All you need to know about Mazda
Nationality: Japanese
Born: 1927
Although the original Toyo Kogyo Kaisha company began building and exporting three-wheel Mazdago trucks from the early 1930s, and a prototype small passenger car was developed in 1940, the company we know as Mazda didn't go into passenger car production until 1960. In between those dates, half of the company's factory was destroyed by the Hiroshima atom bomb, and the brand built a reputation for trucks in the Far East.
The first car was the R360 air-cooled coupé, a two-door car, which was followed in 1962 by the Carol sedan and a year later the models 800/1000 and the Familia nameplate, which was to become known in overseas markets 15 years later as the 323. In 1963, three years after a standing start, the company's automobile production topped a million vehicles.
From the beginning, Mazda expressed an interest in the revolutionary Wankel Rotary Engine and in 1961 signed a technical co-operation exercise with NSU in Germany, who had the development rights. Six years later, the first rotary-engined sports car, the Cosmo 110S was launched by Mazda, beginning a tradition that has lasted right up to the latest RX-8, and leaving Mazda as the sole producers of such engines in the world.
In the meantime, with a growing reputation for success in small family cars under its fanbelt - the 1000 and 1200 were exported to Europe from 1967 - Mazda launched its mid-sized Capella in 1977, which became the 626 overseas. Right through the 1980s and first half of the 1990s this model enhanced the public perception of the company as a maker of quality, reliable cars.
Also in the early 1990s, Mazda was showing a flair for style that was best exemplified by its "three-in-one" series of 323 cars, which saw Mazda soaring in popularity in Ireland.
With the launch of the MX-5 two-seater sports car in 1989, Mazda began a revival of the fortunes of the small cabriolet segment to the point that the car has gone into the Guinness Book of Records for sales of its genre. Its MX-6 sports coupé of around that time is also arguably one of the most iconic of its kind.
However, the quirky round-roofed 121 of that same period was about 10 years ahead of its time in terms of styling and was dumped in the mid-1990s in favour of a rebadged Ford Fiesta; a move that proved disastrous.
The financial fortunes of Mazda went into a skid in the mid-1990s, and the connection with Ford that had first been forged in 1969 to make automatic transmissions became the saving grace of the company.
Ford today has a controlling interest, and through the work of a succession of Ford people at the top, Mazda has been returned to profitability, ironically in a period where Ford itself is struggling with massive losses.
With new products such as the Mazda2, the award-winning Mazda6 and the upcoming Mazda3, its immediate future as a carmaker looks secure.
Best Car: 1994 Mazda 626
Worst Car: The 323 assembled in Ireland in the early 1980s, whose wings rusted so badly, there was a secret directive to dealers to replace them when the cars came in for service.
Weirdest Car: The Washu six-seater concept. But we can expect something like it to come.