Mazda started making automobiles in 1960 after making small trucks for almost 30 years. Their first car was the Mazda R360 however since the early 1960s Mazda has strived to be different from other Japanese car manufacturers by developing the Wankel rotary engine. The first car produced with this type of engine was the Cosmo Sport in 1967, and the dedication to the development of the rotary engine has culminated in the RX 8. Nowadays Mazda is the only company to produce rotary engines. Rotary engines became popular due to being lightweight with good power output.
Even though Mazda enjoyed success with the rotary engine they did not discard the traditional piston engine, a foresight that proved to be very beneficial as after the 1973 oil crisis the rotary engine became less popular. Instead of abandoning the rotary engine altogether Mazda reserved the rotary engine for the sports enthusiast. Mazda still holds the record for having the only non-piston engine car to ever win the 24hr Le Mans (1991), and as the first Japanese manufacturer to win the title.
In 1979, Mazda formed a partnership with Ford which has proved to be very beneficial to both companies as they have shared development costs of many models including the Mazda Navajo and the Ford Explorer. Today Ford still owns a share in Mazda however this was reduced in size in late 2008.
One of Mazda’s biggest successes has been the MX 5. Released in 1989, this sporty roadster has become extremely popular and is reminiscent of the British roadsters of the 1960s. Currently in its third generation, the Mazda MX 5 had sold over 700,000 units by the end of 2006.
Realising that oil reserves are fast depleting, Mazda has been developing alternative fuel sources for decades. One of their achievements to this end is the RX 8 Hydrogen RE. This special Mazda RX 8 is extremely environmentally friendly and produces zero CO2 emissions.