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Mazda Cars

Mazda came into the motor industry late and then went their own way.

Toyo Kogo, based in Hiroshima, did not produce its first car until 1960. 

Soon it had become deeply involved with. Dr Felix Wankel's rotary piston engine. Not only did it have  fewer moving parts, but it was compact and smooth and very powerful. Perfect or so they thought. Mazda along with droves of other beat a path to wankels doors, pockets stuffed with cash.

As Mazda was to find out, the wankel also had fearsome problems of rotor-tip seal wear, emmissions, total loss lubrication like a two stroke and high fuel consumption.

Later the company would be faced with the task of meeting emissions targets. By 1980, just 13 years after the launch of the twin-rotor 110S GT, Mazda had built 100,000 Wankel engines cars. At the end of 1996 Mazda finally shelved the Wankel engine when production of the RX-7 ceased

Despite this Mazda remains the most successful Rotary builder, having solved at least the reliability problems.  A wankel powered Mazda became the first japanese car to win Le-Mans. 

To this day the wankel still rears its head at Mazda, and whisper it, It may be the perfect engine for hydrogen fuel ???

Mazda have also had the only production Millar cycle car in the Xedos 9 Millar, so the daring engines have not completely gone.

Mazda's first front-wheel-drive was a version of the 323 small family hatchback in 1980. Since then most models have switched to front-wheel drive. 

The major exception is the hugely successful MX-5 sports car, which keeps the classic and simple front-engine, rear-drive layout. This car filled the gap left by the mid-80s cessation of MG production and even Mazda admit it is a homage to the old lotus designs. it is a testament to Mazda's original design that a late 90s facelift left it little altered and enduringly popular.

The 626 is a Mondeo-sized contender, but the company also makes the little-known Xedos 6 and 9 models, as a straight rival to BMW's 3 and 5 series range. The Demio is a small city-car and the Tribute, new in 2000, is a Freelander-size off-roader. The company also has the E-series, panel-van. 

The Mazda MPV as you would expect an MPV.

Ford originally took a 30% shareholding in the group in 1969, since increased. 

As rationalisation in the motor industry continues. Mazda is likely to become more and more integrated with Ford, maybe losing its individuality along the way. 

A Ford man, Henry Wallace, is presently chief executive of Mazda (2001) - he is the first non-Japanese head of the company. 

Ford used the Mazda MX-6 platform for its US-built Probe. Meanwhile, the 1996 Mazda 121 was actually a Fiesta produced at Ford's Dagenham plant in the UK model.