A number of those once-wet wonders will be sold in North America as used. (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061203/BUSINESS01/612030615/1014)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_MAZDA_3.jpgDetroit Free Press - Dec. 3, 2006
Mazda 3 pictured may be sold as used after the salvage operation is complete
Mazda Motor Corp. workers in Japan are putting in weekend and holiday shifts to replace 4,703 cars that fell into the ocean this summer, Bloomberg reports.
What happened? A freighter hauling Mazda 3's, CX-7 crossovers, MX-5 roadsters and RX-8 sports cars from Hiroshima to Vancouver, British Columbia, tipped over in rough seas off Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
But not all is lost. An undisclosed number of those once-wet wonders will be sold in North America -- although they will be labeled used.
Hi All:
___I received an E-Mail update on what is going to happen with all those Mazda’s that were on the Cougar Ace the listed in the Pacific this past summer.
Mazda to scrap all cars on board Cougar Ace.
Mark Rechtin - Automotive News - Dec. 15, 2006
LOS ANGELES -- Mazda North American Operations will scrap all 4,703 vehicles that were aboard the freighter Cougar Ace when it foundered at sea this year.
Previously, Mazda stated it would have engineers evaluate all the vehicles to determine which to scrap or to sell through a used-car program. However, given that the provenance of the vehicles might come into doubt in several years' time, Mazda decided to avoid a potential customer-satisfaction nightmare by scrapping all the vehicles.
The Cougar Ace went into a 60-degree list on its trans-Pacific run in July when its ballast was displaced, but the ship was towed into port and righted. Some of the cargo was under water. Other cars were dry, held in place by their mounts, and showed little visible sign of damage.
"We just couldn't take the risk of there being unforeseen issues down the road," said Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes.
"There were two camps of potential buyers. One was, 'Where can I get one cheap?' The others were worried they might get one by accident and weren't going to shop Mazda as a result."
The tally of lost vehicles was 2,475 Mazda3 sedans, 329 Mazda3 five-doors, 56 Mazda5 minivans, 1,329 CX-7 crossovers, 214 RX-8 sports cars, 5 MazdaSpeed6 sedans and 295 MX-5 Miata convertibles.
Although maritime insurance is a relatively convoluted process, the main insurer of the cargo was industry conglomerate ACE Ltd., based in Hamilton, Bermuda.___Since they are going to be scrapped anyway, I wouldn’t mind taking one of the Mazda3 five door’s off their hands. Preferably red, loaded, and exactly like the pic above :D
___Good Luck
___Wayne
Pravus Prime
12-16-2006, 02:36 PM
Hi All:
___I received an E-Mail update on what is going to happen with all those Mazda’s that were on the Cougar Ace the listed in the Pacific this past summer.
___Since they are going to be scrapped anyway, I wouldn’t mind taking one of the Mazda3 five door’s off their hands. Preferably red, loaded, and exactly like the pic above :D
___Good Luck
___Wayne
LOL, I'd take an RX-8 and give them a few bucks; hey, at least they'd get some money for it! :Banane27:
