Mazda icing Tribute for 2007

There will be no 2007 model year Mazda Tribute for U.S. consumers. The Blue Oval subsidiary's Escape/Mercury Mariner doppelganger will go on sabbatical from May on through the end of the year, though the move will reportedly not alter production levels (or employment) at the automaker's Claycomo, Kansas plant.

According to Ford sales analyst George Pipas, the Escape/Mariner/Tribute platform's 2007 model year run will be on the shorter side, as the company is readying a redesign for next January (to be designated a 2008 model). Mazda has opted out of the abbreviated schedule, but Escape and Mariner are to continue production.

[Source: The Kansas City Star]