Chemole03- According to Mazda records just under 3,000 Rx-7s were produced in March 78 all rhd. The history on lhd is a bit confusing. One source said 1,200 were produced in April with an initial production schedule of 3,000 per month. Another source said it went on sale on 24 April when dealers had received show room models. A third source said major deliveries to the USA did start until June.

What ever the actual date, Mazda really underestimated initial demand and dealers were asking premiums for delivery. By the end of the year 19,359 or 19,299 depending on source had been sold in North America. 60 could have been press cars. In fact the monthly delivery rate in1978 was only 2,500 increasing to nearly 5,000 per month in 1979 helped by the introduction of the upmarket limited.

 

Boy, if that was in WA instead of GA, I'd buy it off you!

 

Sounds believable. Too bad we can't scare up a May or June, 1978 issue of Car&Driver, Road&Track or Motor trend to end the argument. Those U.S.-based magazines were all over the RX7 in the spring of '78 as soon as the car was in North American showrooms, and all were LHD. I was 15 at the time and absorbed these issues like a sponge.

 

I almost had a 7/78 MT, but someone else scooped it befoe I could...

 

I was about to buy a 6/78 MT But the engine had a bad coolent seal, So I thought $600 was to high.

 

damn i wish i knew when my dads 79 was manufactured, it has only one side mirror, and the hood prop on the passenger side on the hood.

 

Dug this up while looking for something else. Wonder what happened to the car.

 

probably never got the car. the car prob went to some chode who will rape and abuse the car.....sad

 

Most new vehicle models are launched in July; 1st quarter of the fiscal year. Therefore, vehicles that are assembled in July of 2006 are usually considered to be 2007 models. I'd assume that the RX7s that were assembled in July of 1978 would have been sold as 1979 models, too.

 

You are correct. Mine was manufactured in 3/78, bought in 5/78, and it's a '79 model year.

Rich

 

The RX7 was introduced in the spring of '78 as a '79 model, similar to what they did in the spring of '03 for the '04 RX8. These situations are the exeption to the rule--- the new model year normally begins with cars manufactured in July. This is true for all manufacturers, not just Mazda.

This means that the '79 RX7 was produced for a full 15 months before the '80s came off the assembly line in July of '79.