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| Photo Credit: Mazda Canada |
To live for a century is truly a journey worth celebrating for any individual or entity. For 2020, the company today recognized as Japanese automaker Mazda commemorates its 100-year milestone with a range of special edition vehicles. Available with all products with exception to the new CX-30 crossover, the 100th Anniversary Edition Mazda lineup features unique appointments allowing Canadian buyers to claim a piece of the celebratory cake later this year.
The Mazda 100th Anniversary Edition models are presented with a Snowflake White Pearl exterior paint combined with an interior finished in red and Garnet Red. On the convertible Mazda MX-5 sport roadster, a red retractable soft-top is also part of the special commemorative line. All models will also be richly accented by 100th Anniversary badging inside and outside with the location for the logos including floor mats, wheel caps and on the key fob.
Founded in 1920, the auto company started life as Toyo Cork Kogyo Limited (soon shortened to just Toyo Kogyo) producing machine tools. The first recorded use of the Mazda name was on a motorized rickshaw in 1931. A popular sight in Japan between the 1930s and 1950s, the three-wheeled Mazda-Go vehicles combined the design of a motorcycle and a truck with its practical cargo bed. At the same time in the early 20th century, the Mazda branding was more commonly associated with a popular type of light bulb that used a tungsten filament. The name that would become known for lighting and later automobiles are attributed to a Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda. Ahura translates as ‘lord’ or ‘god’ while Mazda is accepted for meaning ‘wisdom’ or ‘light’ (perhaps similar to how the word ‘bright’ in the modern English language could define light or intelligence).
Celebrating its centennial in its current form as an automobile company, Mazda’s existence as a car maker is actually 60 years old. The first four-wheeled passenger car to be sold under the Mazda brand was the R360 Coupe that debuted in 1960. Powered by a small, air-cooled V-twin four-cycle engine, the 838-pound R360 served as a launch pad for the Japanese automaker’s automotive lineup. Mazda’s commemorative 100th Anniversary Edition models pay homage to the color arrangement featured with the tiny coupe employing white and red in a two-tone pattern.
The century-old corporate history of Mazda includes 52 official years in Canada. Mazda Canada Inc. was established in 1968 after years of independent Canadian distributors beginning to build the Japanese brand name. A country with a sizable driving population that appreciates the small, value-oriented vehicles constructed by Mazda, the automaker has enjoyed many accolades in Canada including most recently the Mazda3's AJAC Canadian Car of the Year award.
Mazda has staggered the release of their 100th Anniversary Edition models for 2020 with customers in Japan receiving the first batch of vehicles. Versions of the special edition Mazdas will arrive in Canada this fall with pricing and other details to be specified at a later date.
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