I was rummaging through the Halle Library here on Campus at EMU and found a cool book on ford's history, here is what I found about the Mondeo/contour/mystique platform...
"On a global scale, Ford developed a far-reaching strategy to manufacture a "world car" - an automobile engineered on one continent using common components and the same basic platforms but built and solf throughout the world, this making the most of costly engineering resources and developmet costs. The 1981 Ford Escort was the company's origional world car, engineered by Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan and built by Ford in North America using mostly Japanese parts.
The plan backfired, however, when U.S. regulations mandated that the Escort would have to contain 75% U.S. parts. The endeavor also lacked an infrastructure within Ford to link North American and European efforts. Consequently, two different escorts were produced. Despire nearly identical dimensions, the cars each featured a unique design, supply base, and manufacturing process.
Three years later, the 1989 Ford Probe stepped into the spotlight as Ford's next world car. The probe was designed and manufactured by Ford, engineered by Mazda, and aimed at the sports car market in Asia, Europe, and North america. Unfortunately, this effort also foundered because of difficulties marrying the demands of European consumers (small engine and high fuel economy) with the desires of American buyers (Larger engine and more optional equipment).
Finally, on March 5, 1993, with the indroduction of the midsize Mondeo in Europe, Ford produced a viable world car. Eighteen months later, the Mondeo's North American counterparts, the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, made their debut.
The cars were truly a global effort: a 180-member team, including forty Ford engineeers from England and Germany, moved to Kansas City to supervise the launch of the cars from the prototype stage through Job 1. The automatic transmissions were built at Ford's Batavia, Ohio, transmission plant, the steering components came from Ford's Indianapolis facility, and the four-cylinder Zetec engine was the product of Ford's European automotive operations.
"WE learned that a single-platform team can develop a car that is essentially the same on both sides of the Atlantic," Ford's 1993 Annual report declared.
Ford ceased production of the Mystique and Contour in the US beginning in 2000, deferring to changing North American preferences for sport utility vehicles of all sizes over midsize sedans. However, a new kind of world vehicle was born with the debut of the 2000 Focus."
-Page 225 "The Ford Century"
Thought some people might find this interested, I certainly did.
"On a global scale, Ford developed a far-reaching strategy to manufacture a "world car" - an automobile engineered on one continent using common components and the same basic platforms but built and solf throughout the world, this making the most of costly engineering resources and developmet costs. The 1981 Ford Escort was the company's origional world car, engineered by Mazda Motor Corporation in Japan and built by Ford in North America using mostly Japanese parts.
The plan backfired, however, when U.S. regulations mandated that the Escort would have to contain 75% U.S. parts. The endeavor also lacked an infrastructure within Ford to link North American and European efforts. Consequently, two different escorts were produced. Despire nearly identical dimensions, the cars each featured a unique design, supply base, and manufacturing process.
Three years later, the 1989 Ford Probe stepped into the spotlight as Ford's next world car. The probe was designed and manufactured by Ford, engineered by Mazda, and aimed at the sports car market in Asia, Europe, and North america. Unfortunately, this effort also foundered because of difficulties marrying the demands of European consumers (small engine and high fuel economy) with the desires of American buyers (Larger engine and more optional equipment).
Finally, on March 5, 1993, with the indroduction of the midsize Mondeo in Europe, Ford produced a viable world car. Eighteen months later, the Mondeo's North American counterparts, the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique, made their debut.
The cars were truly a global effort: a 180-member team, including forty Ford engineeers from England and Germany, moved to Kansas City to supervise the launch of the cars from the prototype stage through Job 1. The automatic transmissions were built at Ford's Batavia, Ohio, transmission plant, the steering components came from Ford's Indianapolis facility, and the four-cylinder Zetec engine was the product of Ford's European automotive operations.
"WE learned that a single-platform team can develop a car that is essentially the same on both sides of the Atlantic," Ford's 1993 Annual report declared.
Ford ceased production of the Mystique and Contour in the US beginning in 2000, deferring to changing North American preferences for sport utility vehicles of all sizes over midsize sedans. However, a new kind of world vehicle was born with the debut of the 2000 Focus."
-Page 225 "The Ford Century"
Thought some people might find this interested, I certainly did.
