Mazda was founded in Hiroshima, Japan during 1920 under the name of Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd, which was later shortened to Toyo Kogyo Co. in 1927.
Ultimately, Toyo Kogyo was a manufacturing company, which made machine tools, weapons and vehicles. The first of these vehicles was the Mazdago autorickshaw.
But the Mazda we know today really began in the 1960s, when the company placed their efforts into the development of the Wankel rotary engine, which was featured in many of their cars, such as:
- Mazda Cosmo Sport
- Mazda R100
- Mazda RX-2, RX-3, RX-4
- Mazda RX-7
- Mazda RX-8
- Eunos Cosmo
- the iconic Mazda 787B
To some, Mazda was known only for their Wankel rotor-engine’d cars, but the company has certainly pulled it’s weight in piston-engined cars too, including:
- Mazda 323
- Mazda 3
- Mazda 6
- Mazda MX5 (Miata)
- Mazda Familia
There are frankly, far too many to name. Nearly all of these cars have gone on to become popular models to modify by enthusiasts.
Mazda’s earlier RX range remains very popular for high powered, high quality restomod builds, while later model RX-7’s, once popular for drift and track builds are fast becoming collectors items in the popular JDM collectors scene.
The highly successful Mazda Miata MX5 remains a very popular track and drift car due to it’s excellent handling, and affordable platform. There are not many other cars that are so well balanced, are widely available, and have huge aftermarket support.
But like most auto-manufacturers, Mazda is threatened by a changing automotive landscape, with ever tightening emissions controls and fuel efficiency standards.
Positively, Mazda is one auto-maker that doesn’t feel compelled to design their cars to be excessively futuristic, and they are making efforts to keep their rotory roots, by developing their SKYACTIVE-R engine.
Unlike many brands that fail to impress, Mazda has us waiting for what will come next.
