Mazda is a Hiroshima based company.
I am a Hiroshima based chap.
I recently had occasion to visit the Mazda factory with 30 visiting government officials from sunny Afghanistan. It was there that I ran into what is commonly called "folly" - in the guise of the mighty, mighty (unlamented) Mazda Roadpacer....in the olive green no less.
...made from 1975-1977 the Roadpacer is an abject lesson in why you should always be prepared to admit that the idea you had over a few drinks the other day wot sounded broolient, perhaps should be allowed to whither and die."Hang on!" I hear you say..."That's not a Mazda, that's the mighty, mighty (lamented) Holden Premier!"
...to which I say...
"Yes...you're right"
I am a huge fan of the Holden. There. I've said it. Australia peaked at the Kingswood and it has been all downhill since then. (No thanks to Paul Hogan either.)
However, instead of this example truly being the mighty, mighty Holden Premier, powered by the mighty, mighty 6 cylinder or V8 we all know and love, what makes this Mazda a Mazda was the inclusion of....a Rotary Engine.
Now don't get me wrong. I enjoy the theory behind a Rotary as much as anyone but where they work is when they are strapped heartily to very small, very light bodies - the RX-s they were designed for and, (a big salute to my older bro) unfathomably loud and obnoxious Ford Escorts.
I don't know tonnes about engines and whatnot, but what has always intrigued me about the Roadpacer, and what made me giggle like a loon when I saw one in the flesh is the fact that anyone, for an instant, thought it would be a good idea to strap a 1.3l Rotary engine into a 1535 kg Holden body shipped all the way from 'stroya. In addition, the car was targeted at the VIP end of the market (it had an 8-track after all), and cost US$10,000...in 1975 - roughly twice as much as its targeted rival - and all of this at 26l per 100km with a top speed of 160kmh. Oil shock anyone? Anyone?
Right. Thats out of my system. Glad I got to see that.
Toodle pip.
