Mazda logo: history of creation

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

All companies started their activities with something, and subsequently it was not always this "something" that glorified these companies. This also applies to the world famous car manufacturer Mazda today.

Company History

The history of this brand began back in 1920. Then it was a small company called "Tokyo Cork Factory", which was engaged in the processing of cork for the needs of the First World War. This activity did not bring fame to the plant, but it was an excellent first step that helped lay a solid financial foundation for future activities. Due to the strong outbreak of the war, the company experienced a serious crisis, which is why it was forced to close for some time. But, fortunately, these were only temporary difficulties of the factory.

The first vehicle produced at the factory is a motorcycle. The company knowingly relied on this type of transport: at that time, the Japanese could not afford expensive cars, so they acquired two-wheeled units.

And 11 years after its founding, the plant presented to consumers a cargoa three-wheeled scooter is a kind of miniature truck with a body volume of 500 cm³. It was on these types of vehicles for transportation: trucks and fire trucks, motorcycles that the Japanese company emphasized. And she clearly followed him for several decades.

Company name

The very name of the company "Mazda" was approved by the company's management after the end of the First World War in 1931. Until that moment, the factory was called "Toyo Cork Kogyo Co", given to it during its founding in Hiroshima. It was under this name that the company produced its products for 11 years. After the Mazda name was officially approved, all the company's products began to be produced with a unique logo.

By the way, according to the founders of the brand, the name of the plant is associated with the name of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda, who was worshiped in Japan. According to most Japanese, this name fits perfectly with the name of the founder of the company, Dujiro Matsua.

First cars

For several decades, Mazda produced exclusively trucks and motorcycles. Then the company reached a new level by releasing several concepts of passenger cars, but none of the cars entered the series. And only in 1960, when the Japanese began to live a little better, the first passenger car came out under the Mazda logo, from which the history of the company as an automobile concern is counted.

The first car produced by the concern was the R-360 model, a two-door subcompact that did not differ in outstanding performance, but at the same time had a relative cheapness and convenience.

After 2 years, the model range of cars with the Mazda logo was replenished with the Carol model, which was produced in two versions: two-door and four-door. Visually, these models were similar to the then popular Ford Anglia. In general, many Japanese developments almost completely corresponded to European cars.

Special features of Mazda cars

4 years after the release of the first car, the first generation of the Familia series of cars rolled off the Mazda assembly line. True, even the most avid motorists, this name may seem completely unfamiliar. And this is not surprising, since the names of cars presented in the domestic Japanese market are fundamentally different from the names under which cars are exported. For example, Familia is the more famous model 323, Capella is 626, and Cosmo in the domestic market is called Mazda 929.

By the way, the system for designating cars using three numbers with a deuce in the center is the concept of the Mazda company, which is patented by the founders. Sometimes, on this basis, the plant had conflicts with firms that named their models according to the same principle. In such situations, Mazda management forced other manufacturers to change the names of their cars through the courts.

History of car production

1966 marked the beginning of a whole era of rotary piston engines for the company. Just this year, the company introduced the Cosmo Sports car to the Japanese, which was equipped with a Felix Wankel engine. This car demonstrated to consumers the fruits of cooperation between the Japanese manufacturer and the most famous German company at that time. After the release of this car, Mazda pleased users with a whole series of cars equipped with a rotary piston engine. The presence of just such an engine inside the car is indicated by the letter R in the title.

By 1970, the demand for cars with the Mazda logo increased not only in Japan but also abroad. It was in this year that cars began to be exported to America, which only confirms the increasing popularity of the concern in other countries. In 1984, the company began cooperation with the Ford Motor Company, supplementing its own name with the words "Motor Corporation".

Interesting facts

Volumes of production and sales of cars with the logo "Mazda" continuously increased. Compared with the first year of existence, when the company produced a little more than 23 thousand cars, a decade later this figure has increased by more than 10 times. According to analytical data, the annual production of Mazda cars in 1980 amounted to 740 thousand copies.

It was thanks to this jump that the company's shares on the stock market rose sharply in price, which, of course, attracted foreigninvestors. So, in 1979, Ford acquired a 25% stake, and just a few years later 33% was owned by foreign firms. Today, Mazda is wholly run by an American firm.

A true legend of the brand was the Mazda 626, which in 1992 was awarded the title "Car of the Year". By the way, another famous model from Mazda was the MX-5, which was included in the Guinness Book of Records due to its demand all over the world.

How the Mazda emblem came about

The history and evolution of the Mazda logo is very interesting. The emblem, which became the decoration of the first products of the company, looked incredibly simple and unpretentious. The first logo of the company was the letter "M", which was stylized as the coat of arms of Hiroshima. These were three lines with protrusions in the shape of the corresponding letter.

This logo was officially approved in 1936 and lasted for several years. Then the company adopted a new emblem in the form of the same letter "m", but already enclosed in a circle: ascending at the beginning of the inscription and ending at the end of the designation. This logo was associated among the Japanese with the track. This emblem lasted for eight years.

Since then, the company's logo has been constantly changing beyond recognition: either it looked like a simple Latin letter, or it took on the appearance of geometric shapes. Work on the emblem did not cease to boil, because the idea of the company's management was different. The creators of the brand wanted to see on their logo a symbol that means the sun, light and wings at the same time.

Since 1975year, the founders of the brand decided to use the name of their company "Mazda" as a logo. True, this type of logo was soon modified again, since work on the style of the emblem did not stop.

In 1993, the Mazda logo was modified by the company's management. At that time, the company was symbolized by a circle, which meant the sun and wings in the light, according to the founders of the brand. The logo itself looked something like this: an oval adorned with two crescents on the sides, with a circle in the center.

Mazda emblem today

However, already in 1997, work on the creation of a new emblem continued. But this time, a professional designer with a worldwide reputation, Rei Yeshimara, took up the development of the logo. The letter "M" in the form of an owl really liked the directors of the company, and the new logo has become a symbol of all new products of the company to this day. For example, the Mazda 6 logo is the work of Ray Yeshimara.

It is noteworthy that, despite the idea of the designer himself, consumers did not consider an owl in the symbol, but for some reason decided that a tulip was depicted on the company's logo. Although in fact the symbol of the brand really is somewhat reminiscent of the head of an owl. But in reality, Yeshimara's intention was the letter "V", which meant wide open wings and freedom. And the designer himself interpreted the logo as follows: flexibility, tenderness, creativity and a sense of comfort - with these words Ray describes his creation.

Car decoration withusing logo

Now decorating the car with branded products with the brand logo is considered a fashion trend. For example, a modern novelty in the field of car tuning is door lighting with the Mazda logo. The backlight is a miniature projector that transmits the image from the film onto the asph alt. The image transmitted in this way is in color, has a size of approximately 50 cm and looks really excellent. Such a device is connected to the standard illumination of the car and the image appears while the car doors are opened.

This is how Mazda boasts of such an interesting use of its logo today. And this is not all the inventions of the company, which are decorated with a corporate logo. So for those who want to decorate their car exquisitely, all that remains is to make a choice in favor of the device they like.