Mazda Familia


The Mazda Familia, also marketed prominently as the Mazda 323, Mazda Protegé and Mazda Allegro, is a small family car that was manufactured by Mazda between 1963 and 2003. The Familia line was replaced by the Mazda3/Axela for 2004.
It was marketed as the Familia in Japan, which means "family" in Latin. For export, earlier models were sold with nameplates including: "800", "1000", "1200", and "1300". In North America, the 1200 was replaced by the Mazda GLC, with newer models becoming "323" and "Protegé". In Europe, all Familias sold after 1977 were called "323".
The Familia was also rebranded as the Ford Laser and Ford Meteor in Asia, Oceania, Southern Africa, some Latin American countries and, from 1991, as the Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer in North America. In addition, the Familia name was used as the Mazda Familia Wagon/Van, a badge-engineered version of the Nissan AD wagon and Toyota Probox.
Mazda Familias were manufactured in the Hiroshima Plant and also assembled from "knock-down kits" in various countries including Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Colombia, and New Zealand. Some of these plants kept manufacturing the Familia long after it was discontinued at home.

First generation (1963)

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 R360 in 1960, planning on introducing gradually larger and pricier cars as the Japanese customers became able to afford them. As a preview, testing the waters, a larger "Mazda 700" prototype was shown at the eighth Tokyo Motor Show in 1961, and formed the basis for the upcoming Mazda Familia. Meanwhile, the four door version of the R360 was introduced as the Mazda Carol, which appeared in 1962, and discontinued in 1964.
The first production Familia, styled by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro while working at Carrozzeria Bertone, appeared in October 1963. In line with Mazda's policy of only gradually approaching the production of private cars, the first Familia was initially only available as a commercial two-door wagon called the Familia van. The van was joined in April 1964 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. Private car versions received foglights in the grille as well as more chrome trim. The Familia was sold in other markets as the 800.
The Familia was introduced to the Japanese market in time for the 1964 Summer Olympics which began in October.
The cars used a 782 cc, "SA" four-stroke aluminum straight-four engine, also known as the "white engine". There was also a pickup version available from November 1964, while a box van was added in early or middle 1965.
A new Familia 1000 coupé arrived in November 1965, with a 985 cc SOHC "PC" engine, and was joined by the larger Mazda Luce in 1966. Around the same time, the 800 engine was upgraded, adding three horsepower. As a number of new 1-liter vehicles were introduced by Mazda's competitors, another 987 cc OHV engine appeared in January 1967, powering new 1000 sedan and van versions. The 1-liter sedans and vans are recognizable by their broader, rounded-off rectangular headlights. Production of the sedan continued until November 1967, while the van versions continued until they were replaced in February 1968.
Around 400,000 of the first Familias were built, 130,473 of which were sedans and coupés. Around 10,000 of the first generation Familias were exported, mainly to Australia and Oceania.
;Data:
Primary sources below are listed at the head of each column, information sourced elsewhere is referenced directly in the relevant cells. Data is for models as marketed in the Japanese domestic market.

Second generation (FA2/FA3; 1967)

FA2; 1967

The new Familia appeared in November 1967 with the same pushrod 987 cc engine as used in the previous generation sedans. It was sold as the "Mazda 1000" in some markets. In July 1968 the rotary-engined version was introduced, along with a new coupé bodywork which was also available with the 1200 cc piston engine. After an April 1970 facelift, the slightly different OHC "PC" 1-liter engine was also offered. A larger 1169 cc straight-four engined version came along in February 1968, becoming the "Mazda 1200" for export. In this form, the car was first exhibited in Europe at the 1968 Paris Motor Show in the autumn of that year. Power outputs in Japan of the facelifted, overhead-cam-engined versions were respectively. The Van model was available with either three or five doors, although most export markets only received the five-door version.

Familia Presto series 1 (FA3; 1970)

From April 1970, the Presto nameplate was added into the entire Familia range, "Presto" means "quick" in Italian. Brand new overhead camshaft 1.3-liter TC engine also appeared, derived from the smaller 1.0-liter OHC engine already seen in the first generation Familia coupé. At the same time, the range received a light facelift including a chrome strip around the front grille. Unlike the pickup, the vans also used the "Familia Presto" name. Chassis codes are SPCV for the and STBV for the, with power outputs as for the sedan/coupé. Standard and Deluxe versions were available, with the Deluxe also offering five-door bodywork.
The Familia was exported as the "Mazda 1300", and replaced the previous generation 1200 model in most markets. In Finland, the Familia Presto was marketed as the "Mazda Marella." The sedan and coupé were updated in 1972 in Japan and in the autumn of 1973 for export market, but the pickup and wagon/van versions continued with little change. The vans and pickups actually soldiered on until 1978, by which time a wagon version of the succeeding FA4 Familia had been introduced. The later pickup versions were also available in a long-wheelbase version, and still featured an version of the 1.3-liter TC engine, unaffected by the tighter Japanese emissions standards for passenger cars.
The "1200" was offered in the United States in 1971 and again for the 1973 model year. US-market models had round sealed-beam headlamps mounted in pill-shaped bezels fitting the original openings. The 1971 version was the first piston-powered Familia sold in the United States and arrived in two- and four-door forms alongside its rotary Mazda R100 coupé counterpart. It was replaced by the somewhat larger 808 the next year. The 1200 model returned for 1973 as the base-model economy Mazda. The company then focused on performance for the next two years, dropping the economy car. After the gas crisis they returned to the economy sector with the Mizer in 1976, a rebadged 808/818.
Engine :
  • 1971, 1973 – 1.2 L I4, /
The pickup models were built until 1991 for markets such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the Philippines.
In South Africa, the little bakkie was sold as the "Mazda F-1000" or "F-1300". In Thailand, a version of the pickup was produced in small numbers until the late 1990s as the Familia Super Cab and Maxi Cab.
Engines :
  • 1968–1973 – 1.0 L PB I4, /
  • 1968–1970 – 1.2 L TB I4, /
  • 1970–1973 – 1.3 L TC I4, 2-barrel, /
The pickup received the BPB55, BTA55/65, or FA2T55/65/66 model codes respectively when fitted with the OHV 1.0 or 1.2, or the OHC 1.3. FA2T55 was a short bed with max load, 65 was a long bed with the same capacity, while the 66 upped that to. All three models were available as either Standard or Deluxe. The 1000 Van received either BPCV or BPBV chassis codes, signifying three- or five-door versions. The Familia Presto Van, with OHC engines, received chassis numbers MP3xV/SP3xV for the 1000 and MT2xV/ST2xV for the 1200. The five-door Van range was gradually expanded downwards as the three-door models dropped in popularity. The Familia Presto Van continued largely unchanged until the summer of 1978, aside from the 1.3 losing two horsepower along the way.

Familia Rotary/R100

In July 1968 Mazda added a Familia Rotary model to the range, offered in both two-door coupé and four-door sedan variants. Sedan models were given an additional "SS" nameplate. The Familia Rotary was powered by a 982 cc 10A Wankel rotary engine and the coupé version was sold outside Japan as the "Mazda R100". After an April 1970 update it was known as the "Familia Presto Rotary" in Japan as the Presto nameplate was added into the entire Familia range. Power was rated at just due to a small carburetor. The rotary engined R100 has a unique front end design, with a more prominent pointed hood, grille, and bumper. The rear also gained its own design with twin round tail lights, which became for a time a signature design element for the rotary engined versions of Mazda's cars. Inside, the cars were more sumptuously appointed with plusher seats and chrome plated accents, full sized interior door trim panels, a floor mounted handbrake lever, and a unique cockpit styled dashboard with full instrumentation. Mazda referred to this dashboard as the "T-Dash", and fitted it to top spec piston engined variants of the Familia on the Japanese market as well as the rotary models.
In Japan, the installation of a rotary engine gave Japanese buyers a financial advantage when it came time to pay the annual road tax in that they bought a car that was more powerful than a traditional inline engine, but without having the penalty for having an engine in the higher 1.0-liter tax bracket. This was the only generation of the Familia that had the rotary engine offered. When Mazda updated the rotary engine to single distributor design in late 1973 with a raft of improvements to improve reliability and fuel economy, the smaller 10A engine was discontinued. Upgrading the Familia Rotary to the 12A engine would have cost the car its tax advantage in Japan, and the decision to discontinue it was made, despite the Familia body continuing production for some years to follow.
The R100 was one of the first Mazda cars imported into the United States for the new Mazda Motors of America, sold in model years 1971 and 1972. Due to US regulations it was released in North America with round headlights fitted in place of the rectangular lights fitted in all other markets. It was a surprising hit with the American public, though sales were limited to some Northwestern states initially.
Following on the success of the Cosmo Sports at Nürburgring in 1968, Mazda decided to race another rotary car. The Familia Rotary coupé won its first outing, at the Grand Prix of Singapore, in April 1969. Next, the company took on the touring car endurance challenge at Spa, the Spa 24 Hours. For 1969, Mazda entered a pair of Familia Rotary coupés. The cars came fifth and sixth the first year after a quartet of Porsche 911s. The Familia also placed fifth at the Marathon de la Route at Nürburgring in 1969, the same race that the Cosmo had bowed at the previous year. Finally, Mazda took the Familia home for the Suzuka All-Japan Grand Cup, where it won easily. For 1970, the Familia placed eighth at the RAC Tourist Trophy in June, followed by a fourth place at the West German Touring Car race in July. At Spa, four Familias were present, battling with BMW Alpinas, and Alfa Romeos for the podium. This time, three of the Mazdas retired, with the fourth claiming the fifth position. Mazda also turned its attention to Le Mans in 1970 with rotary-powered prototypes. The company finally won that race 21 years later with the 787B.