I’ve always been suspicious of business press hype — according to Fortune magazine the Wankel engine was the only engine that could meet the upcoming 1975 emissions standards. Ed Cole was going to put the Wankel in the Lordstown-built small Chevrolets that replaced the Vegas. Mazda bought the patent rights for the Wankel engine from NSU, a German company that merged with Audi. So Mazda got a lot of great PR. In the Fall of 1974 Mazda was well-mentioned in the buff books.
I wasn’t really thinking about buying a car; Audi 100s were advertised on TV, a great aspirational car if you couldn’t afford a Mercedes. But my Toyota was starting to rust and it was pushing 75,000-80,000 miles. When it came time to buy a car as a fully-employed 21 year old, in Columbus, I was going to buy an Opel Manta but decided on a 1973 Mazda RX-2. Put $25 down on it (the equivalent of $250 today). Told my dad I was going to buy a Mazda, and he visited the nearby Mazda dealer (Lima) and found out I could buy a 1974 Mazda RX-2 (with the ugly bumpers) for about the same price.
I took the delivery on a Saturday, my dad cosigned for the loan and I was committed to pay, I think about $125 a month. My rent at the time was only $85 a month. 1974 was the year of the seatbelt interlock — you couldn’t start the car until the seatbelt was fastened — the salesman showed me how to unplug the interlock, but I always wore my seatbelt.
When I went to get the $25 deposit back on the 1973 RX-2, the young salesman said “F” you — you’re not getting the money back. I was patient. The dealer in question had built a fancy new Mazda dealership but also had a long-standing Chrysler-Plymouth (C-P) dealership on Morse Road. When I went with my boss, who was leasing a Plymouth sedan, he asked the salesman where my deposit was, and I got it back. I appreciated that C-P salesman and sent people over to see him through the years. but never bought a car from him.
My car’s bumper guards were an aftermarket accessory. The parts manager who sold them to me explained that the 1974 bumpers were added in California as Mazda couldn’t sell the 1974 models unless the bumpers met that new for 1974 US safety standard. The 1972 and 1973 models are lot better-looking cars:
I couldn’t get my car serviced at that dealership, but my brother lived at the time in NE Ohio, and when it was time for service, I went to the Cleveland area’s Mazda dealer (Qua’s Lake City) on a Saturday. The RX-2 was fun to drive, was really quick, made cool sounds, but unfortunately it was an Automatic and only got 16-18 MPG around town –and on I-71 on trips to Cleveland, to the parents’ house in NW Ohio farm country, and back to Columbus. One time, I forgot to add the oil as I was supposed to and all of a sudden the RX-2 was getting better mileage: 20-25 MPG or so. The next tuneup, it was back to 16-18 MPG.
After 18 months, it traded it in on the first of my many Mitsubishis, disguised as Mopar vehicles. Putting the car on sale, somebody’s father called me about the RX-2 (got my number from the Dodge dealer where I placed the ad) and said his daughter had fallen in love with it. I told him it was not a good car for her (was I being sexist, or realistic?), but eventually somebody bought it. Eventually, I got a call from the Columbus Mazda dealership which told me that, since I had followed the RX-2’s maintenance schedule, the new owner wouldn’t have to pay for a repair that was suddenly needed. Probably the seals had worn out. See photo of Dr. Wankel, with his rotor creation:
As is known, Mazda couldn’t make it selling only rotary engines and had to turn to piston engined cars later in the Seventies. Most memorably, the 1977 GLC “great little car”, and not long after, became a partner with Ford for about forty years.
Two memorable service issues on my RX-2: the wipers sometimes stopped working, but the original selling dealer couldn’t figure that one out. So I learned to replace fuses and learned how to use a snow brush while driving. And I learned to change fan belts, as most gas station mechanics at the time didn’t have any metric sockets. I did one road trip to Chicago with this car, with my dad. I remember cruising along I-65 in Indiana at about 80 mph, until my dad told me I’d better slow down. The RX-2 was probably the only time I had an enthusiast’s car.
Related CC Reading
COAL: 1972 Mazda RX-2 – Paleolithic Zoom Zoom
I had a 76 Cosmo in Japan with the 13B rotary and automatic – it indeed sucked gas, but was otherwise a great car. Had a unique “lightness” to it.
Fellow C-buser here – North HS-74, OSU-78. Morse Rd used to be THE place – can still remember “The Continent”…
So much hype about rotary engines in the early ’70s – beside Mazda and NSU, General Motors was going to have a rotary for the Monza and maybe the Vega, plus they were going to sell the engines to AMC for the Pacer. Citroen also got a Wankel in production (briefly) before recalling all of them and trying to replace them with piston-engined cars. At least some of these actually reached paying customers, unlike the turbine engine that was in development from the 1950s up to about 1980.
GM’s rotary was originally intended for the 1974 Vega, then switched to the Monza (there are pics floating around the interwebs of a Monza prototype with rotary badging). Early Monzas had an enlarged transmission tunnel to accommodate the rotary, which of course, never materialized.
“the beginning of the end for the piston engine” – uhh, whoops…
I remember riding in the passenger seat of a friend’s ’75 Monza with the huge transmission tunnel (and 1975-only dashboard). It did very much have a sitting-in-a-bathtub feel with the wide center hump higher than the seat cushions.
My brother got the down payment for a 1975 RX-4 as a graduation present. When he fell in love with the new Honda Accord a year later, I bought the Mazda from him.
It was a 4-door with the same Jatco 3-speed automatic that Datsun used in their 6 cylinder cars. As the author mentioned, fuel economy was poor – I got 17 mpg regardless of how I drove it. As a 17-year-old college student and would-be street racer, I took this as the Automotive Gods telling me to run it to redline before each shift. Not many people asked for another ride after their first time in the car with me driving.
I had the same problems with the fanbelts. I think all the accessories were designed for slower revving piston engines and they stretched the belt after a while. Sometimes the belt got too loose, the alternator would quit turning and the battery would lose charge so it wouldn’t start the engine in the winter. That actually helped me when someone stole the car, then abandoned it on the side of the road when he couldn’t start it!
The apex seals started failing around 50,000 miles, raising the oil consumption alarmingly. It was sold to an unwary airman at the nearby AFB and I used the proceeds to fund my college expenses. I really liked the car while I had it, and bought 3 more Mazdas over the years.
The fan belts on an old rotary are tricky to set. Too loose, and they slip. Too tight, and the front stationary gear bearing has a short life from uneven wear (the eccentric shaft twists slightly in its bearings). Pick your poison.
Ah, the 1970s (and probably much of the 1980s as well). Car dealers that would try to stiff you on a $25 deposit and a car that was rusting at 75-80K miles. Good times. 🙂
Well it was good times once out of Vietnam. In San Diego it was fun, sun, surf, beach babes, beach parties, disco, Baja, and no rust. I’d do it again in a heart beat but only in San Diego.
As for the rotary I do remember the ads and commercials for the car. Just don’t recall seeing many at the time. What was hot in San Diego, in the early 70s, was Datsun with the 510, 240Z, and Li’l Hustler 620.
As an 11 year old, I fell under the spell of the rotary. My Dad had a subscription to Popular Science and I read every bit of info relating to it. The Mazda TV commercials were great—“the Mazda goes hummm..
Twenty years later I was lucky enough own a 93 RX-7. A six month relationship that ended in regret when I sold it to purchase a 93 Olds Achieva SC–ugh. Such a sweet little car.
I’m trying to imagine how well (or not) the automatic harmonized with the rotary, having only driven stick versions. The rotary was rather gutless at lower rpm, so one imagines it being gutless from a standing start. But then maybe the torque converter compensated for that, to one extent or another? But I don’t think I’d have been willing to find out by having one; the rotary really seemed to thrive being caned and shifted at high rpm.
The full and proper rotary experience requires two things, light weight and a manual transmission. Those characteristics allowed one to fully enjoy the “feel” of rotary acceleration through the gears. The automatic transmission didn’t make the Mazda a “slouch” it just reduced the joyful driving experience a bit. So, too, the heavier weight of the 70s RX4 and Cosmo (and the weight added by the mega-bumpers on the RX2 and RX3) softened the experience.
I really enjoyed this. I could understand a conundrum between choosing the new ’73 without the big bumpers and the newer ’74 with them. My reasoning might have been (probably like yours) the newer model year RX-2 would be a better choice factoring future trade-in value.
I’ve often wondered about the hacks for the various 1974 seatbelt interlock systems among various makes. I think about this when I take a road trip and have my backpack riding shotgun.
It’s great to read from another writer who has some roots in northwestern Ohio – that’s where my maternal grandparents had lived, outside of a small farm community (not even in the actual village).
I look forward to your next entry.
“I’ve often wondered about the hacks for the various 1974 seatbelt interlock systems”
Both my mother and my stepmom had 1974 GM cars with the interlock. When that law got repealed after a year or so, one of the car magazines I read (I forget which) published what an owner needed to do to disable the system for the popular manufacturers. I forget what the procedure was for GM, but I quickly did it on both of those cars, and their respective owners were delighted with my ability to fix what had been a headache, even for those who were seat belt wearers.
On my 74 Challenger, I simply removed the pressure sensor from under the seat cushion and laid it on the floor. Since I ALWAYS wear seatbelts it was just solving a non problem for me! 🙂
One of my sons had an RX8. I stored the car for him in a company warehouse while he was overseas. When he got back, I had the pleasure of driving it from Northwest Arkansas to San Antonio, TX.
In college, I spent one summer selling cars at a VW/Mazda dealer and drove many of the different models. RX2, RX3, rotary pickups and even a Cosmo.
The RX8 was light years ahead of those earlier rotaries. Not so much in the engine characteristics, but rather in the rest of the car. Early generation rotaries had all the fun engine characteristics of the RX8. Sure the RX8 benefited from additional decades of development, but the fun factor of the engines remained similar. Rotaries were at their best with a manual transmission and a driver willing to wind them out.
Rotaries challenged American driver experience. We drove mostly automatics. When cars did have a manual, power delivery and the NVH of American engines encouraged a driver habit of getting into high gear as early as possible.
What as different was the rest of the car. Few Japanese cars of the early 70s were handlers regardless of the engine. There were exceptions like the original Z-car, but most Japanese cars had rather flaccid suspensions & mediocre brakes. They drove like smaller versions of big American cars – not a compliment. Their reputation for quality had yet to be established and many of them were horrendous rusters in salt country.
The RX8 was great (RX7s too) because the rest of the car had finally developed into the packaging that showcased the rotary’s best advantages.
The front subframe and suspension of the RX8 is essentially identical to the Miata of the day. World class.
In the late ’70s my sister’s boyfriend drove an RX-2. Due to some car shuffling within the family I got to drive it for a couple of weeks. What a blast! Very quick and you could just wind out the engine.
For a brief time the rotary Mazda’s were very popular. Every day I’d see a handful of R100’s, and scads or RX2’s and 3’s, and later a few RX4’s. All daily drivers for a variety of people. And the suddenly … all gone, only the RX7 remaining as an enthusiast car. Fuel economy was of course an issue, but I think the real problem was need for engine repairs and mechanics’ unfamiliarity with the engines. Unlike today, people expected a mechanic with a hoist and access to a machine shop to rebuild an engine, not replace it. Or junk the car.
Most (all?) of us here are too young to have lived through steam or electric, and the Rover and Chrysler turbines were non-starters. More recently, in the US 2 stroke DKW’s or even Saabs weren’t that common. And those had pistons and crankshafts. The fact that the rotary Mazda was as successful as it was is a testament to the car itself as well as Mazda marketing. I consider myself very lucky to have driven at least one RX 2 and RX4 and several RX3’s. Plus a 2 stroke Saab 😀.
Had access to a couple of donated Mazda rotary engines in engineering school. One to take apart, the other went on our engine dyno in the lab. It ran great even under full load for 24 hours. But, this was at the beginning of skyrocketing oil prices and efficiency was poor, as was the other revolutionary engine that was supposed to take over, the gas turbine.
The majority of automotive power is still the in-line four stroke, four cylinder arrangement of the Model T.
I was in my early teens then, and remember when it seemed that the rotary was destined to take over as the powerplant of choice in all smaller cars. Then it didn’t.
I wish I had gotten to experience one of these. Nobody that I knew had one, so my only exposure has been through stories like these.
My stepmom has lived most of her life in Van Wert County, which is about half way between Fort Wayne and Lima. She has bought her last few new cars in Lima. So I am one of the people who knows it is Ly-ma and not Leema (like the capital of Peru). 🙂
As I spent a lot of Saturday mornings in the Cleveland area Mazda dealership I saw a lot of Mazdas: RX-3 was the smaller model, the RX-4 was the bigger model. I thought the RX-4 wagon was very nice. Would have bought the stick version, but it was not available.
A military friend of mine had an RX-3 (IIRC) and one night while riding the 4 of us along, I noticed that we were really zipping along past other cars. I glanced over at the speedo, and saw to my surprise that the speed was in excess of 100 mph! The ride was so quick & smooth, that no one else had noticed just how fast we were moving. When the seals started failing on his car, he drove it back home, where the Mazda dealership replaced (and kept) the engine, and he only had to pay for the engine accessories! 🙂
JATCO was a joint venture of Mazda, Datsun, and Ford to make automatic transmissions — one part of the salesman’s spiel that was accurate. I’d forgotten that until a commenter mentioned JATCO. The Mazda had BFGoodrich radial tires and I bet I was going close to 90 instead of 80 driving through Indiana.
I remember those interlocks, our 74 Volvo had it and disabling the interlock and buzzer left the fasten seatbelt light permanently on. The closest I got to these was a Tamiya RX-3 model kit, although I knew someone in the 80s who used to outrun Corvettes in an RX-3. I guess the Mazda 808 was an admission of defeat since it was a piston engined RX-3. Despite throwing shade in the 70s with the “piston engine goes boing boing boing but the Mazda goes hmm” jingle they have done well by the traditional inline 4 and the Skyactiv G was wringing the nth degree out an NA engine
I think every early rotary-engined Mazda (except the Cosmo) had a piston-engined equivalent –
R100:1200
RX-2:616/618
RX-3:808
RX-4:929
REPU:B1600/1800
That ended with the RX-7, of course.
Properly speaking:
The ones that did not have a piston engine equivalent were the Cosmo Sport/110S, R130 Luce Rotary Coupé, and later the Savanna RX-7/RX-7. And I suppose the Roadpacer AP, since Mazda didn’t have a piston-engine version of the Holden.
Oh yes the Mazda dealer on Morse Road and 270! A neighbor wanted a new 73 Mazda and I road with them to look (i was 10). But they went to a Mazda store downtown Columbus . After driving the car, the mom announced that it wasn’t for her and we ended up going to Graham Ford where she bought a Pinto Squire wagon.
I later asked her doctor husband what changed their minds, and he said that some of the dealer practices made them uncomfortable. Plus, he added, they had bought his strippo 1970 Mustang from Graham and never had an issue.
To me, the Mazda was far nicer looking than the Pinto. But they drove that car for many years and miles, so maybe they made the right decision. Thanks for the memories!