Hemmings Sport And Exotic Car

"Getting To Know You"

The Toyo Cork Kogyo factory made, yes cork, starting in 1920; they quickly diversified to machine tooling, and by 1930, they were building motorcycles-- a big enough failure that production stopped a year later. The motorcycles, and the cars that came later, are named for Ahura Mazda, the highest Zoroastrian god of reason, who granted wisdom and united man, nature and the other gods. (It also closely resembles the sound of the company founders name, Jujiro Matsuda) Light truck production started in 1931; the DA had a 482cc engine and a load capacity of 485 pounds. A prototype sedan was created in 1940, but World War II halted progress.
Mazda's first production car was the R-360 powered by an air-cooled 356cc V-twin engine developing 16hp at 5,300 RPM and having a top speed of 56mph. More importantly for Mazda's fortunes in the U.S., they licensed Wankel rotary engine technology from NSU in 1961, but improved power, fuel mileage and reliability over the source engine. A twin-rotor version displacing 491cc per rotor and debuting in the 1967 Mazda Cosmo 110S coupe put out 111hp; power later jumper to 128hp.
The R100 was Mazda's first foray into North America. At 150 inches long, it was half a foot shorter than a Beetle, but the twin-rotor engine, each rotor displacing 30-cu.in., put out a whopping 100hp in American trim (it was 110hp at home). R100 debuted in Canada in 1968; Mazda NA was formed in 1970, and the R100 became the first mass produced Wankel-powered car in America. The $2,495 price tag was a little steep (Beetles were about $1,800 at the time), but the bang-for-the-buck factor was there, and Mazda rode the rotary through the 1970's; by 1978, it had sold one million Wankel powered cars worldwide. Today it is reserved only for high-performance models like the RX-7 and RX-8

25 Japanese Collectibles
You Should Buy Now

Mazda RX-7

The original Mazda RX-7 had to be the performance deal of the decade in the United States, and it came from Japan. These cars were inexpensive, well built and fast. I had the opportunity to drive the first one ever delivered to State Collage, Pennsylvania, when I worked for a Mazda dealer in 1979. It was a handsome shade of bronze, and was quite comfortable and fun to drive. The clutch was nearly effortless, the seats supportive and the power of the rotary made for lots of fun. Although they drank gas, these cars proved to be reliable as well, with few, if any, problems. You never see these first generation RX-7's in the Northeast, and that is a shame as they are among the most beautifully styled Japanese cars of all time.

What to Pay:
$1,500-$4,000