Mazda

Mazda Motor Corporation (マツダ株式会社, Matsuda Kabushiki-gaisha), commonly referred to just as Mazda, is a Japanese automaker based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly 1 million) were produced in the company's Japanese plants, with the remainder coming from a variety of other plants worldwide. In 2011, Mazda was the fifteenth biggest automaker by production worldwide.

Name

Mazda's company website states that its name is derived from Ahura Mazda, the god of light, intelligence, and wisdom from the first civilization in West Asia, Persia. Ahura Mazda (Persian : اهورا مزدا-Sanskrit: असुर मेधा (Asura-Medhā)), is the name of God to Zoroastrians. The company website also notes that the name also derives from the name of the company's founder, Jujiro Matsuda.

History

Mazda began as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd, founded in Hiroshima, Japan in 1920. Toyo Cork Kogyo renamed itself to Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. in 1927. In the late 1920s the company had to be saved from bankruptcy by Hiroshima Saving Bank and other business leaders in Hiroshima.

Mazda (light bulb)

Mazda was a trademarked name registered by General Electric in 1909 for incandescent light bulbs. The name was used from 1909 through 1945 in the United States by GE and Westinghouse. Mazda brand light bulbs were made for decades after 1945 outside the USA. The company chose the name due to its association with Ahura Mazda, the transcendental and universal God of Zoroastrianism whose name means light of wisdom (Ahura = light, Mazda = wisdom) in the Avestan language.

In 1909 the Mazda name was created for the tungsten filament light bulb. GE sold bulbs under this trademark starting in 1909. GE promoted the mark as identifying tungsten filament bulbs with predictable performance and life expectancy. GE also licensed the Mazda name, socket sizes, and tungsten filament technology to other manufacturers to establish a standard for lighting. Bulbs were soon sold by many manufacturers with the Mazda name licensed from GE, including British Thomson-Houston in the United Kingdom, Toshiba in Japan, and GE's chief competitor Westinghouse.

Mazda 737C

The Mazda 737C is a prototype racing car that was built for Mazdaspeed for the 24 Hours of Le Mans under the Group C2 formula. It was the final evolution of the initial Mooncraft built design dating back to the 717C. It again used a 2-rotor 13B Wankel engine.

Two 737Cs were entered in the 1985 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 3rd and 6th in the C2 class. The 737Cs were also raced in part of the 1985 World Sportscar Championship season, managing 8th place for Mazdaspeed in the C2 teams championship. In the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship, Mazda was able to come home 5th in the constructor's championship.

737Cs later ended up in the hands of privateers for the JSPC after Mazda replaced it with the newer 757.