Mazda prepares to enter the U.S. market, with the first batch of R100 imports departing Hiroshima, Japan, on April 14, 1970. The shipment was scheduled to arrive at the Port of Seattle.
The U.S. was Mazda’s second North American market after Canada sales were launched in 1968.
The company initially shipped 60 R100 coupes to the U.S. in 1970, and it introduced the rotary-powered RX-3 here in 1972.
Mazda first showed the R100 at the 1967 Tokyo auto show along with the new Cosmo.
The subcompact R100 was priced at $2,495 and featured a rotary engine.
SPECIAL REPORT: Mazda’s first 100 years
No automaker had perfected the engineering and manufacturing of the rotary engine, which spins a rotor in a circle rather than pistons going up and down. The engine provides strong power and smooth operation in a compact package. With the rotary engine, the R100 weighed about 1,775 pounds and averaged 23 mpg.
To promote one of its first vehicles in the U.S. — the 1972 RX-3 sedan, coupe and wagon — Mazda used a singsong tag line: “Piston engine goes boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, boing, but the Mazda goes hmmmmm.”
The ad featured a kid on a pogo stick to accompany the “boing, boing” sounds.
Mazda, which started as a cork and machine tool maker, is marking its 100th anniversary in 2020.