Chances are you’ve never seen one of these Mazda Jeeps: these were only built in Burma and never exported, as far as I know. There are still a few one the roads here and I chanced upon this one not far from where I live, in front of the (only) North Korean restaurant in Yangon. Solid info is hard to come by on this car, so here’s what I could dig up, along with a little historical context…
Mazda B360 taxis were still very common five years ago – Source: Wikipedia.
Burma’s “Mazda Jeep” was designed in Hiroshima in the late ‘60s; Mazda named it the XV-1 Pathfinder. In those days, the Japanese Government was very keen on investing in Burma, as it was then known. Hino trucks were already being built under license since the early ‘60s and Mazda B360/B600 pick-ups were produced as well from 1963 until (probably) the mid-‘80s. Those tiny trucks were ubiquitous in Burma for a good 40 years – until Myanmar’s car market was opened up in 2011. They have now completely disappeared.
The Japanese authorities apparently told Mazda that the home-grown Jeep they were working on would be greatly appreciated by the Burmese. At the time, Burma was ruled by General Ne Win, a paranoid autocrat who basically walled off the country from the rest of the world. Ne Win’s policies, which were seasoned with his own bizarre and explosive blend of pseudo-socialist, nationalist, Buddhist and militaristic doctrines, were not wholly conducive to economic and social development, but he and his army still needed some wheels, preferably ones that all drove.
In 1970, Ne Win allegedly decided that because Burma had moved too far to the left politically, the traffic should switch to driving on the right. (I have no idea whether this is true, but given the guy’s résumé, it’s not far-fetched: his astrologer told him his lucky number was nine, so he abruptly demonetized 75% of the hard currency and issued new 45 and 90 kyat banknotes.) Most cars on the road, to this day, are RHD because they are imported second-hand from RHD markets (Thailand, Malaysia, India and especially Japan), but new cars built in Burma would henceforth be LHD. The Mazda XV-1 started production in 1972 or 1973 in Burma, using CKD kits imported from Hiroshima.
The State controlled virtually everything in the country, so a private JV was totally out of the question. The new Mazda was built by the only folks who could undertake such a job in Burma in those days – the Ministry of Industry’s No. 2 Automobile Factory in Htonbo, a few dozen miles north of Rangoon. The local name for the car was MJ-1 (“Mazda Jeep”?) and MJ-2.
Mazda Pathfinder four-door wagon – Source: Hassman @ RideAsia.net
It’s unclear which of the variants fell under the MJ-1 and MJ-2 appellation, though it seems that the “traditional” Mazda Jeep I snapped is an MJ-1. The Burmese MJs came in long or short wheelbase versions with a canvas roof. Some hardtop SWB versions were also made, as were four-door LWB wagons (the LWB canvas-top cars like our featured CC were always two-door). Colour schemes were naturally limited: the overwhelming majority of canvas-top Pathfinders came out dark green, though a few dark blue or black ones seem to have been made, probably for specific “clients”, as well as red ones for the fire services. Strangely, all four-door wagons I’ve seen were sky blue like the photo above.
Under the hood, it seems a 2-litre 4-cyl. petrol engine was standard – probably a Mazda plant, though I have no details on that front. Sometime in the ‘80s, it seems the Pathfinders were available with Diesel engines too. Could those be the MJ-2? Or is it a question of hardtop vs. canvas top? Long vs. short wheelbase? Two vs. four doors? I have no idea.
It seems there was at least one facelift during the Mazda’s lifetime. This photo, which I purloined from the internet, shows the old and the new Pathfinder. The most obvious difference is the one-piece windshield, but I suspect there were other changes as well. The wheels on the newer car (on the left) seem pretty similar to the one featured in this post, complete with fatter tyres. But this one had wipers on the bottom of the windshield in place of the air vents. Perhaps the one I found is a transitional model.
Peeking inside, one is struck by how bare-bones this car is, which is perfectly in keeping with its character. The Pathfinder I photographed had a modern Toyota wheel, for some reason, but the rest seemed stock, with a small central instrument panel.
Source: AusRotary.com
I managed to find a better picture on the web, though this is probably a later model (the square binnacle seems more modern). The original Willys Jeep or Land Rover dashboards look like a Cadillac’s compared to this.
Out back, there’s enough room for at least eight Burmese soldiers (they tend to be on the thin side) on the twin bench seat. The placement of the spare wheel seems a tad unorthodox. I’ve seen other Mazda Pathfinders with spare wheels fixed on the tail or the side as well as this arrangement. I suppose this makes theft less likely – which is crucial in a country where most folks are poor and tyres are expensive.
The thing with the Mazda Pathfinders is that they were never meant for private ownership. Very few people had cars in Burma back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, but the folks who did had no access to these, which were made strictly by and for the State. The army, the police and Government officials were this car’s only clientele. One other mystery is the car’s production numbers and dates. Nobody seems to know how many of these were made per year in their heyday.
And when did that heyday happen exactly? Some posit that production stopped in the early ‘80s, which seems unlikely. Some figure that the August 1988 revolution, which up-ended the Ne Win regime and brought about international economic sanctions that even Japan had to adhere to, caused the production lines to grind to a halt. But it seems, according to the State propaganda of the mid-‘90s (grain of salt highly recommended), that MJs were still being made well into the last decade of the 20th century.
SWB Pathfinders collecting dust and rust in downtown Yangon – Source: mikecogh @ hiveminer.com
It’s unclear how the Myanma Automobile and Diesel Engine Industries (MADI), which is how the factory was renamed in those troubled times, could have continued to make the Mazda Jeeps without imported parts. According to the Japanese, even in the early ‘80s, only 35% of the vehicle was locally-sourced. MADI claimed in the mid-‘90s that “over 85%” of the Mazda’s contents were made in Myanmar, which still leaves a 15% gap – how was it filled? The Chinese black market, perhaps?
Military vehicles such as this new Tata can be identified by the white star on the number plate.
Whatever the actual story, it seems they made enough spare parts to keep these things on the road for years after production stopped. Mazda Pathfinders are not an uncommon sight around town and their ruggedness and all-terrain aptitude have ensured their continued survival throughout the country. It’s no longer the car of choice for the military top brass though, who seem to favour new Toyota, Tata or Chery vehicles these days. Lower-ranking officers and officials still use the Mazdas, though some of them are looking pretty worn out.
[ The State-owned car assembly plant switched from Mazda to Suzuki sometime in the late ‘90s.
The Japanese did not stay out of Myanmar’s fledgling State-owned industry for very long: by the late ‘90s, the Suzuki Wagon R and the Carry pick-up were on the production lines. For the next couple of decades, very few cars were allowed into the country. Domestic new car supply was completely insufficient, so used car prices spiraled to incredible heights: buying a circa 1985 Toyota Mk II in Myanmar in 2010 would have cost you up to US$20,000 cash. This all changed in 2011, when a political transition was undertaken, which loosened many of the old rules, allowing a flood of second-hand Japanese cars to enter the country. Mazda officially entered the Burmese new car market in 2014, but they don’t build them here anymore.
At least one Mazda XV-1 Pathfinder can be found in a museum in Germany and there may be one or two in Japan, but other than that, these can only be found in Myanmar. So as I leave this country this week after four years of relative hardship (though living here must have been much more difficult a decade ago), I’ll miss seeing, every once in a while, the only Burmese car ever made.
Another fascinating article. Thank you!
I’d buy one of those in a heartbeat as a fun runaround. It’s had a bit of a whack with the ugly stick, but in a good way.
Ya… I’d buy one too… Esp LHD one.
Me too, you know they all LHD except the import version in the earlier days. But I say you be surprised how different they are. Janpanese version vs Myanmar .
Fascinating stuff. It is so interesting to me the way in which some countries refuse to buy existing vehicles and insist on (kind of) making their own.
This is going to be the acid test of the CC Effect.
What a fascinating piece. And there’s no more fitting topic for a “Weird Things in Strange Places” article than a Burmese Mazda jeep in front of a North Korean restaurant. Wow.
This example seems to be in excellent condition, given the country’s travelling and road conditions. The paint, interior, hardware, etc. all suggest a car with a decade or two less time under its belt (plus it looks like someone invested in new wheels for it as well), so I assume this MJ is one of the few that’s seen relatively light-duty use over the years.
It’s also interesting how there’s no identification anywhere on the car – not Mazda, MADI, or anything else. I’m glad you got the chance to photograph this car before you left Burma!
Yes, it seems this particular one was given some TLC. Obviously some folks here are noticing that these are getting scarce and are worth saving.
Re: the lack of logos, this one is devoid of any, but many of them do sport the old style Mazda logo on the grille, as per the photo below (that’s the one that made its way to a German Mazda collection).
Brilliant write-up, love your stuff Tatra87. I’m half-Burmese (my mother’s family moved to the UK in the mid-1960s), so these glimpses into the car culture in the former Rangoon are really intriguing.
Chesu bah, U Agonynine. I’ll try and gather another few posts on what I found in this country. Car-wise, this used to be the Cuba of the East a decade ago, but alas no more.
If you ever get the chance, you should visit though. Rangoon still has the feel of authenticity that has more or less disappeared from Singapore, Hong Kong or KL, with probably the largest amount of British colonial architecture still extant (though sometimes badly dilapidated) anywhere in Asia. And Burmese people are some of the kindest folks on the planet.
Very weird (to me) vehicles lurking overseas!
I find it astonishing how much variety – and similarity exists around the world as to vehicle styles and functionality still exists in this day and age, but I also find it strangely refreshing as well.
It’s nice that once I get over my surprise (and shock) of seeing some of the creations I don’t see at home, I find myself desiring something out of the ordinary for my daily driver, or at least a fun vehicle.
Nice photos and very informative article on a very rare Mazda.
Looks like a Land Rover Defender, with Mazda reliability and without the British electronic gremlins. 🙂
I thought that our leaders are the only crazy nut jobs on the planet with laws based on their own paranoid& superstitious personalities.but apparently the other parts of the world has had their own fair share of that.great cc by the way.thank you.
Religions, cultures and institutions can vary, but paranoia, idiocy and superstition are shared across the whole of humankind.
fascinating vehicle! i really like it’s brutal simplicity. maybe someone will do a write up of all the international jeep clones. my favorite is the brazillian troller which was so good that ford bought the company.
http://www.4x4brasil.com.br/forum/attachments/vendem-se-veiculos/360468d1343085386-vendo-troller-2010-a-t2.jpg
Thanks for enlightening me on what has to be one of the most obscure cars on the planet.
To my mind, if one were to remove the rear seats, or at least half of them, this layout is not a bad example of an all purpose vehicle. Simple and rugged, it does not suffer from the extravagance of amenities, entertainments, comforts, electronics and so forth that now, themselves, represent the modern automobile, (By now, to the average new car buyer, the vehicle itself is a second thought). Not long ago Paul was musing about such a vehicle. Would be interested in his thoughts.
I am right now in the process of reconstructing the front end of my ’86 Nissan hardbody (after a frontal crash). The way the front of this vehicle is made offers the best example I have yet seen (and I’ve hunted the internet lots) of a relatively simple way to do it by hand.
As always, Tatra, your articles hit the spot! Thanks very much and I hope they keep on coming.
Wow…esoteric! The one with the Toyota steering wheel also appears to have the matching Toyota steering column assembly.
I thought that I had seen most if not all of the Soviet bloc and Third World’s obscure 4WDs (Lada Niva, UAZ 469, UAZ 452, ARO 244, Mahindra Jeep CJ, etc.), but you have introduced me to one that I had never heard of and whose existence I never would have suspected. Thanks!
It’s suprising Mazda never made more of this design; they had the Marvy SUV in the ’80s that was very much a wagon version of their pickup but the only ones they’ve ever sold in America or Europe were rebadged Fords until the current line of raised hatchbacks.
A picture of one of these was posted online a while back but nobody knew what it was or anything about it, not something that happens often but now I know why, its a very obscure car great write up of a real rarity
Thanks for another weird and obscure car history. The spare tire on the bulkhead behind the seats is actually a common location on LWB Land Rovers so maybe they got the idea from a Landy. Burma was a British colony so some Land Rovers were probably imported in the 50s or early 60s along with larger British trucks.
Thank you very much. I like your Mazda Jeep’ photos very much. If you have any other Mazda Jeep’ photos, please upload on this page because I love Mazda Jeep deeply.
My wife and I visited Burma/Myanmar in March 2018 and, as always, I was on the look-out to photo any novel motor vehicles, large or small, old or new. I find I was lucky enough to photo not just one but two MJ-1s on the road, in Mandalay. I’m attaching my pic of standard green-painted I-7987, with my pic of a blue, 2-door hard-top to follow.
… and here is the blue hard-top. The registration 2C-9973 is considerably newer than I-7987, but, although a progressive system, I wouldn’t dare try to put a date on it. Thank you for researching the MJ-1 so thoroughly!
I grew up riding one of those, both blue and green versions. They made me sick from the smell of exhaust whenever I was in one of them.
You’re spot on about the 2011 used car value crash. Back in 2008, my mom had a 1998 Toyota something or the other and she paid 60000 USD. Another car was a 2001 Toyota Mark II bought in 2011, for about 80000 USD if I remember correctly. Now that car will probably be worth about 10000 USD.
Oh and I remember using one of those (a friend’s father’s) during the water festival. We ripped out all the tarp and the frames make excellent handles, especially when you ride it standing up during the festival. Oh how young was I back then…
As far as I remembered, the production of X2000 lasted till over 2005 . The engine was the same VA engine nturally aspirated 2000 cc Gasoline. later versions might use Diesel engines. For the quality Japanese CKDs were the best and quality till 90 – are ok. Original design is to use off road even in water with gasoline engine. Therefore they were designed with double coil and double point sealed ignition systems. Tires used to be YOKOHAMA but later madi made tires made un believable noises. Top speed was 80mph but earlier versions reached 70mph easily. Later due to quality issues even near brand new breaks down. That is due to substituition of parts. Starting feom 80s the engine block and some parts like door hinges were produced locally with ka sa la stamp. In later years people converted engine and drive train with used toyota 2c truck engine and gears since original drive train gave problems as well as due to fuel consumption. Known to be easy roll over due to high center of gravity.
The quality of paint in original x2000’s were very good. Mazda till 80-90s used might have used that technology. The paint has a higher grain and original cars paint were backed. Once you had some scratches and once you have to repair at road side shops, paint quality deteriorated. Compared to the Mazda version one chinese engine version and axel version with half axles and one diesel engine version probably using korean brand new after market engines existed. The same type of engine VA used to power Mazda E2000, Mazda T2000 etc. Piston sizes are the same. After the sanctions, most after market parts came in from Taiwan factories. Original Versions Carbs are side mounted made by Japanese but later versions were from China. Air filter is a wet type sieve soaked in oil. You do not need to service air cleaner for years. Very reliable cars till Sa to Da oke Chite (F series plates from 60s till early 90s). Production is usually below a thousand I suppose. For CKDs the engines are very quiet and transfer and 4wd gears were very reliable. Myanmar sitll has the moulds and assemply plants but stopped production in later years. Always dreamant of converting or modifying that car to defender like version with reliable drive train.