Mazda LOGO History
 

Found this info on the History of Mazda's LOGO's from a club site.....



You are probably more than familiar with the Mazda ‘winged’ logo on the front and back of your Mazda, thought you might be interested to see how it has evolved over the decades.

It all began way back in 1934 when the ‘Mazda’ logo became the registered trademark when production began on Mazda’s three wheel trucks. The name ‘Mazda’ represented a combination of Ahura-Mazda, the name of an ancient Persian god of light, and Mr. Jujiro Matsuda, founder of the Mazda Corporation.

In 1936 the logo moved away from a typographical representation of the company, to much more of an emblem. This was very similar to the emblem of Hiroshima City, and represented the very strong links between Mazda and its birthplace. The ‘M’ shape formed in the middle of the logo represents Mazda, with the image of the wings to either side showing Mazda’s agility, speed and capability of soaring to new heights.

In 1959 Mazda produced its first passenger cars, and so the classic ‘M’ logo was produced to reflect this. An archetypal logo of its era, the first model to wear the new logo was the Mazda R360.

Then in 1975 Mazda introduced its new CIS (Corporate Identity System) and with it, another logo redesign, reflecting the decade completely!

1991 saw the next incarnation, with the shape symbolising the characteristics of wings, sun and a circle of light.

Finally on June 12th 1997 the logo that you will have on your Mazda came to life - the ‘wings’ or ‘owl’ logo. This was designed to represent Mazda’s brand image around the world and to enhance Mazda’s brand presence. Developed by world renowned corporate image-make, Rei Yoshimara, it’s a move on from the Mazda ‘M’ with a distinctive ‘V’ shape in the centre which is symbolic of the company stretching its wings.

1997

You know I had always wondered about that, thanks for the information!

The 1991 image was the second design due to the original being too close to the Renault logo, so they made it round.

That 91 logo didnt last very long at all...

funny i had a 1991 mazda protege, it had the mazda word not the "toilet bowl" logo.

Seems odd they replaced the 1991 logo but kept the 1975, which looks much more dated IMO.

I actually miss the "toilet bowl" logo, perhaps because it reminds me of the FD.

You left out the 1992 emblem that led to the '93 emblem.
Renault foced them to change it ofr (I think) obvious reasons).

http://www.mx-3.com/emblem/emb-92.jpg

i always wondered this...

i still like the 93 one the most. i should got get one for my car or have one made that is big enough

Wow, cool find. Thanks for sharing!

They should bring back their old "M" logo used in the RXs. It looks like the 1959 one, but it's inside a trochoid rotor
like this
http://www.mazdatrix.com/pictures/p/oldsch2.JPG

Yep, MazdaManic and Tirminyl you are correct...

Renault did "complain" about the new Logo and was soon changed.

I remember the 1975 Logo and MAZDA name design along with the "Corporate Identity System" design policy and procedures folder that was issued to all dealers and distributors, detailing how every dealerships signage, stationery, paint colors, and preferred design image should look.

I think the 1975 'MAZDA' name still retains a modern design today, what would you change it to, I think people identify with it and the 1997 winged logo.

We also had "Mazda" brand globes for Home and industrial used years ago...
Mazda Globes were not related in any way to Mazda cars they were made by GE.

Ahura Mazda God Of Light

On December 21, 1909, General Electric first used the name Mazda on their lamps. The name was trademarked, and assigned the number 77,779 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Today, we associate the name with automobiles, but when it was first used by GE it was chosen to represent the best that the American lighting industry had to offer at the time, and was selected due to the fact that Persian mythology gave the name Ahura Mazda to the god of light.

Never was a fan of the toilet seat logo.

I've always been a fan of this design...retro.

The 1934 one was sexy, i like that one..... :)

you guys like the 2007 emblem???

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...2&page=1&pp=15

^
https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=91202

ewww no not at all

Any idea where I can get a high resolution picture of the 1959 emblem? I really like that one. Also, a link to where I could buy that keychain from? That thing is sick looking...

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...chmentid=90282
I remember this one. I had it on my 1974 RX-4's. Was in the center grille emblem.

Wow! Cool trivia! Thanks for sharing ASH8.

It looks very Detroit; very American.

Interesting history lesson. The name now makes more sense. Mazda is not a typical Japanese name that you could write in Hiragana. Had it been Mazada, then you could. Now to try and figure out Nissan. LOL.

Mazda actually is thought to have a double meaning. One is for Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian god, or for Jujiro Matsuda, the founder of Mazda.

In Japan, Mazda is written as MA tsu DA and pronounced as Matsda. It is written in katakana, not hiragana.