The Mazda RX-5 was an automobile model which was produced from 1975 through 1980. It was a small luxury sporty coupe intended to compete with the Ford Thunderbird and similar vehicles, and was a brother of the Japanese and American-market Mazda Cosmo.
It shared much of its mechanicals with the Mazda RX-4, with the addition of rear independent suspension. It used the 13B engine, which had by that time been debugged from the problem of failed combustion chamber seals, but still had a high frequency of gasket failures between the aluminum and iron sections of the engine housing, due to differential thermal expansion of the dissimilar metals.
It was extremely popular in Japan, due to its American style and high performance and luxury, but sold only in limited numbers in the United States. The RX-5 was retired in the American Mazda lineup to make room for the new 1979 Mazda RX-7.
A related RX-6 model was offered in some markets with the same bodyshell and premise.
See also
Last updated: 05-07-2005 11:01:51
