AUTOS

Ford to Cancel Mazda Navajo for 1995: The company, the only Big Three auto maker to build a vehicle for a Japanese nameplate, will probably not supply Mazda with a 1995 Navajo sport utility vehicle, Mazda dealers said. They said it was unclear whether the vehicle--nearly identical to the very popular Ford Explorer--will ever return to Mazda showrooms. The Navajo was hailed as a symbol of Ford’s and Mazda’s cooperative relationship when it was introduced in 1991. Ford owns nearly 25% of Mazda and in the past year has moved to strengthen its influence at the struggling Japanese auto maker. Ford is redesigning its Explorer for the 1995 model year and does not want to complicate the new vehicle’s production launch by starting up a Mazda version at the same time, dealers and industry analysts said.