Ford, Mazda to invest $350 mln at Thailand plant

* Ford, Mazda to build redesigned compact pickups at plant
* Production of new pickups to start in mid-2011
* Vehicles for Thailand market and for export
DETROIT, Aug 25 - Ford Motor Co and Mazda Motor <7261.T> will invest $350 million in their joint venture in Thailand to build a redesigned version of their compact pickup trucks starting in mid-2011, Ford said on Wednesday.
Ford said the investment -- in the AutoAlliance Thailand plant in Rayong, Thailand -- also affirms the automakers' long-term commitment to the country.
The investment will go to plant upgrades and tooling for the production of the pickup trucks.
The venture was established 1995, and Ford and Mazda export pickups to more than 130 markets around the world. The alliance also builds the Ford Fiesta and Mazda2 for Thailand and export.
The announcement of the investment in Thailand came the same day that Ford affirmed its plans to close a plant in Minnesota that produces the Ranger compact pickup for the U.S. market.

No Mazda recall in Malaysia

No Mazda recall in Malaysia

Strong field expected at tourney -Golf Shots-

THE Mazda Pahang Amateur Open golf championships, to be played at the Berjaya Hills Golf and Country Club in Bukit Tinggi, Pahang from Sept 17 to 19, is set to be an exciting affair.
Berjaya Golf and Country Club general manager S.A. Nathan said they were expecting a strong field for the three- day championships.
“We have received enquiries from India, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia.
“The presence of these foreign participants will certainly make the championships an exciting and interesting affair,’’ said Nathan after a sponsorship ceremony recently.
Bermaz Trading, the distributors of Mazda in Malaysia, are the main sponsors.

A car for grabs: Lee (right) handing over the sponsorship to Nathan.

Bermaz Trading marketing general manager Lee Ai Hoon said they were honoured to be the title sponsors.
“The Pahang Open has grown from strength to strength over the years.
“Mazda has been supporting golfing events. We are looking forward to see Malaysians winning in the international arena,’’ said Lee.
Berjaya Hotels and Resorts executive director Valen Tan said: “We need more sponsors like Mazda to support amateur events which will be the gateway for Malaysians to excel in world events.
Mazda has created an opportunity to golfers participating in this event to be included in the World amateur rankinggs.’’
The defending champions are Jonathan Leong and Michelle Low.
Nathan added that both Leong and Low were expected to defend their men and women’s crown respectively.

Mazda cars sold in M'sia safe, says distributor

UPDATE Mazda cars sold in Malaysia are absolutely safe, according to local Mazda distributor Bermaz Motor Sdn Bhd.
Local models are unaffected, said Bermaz Motor in response to the massive recall in North America over steering problems in older Mazda3 and Mazda5 that could endanger users.

In isolated cases where drivers may feel the steering getting heavy, the driver can still steer the car with a little more effort.
To allay fears, Bermaz Motor will hold a service campaign to check all Mazda3 and Mazda5 models sold between May 01, 2007 and Dec 30, 2008.

For details, call the customer hotline at 1-800-22-8080.

Mazda Motor Corp is recalling more than 300,000 Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles in North America to repair problems with the power-steering system that could lead to crashes, a problem the automaker dealt with in Japan a year ago.
The Japanese automaker told the government the recall involved model year 2007-2009 Mazda3 and Mazda5 vehicles built from April 2007 through November 2008.

The recall involves 215,000 vehicles in the United States and an additional 100,000 vehicles in Canada and Mexico.

The Mazda5 is among two models that are being recalled in North America.

Mazda said the vehicles could have a sudden loss of power-steering assist, making it difficult for the driver to steer the vehicle and increase the risk of a crash.

The company said it has not received any reports of crashes or injuries that resulted from the problem.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation on June 28 into steering problems in 2007-2009 Mazda3s, citing 33 complaints alleging steering problems, including three crashes.

Mazda started fixing vehicles in Japan for the same problem last year and has investigated the issue for two years.
In a letter to NHTSA last week, Mazda said it was first informed of similar steering problems in Japan in March 2008.
After receiving additional reports, the company began its own probe in July 2008.

By the summer of 2009, Mazda said it found that the problem was caused by rust forming inside the high-pressure pipe in the power steering system.

Rust particles could enter the power steering pump and cause it to go into a fail safe mode and shut down to avoid overheating.
Mazda conducted an "improvement campaign" last summer to repair vehicles in Japan "due to a high occurrence rate of this problem," according to the letter to NHTSA.

But the company did not issue a recall in North America. Instead it issued a technical service bulletin to dealers since the "occurrence rate was low."

The service bulletin included repair procedures for customers who reported the steering problems.

Transportation Department spokesman Olivia Alair said NHTSA was "currently reviewing the recall documents submitted by Mazda and will look at whether any additional action is necessary."

Mazda said in a statement that it would notify owners during the next few months of the recall and dealers will replace the power steering pump and two high-pressure lines at no charge.

"Be assured that our customers remain Mazda's highest priority. They remain safe in their Mazda3s and Mazda5s," the company said.
- AP

Taken From : http://www.star-motoring.com/blog/permalink.asp?id=1412

Mazda 3 Accessories, Would like to know where to get them.

post by Rting

I have just ordered a graphite mica Mazda 3 2.0 Hatch, and I notice that there is not much option in term of accessories for the Mazda 3 here in Malaysia. I am interested in a few things and I hope someone here can help point me to the correct direction. Thanks.



- I have seen on a few YouTube videos that shows an extra removable 'tray' in the middle armrest console that is missing from the Mazda 3s that I've seen in the showrooms. Anyway to order one?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zwCYw4Hu6s
It can be seen in this video at 0:40.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4a3A61Bo6Q
2:21 - 2:25 here



- Rear Cargo Net that is pictured in this accessories brochure on the middle left of the first page. (First accessory pictured on the left)

http://www.mazda.ca/files/2010_Mazda3_AccBro_eng.pdf



- Cargo Floor Net as seen on this web page.

http://www.mazdaparts.org/mazda3-cargonet.html



- Mazda 3 glowing trim plates

http://cdn3.ioffer.com/img/item/975/165/61...LvalsmV4M34.jpg

http://mazdagear.com/ProductImages/mazda6/...28Custom%29.jpg




Thanks for your time.

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MAZDA RX-8

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