Interesting question isnt it.
Would you buy one? Or would you buy one from Mazda rather than Ford?
Ford and Mazda have a long history of sharing models, notably the Laser/323, Telstar/626 and Courier/Bravo. Most of the time its been Mazda's rebadged as Fords, but lately theyve been developing vehicles together, such as the Focus/3. Soon, the Mondeo and 6 will likely be put onto a common platform as Ford cut down CD3 and EUCD into a common platform.
The original plan for Falcons future was to play a part in Fords Global RWD achitecture, but just like GM, Ford have dumped that idea and now all their large cars will share DNA in the future. So Falcon's future lays with commonality with cars like Mondeo and 6, although its not necessarily going to be FWD based because of that. In some ways, that opens up the possibilities of seeing Falcon dervatives globally, which includes a possible Mazda variant.
Sales figures suggest more people want Mazda's than Fords. 3 sells close to 3000 a month regularly whilst Focus struggles around the 1000 mark. 6 and Mondeo show similar traits, as has Bravo-BT50/Courier-Ranger and Tribute/Escape in the past. Mazda's percieved as a more sporty brand than Ford. They back that up with suspension thats usually a touch stiffer and engines tuned for a touch more power/torque, sometimes at the expense of economy. They also dont have such a negative reputation for reliability and dealer service.
So would a large 4 door, 5 seat RWD/AWD Mazda tempt you more than the same from Ford?