Buy Used Mazda Cars in Iowa

Americans were first introduced to Mazda's performance mindset in 1970 with the debut of the Mazda R100 and then again with the launch of the RX-2, RX-3, RX-4, and the Mazda RX-7. This sports car, rivaling rides including the Nissan Z, was redesigned in 1986 and again in 2003, at which time the car was re-released as the 232-horspower Mazda RX-8.

While development of the RX-7 and RX-8 was progressing, Mazda was also stoking the fires behind America's love affair with the roadster. Released in 1989, the Mazda Miata presented buyers with timeless styling and drop top fun at an affordable price. Better yet, it was more reliable than the British classics it aimed to mimic. Over the years, the Miata was upgraded visually and internally; a Mazda MX5 Miata PRHT (Power Retractable Hard Top) model was released in 2006.

For amateur weekend racers, there may be no name more familiar than Mazda. From autocross sessions to folks intent on ringing out their daily drivers on a curvy mountain road, there's guaranteed to be a Mazda involved.

Find Used Mazda Cars in Des Moines

In Japanese, the company's name has always been pronounced and spelled as Matsuda, the name of the founder. Television ads for Mazda automobiles in the United States use a pronunciation where the initial vowel sound is the 'a' in father, while Canadian Mazda advertisements pronounce the company's name with the initial a sound of the word has. Mazda began as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd, founded in Japan in 1920. Toyo Cork Kogyo renamed itself to Toyo Kogyo Co., Ltd. in 1927. Toyo Kogyo moved from manufacturing machine tools to vehicles, with the introduction of the Mazda-Go in 1931. The company formally adopted the Mazda name in 1984, though every automobile sold from the beginning bore that name. The Mazda R360 was introduced in 1960, followed by the Mazda Carol in 1962.

During 1970, Mazda formally entered the North American market (Mazda North American Operations) and was very successful there, going so far as to create the Mazda Rotary Pickup (based on the conventional piston-powered B-Series model) solely for North American buyers. To this day, Mazda remains the only automaker to have produced a Wankel-powered pickup truck. Additionally, they are also the only marque to have ever offered a rotary-powered bus (the Mazda Parkway, offered only in Japan) or station wagon (within the RX-3 line). For more info on the current lineup of Mazda cars and future offerings go toMazda.com

Mazda's rotary success continued until the onset of the 1973 oil crisis. Not wishing to abandon the rotary engine entirely, Mazda refocused their efforts and made it a choice for the sporting motorist rather than a mainstream powerplant. This switch in focus also resulted in the development of another lightweight sports car, the piston-powered Mazda Roadster (perhaps better known by its worldwide names as the MX-5 or Miata), inspired by the concept 'jinba ittai'.