles would work. I can clean it up and put back out for vote.

What about a giant cougar with "me" on it? Ala ricky bobby!! Lol!

I doodled this while stuck in traffic.

[FB71]

I'm going to have to kindly disagree as well. The Festiva is 100% Japanese design and "flavor" There is a difference in design between Korean cars and Japanese cars. I've owned 5 festivas, an '88 Tracer, Two Aspires, and 3 hyundai's... The Festiva is an example of mid-80's Japanese design. It looks more like a Toyota MR2, or even a first bodied CRX, on the interior than it does an aspire. In 1993 when it became a mandatory issue to offer airbags in the US, Ford didn't want to pay the money to have mazda re-work the aging festiva to put airbags in it, and gave the control Kia as far as the design and interior design on the aspire. A 1993 Festiva feels VERY similar to a 1990 Mazda 323 when you are sitting in the drivers seat. a 1994 Aspire feels VERY similar to sitting in a 1994 Kia Sephia (And surprisingly similar to the same time period Hyundai Accent) when you are sitting in the drivers seat. I'm sure there is somewhere else we can discuss this. Hit me up with a PM if you want to...

I think we're heading the same direction, just not understanding each other. Agreed, I/we don't need to polute this thread anymore. I agree the Festy is all Japanese, just manufactured by Koreans, not designed. The Aspire is in that muddy area between Jap and Korean, but still a Mazda design. Oh, and disagree about the Hyundai similarity; Kia was no where near that bad or cheap in the 90's (one of my dealers favorite used cars!).