Mazda was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Company, a maker of cork, in Hiroshima, Japan. How the company jumped from cork to cars is beyond the scope of this article. However, the company unveiled the Mazda-Go autorickshaw in 1931, a three-wheeled vehicle with a cargo carrier on the back.
Shortly after that, the company changed its name to Mazda, with plans to further develop automobiles. But World War II and the atomic bomb got in the way.
After a few hard years, Mazda got traction in the vehicle industry with small, four-wheel trucks in the 1950s; its first passenger car, the R360 Coupe, arrived in 1960. It remained a relatively small local player, though.
Mazda arrived in the states in 1970 with the R100 coupe in tow, the first mass-produced, rotary-powered car sold in the U.S. It wasn’t until 1978, however, that Mazda made a big splash with its RX-7 coupe, a reasonably priced, fun-to-drive sports car. The rest is history.
Today, Mazda products prove quite popular in specific global markets. It has found its voice through products designed with a cohesive, upscale form vocabulary, advanced lightweight materials, and innovative powertrain technologies. With 100 years in its rearview mirror, Mazda’s best years could be yet to come.
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