It was marketed as the Familia in Japan, which means "family" in Latin. In Europe, all Familias sold after were called "". Some of these plants kept manufacturing the Familia long after it was discontinued at home. Mazda's automotive plans for the early sixties consisted of growing alongside the Japanese economy.
To achieve this goal, they began by building an extremely affordable kei car , the R in , planning on introducing gradually larger and pricier cars as the Japanese customers became able to afford them. Meanwhile, the four door version of the R was introduced as the Mazda Carol , which appeared in , and discontinued in The first production Familia, styled by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro while working at Carrozzeria Bertone , appeared in October The van was joined in April by a plusher Familia wagon, in October by a four-door sedan, and in November by a two-door sedan.
The "flat deck" design of the sedan versions was reportedly inspired by the Chevrolet Corvair. The Familia was sold in other markets as the The Familia was introduced to the Japanese market in time for the Summer Olympics which began in October.
The cars used a cc, " SA " four-stroke aluminum straight-four engine , also known as the "white engine". There was also a pickup version available from November , [1] while a box truck called a "panel van" by Mazda was added in early or mid Around the same time, the engine was upgraded, adding three horsepower. As a number of new 1-liter vehicles were introduced by Mazda's competitors, another cc OHV engine PB appeared in January , powering new sedan and van versions.
Production of the sedan continued until November , while the van versions continued until they were replaced in February Primary sources below are listed at the head of each column, information sourced elsewhere is referenced directly in the relevant cells.
