Mazda History 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s Marques

Mazda Motors derives from the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd, founded in Japan in 1920. Toyo Kogyo moved from manufacturing machine tools to vehicles, with the introduction of the Mazda-Go in 1931. The company formally adopted the Mazda name in 1984, though every automobile sold from the beginning bore that name. The first four-wheel car, the Mazda R360 was introduced in 1960, followed by the Mazda Carol in 1962.

The Ford Motor Company has owned 25% of Mazda since 1979, and its stake was increased to a 33% controlling interest in 1992. Ford has based many of its models on Mazdas, such as the Probe, Laser, Telstar, the late model ( North AmericaNorth America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean) EscortThe Ford Escort is a sub-compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. Although it was originally a European model, the Escort badge has been applied to several different designs in North America over the years. European Escorts Ford Escort Mk I The and Mercury TracerThe Mercury Tracer was a subcompact Mercury car. 1987 The 1987 Tracer replaced the Mercury Lynx. It was a rebadged version of the Ford Laser model already sold in Asia and Australia, which was itself a restyled Mazda 323. It was built in Hermosillo in Mex, and early model FestivaThe Ford Festiva was a compact car sold by the Ford Motor Company in North America, Asia and Australasia, based on the Mazda 121, and comparable to the Ford Fiesta in Europe. The Festiva was also sold in North America in the late 1980s. It was built by Ki. Many new Ford models are based on Mazda designs and components as well, including the co-developed EscapeFord Motor Company's Escape debuted in 2001 as an entry level SUV, priced below the Ford Explorer. It was jointly developed with Mazda, which Ford owns a controlling interest in, and is also sold as the Mazda Tribute and, in Europe, as the Ford Maverick./ Mazda TributeThe Mazda Tribute is a small crossover SUV based on the front-wheel drive Mazda 626 platform. It is the basis for the similar Ford Escape SUV. The Tribute and Escape debuted in 2001, offering front- and all-wheel drive and a choice of a Mazda 4-cylinder o.

1.1 1960s

The year 1960 was the birth of Mazda as an automaker. In just this decade, the marque progressed from a 16hp minicar to a rotaryDeutsches Museum The Wankel engine is a type of internal combustion engine, invented by Felix Wankel, which uses a rotary piston instead of reciprocating pistons. How it works In the Wankel engine, the four strokes of a typical Otto cycle engine are arran engined sports car, the Mazda CosmoThere have been several Mazda automobiles named Mazda Cosmo . All were GT cars, with the first proving a successful launch for the Mazda Wankel engine and acting as a halo vehicle for the new Mazda brand. Later Cosmos competed in the ultra-high performanc. Mazda also entered the United States market at the end of the decade.

1.2 1970s

The 1970s were the heyday of Mazda as a performance leader. The rotary engines found in many Mazda models outperformed their piston-based competitors by a large margin, and Mazda made the most of the powerplant by putting it in almost every product they sold, from the Rotary Pickup to the RX-7, and even the large Luce sedan. The energy crisis and environmental regulations of the decade slowed the acceptance of the rotary somewhat, however.

1.3 1980s

The 1980s saw Mazda transition from a niche Japanese player to a part of the global Ford empire. Mazda dropped the rotary engine from all but the RX-7 in the US market, and contributed to Ford's lineup, most notably with the Probe/ MX-6. Mazda also began building the 626 in the United States. U.S. production was initiated via a joint venture with Ford called AutoAlliance International.

Mazda finished the decade with the revolutionary Miata/MX-5 sports car. This model revitalized the world sports car market, which was filled at the time with expensive, heavy GT cars. The Miata was designed to be light, cheap, and nimble.

1.4 1990s

The 1990s were a decade of decline for Mazda. The third-generation RX-7 sold poorly, and the Miata could not sustain the company's sales. The rest of the lineup was poorly-received in the United States, from the anonymous 626 to the overpriced 323.

In Japan, Mazda embarked on a disastrous attempt to diversify its brand names, launching no fewer than 5 different brands and assigning its best cars, including the Cosmo, RX-7, and MX-5 to other nameplates. These nameplates were phased out late in the decade.

1.5 2000s

The 21st century started out better for Mazda. After a decade of anonymous products, the company launched the excellent Mazda 6/Atenza, relaunched the rotary engine with the RX-8, and captured the heart of the small car market with the Mazda3. By 2004, Mazda had surpassed the ailing Mitsubishi in sales.

2 Marques

Mazda has used a number of different marques in the Japan market, including Autozam, Eunos, and Efini, although they have been phased out. This diversification stressed the product development groups at Mazda past their limits. Instead of having a half-dozen variations on any given platform, they were asked to work on dozens of different models. And consumers were confused as well by the explosion of similar new models.

Today, the former marques exist in Japan as sales channels (specialized dealerships) but no longer have specialized branded vehicles. In other words, the Mazda Carol is sold at the Autozam store (which specializes in keicars), but it is sold with the Mazda marque, not as the Autozam Carol as it once was.

In the early 1990s Mazda almost created a luxury marque, Amati, to challenge Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus in North America. In Europe, the equivalent Xedos marque was launched, lasting just a few years. The initial Amati products would have been the Amati 500 (which became the Mazda Millenia), and the Amati 1000 (a new rear wheel drive V12 successor to the Mazda 929). This never happened, leaving the near-luxury Millenia to the Mazda brand.

3 Trivia

Mazda had the distinction of having the first foreign CEO to head a Japanese car company, former Ford Motor Company CFO, Scottish-born Henry Wallace in 1996. Many Japanese media outlets at the time reacted in shock and horror, and wondered if Ford would cut jobs. He was followed by Ford President James Miller in 1997, and Mark Fields in 1999 until 2001, when he was tapped to lead Ford's Premier Automotive Group and handed the reins to Lewis Booth. Lewis Booth went back to Ford in 2003 and Mazda Director Hidekazu Imaki is now CEO.

There have been many stories about how it got its name. Some say it got its name from the Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda, while others say it was an anglicized pronunciation of the founder's name, Jujiro Matsuda . The most likely reason was that the name Mazda coincided with founder Matsuda's last name, who was known for his interest in spiritual matters, and may have chosen Mazda in honor of the Zoroastrians, and his own name. Occam's razor leads one to believe that the company name comes from the founder's name.

4 See also

5 External link

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1 History