Mazda RX 3 advertisement: the rotary engine against pollution, via France Motors

In this document

This is a printed advertising page for Mazda Automobiles, distributed in France by the importer France Motors (166, avenue Charles de Gaulle, 92200 Neuilly), concerning the Mazda RX 3 Coupé model equipped with the "NSU Wankel licence" rotary engine.

Anti-pollution arguments

The advertisement claims that "for equal power, the rotary pollutes less than a conventional engine" and ironically challenges "Mr. Nader" — an allusion to Ralph Nader, a figure in consumer advocacy. It invokes the tax exemption of Mazda twin-rotors by the Japanese government "which is also concerned with the fight against pollution" p. 3.

Technical arguments

The text explains the principle of the rotary engine: "for 1/3 of a turn of the rotors, the shaft makes 1 turn with 3 power strokes", which would allow that at 180 km/h (6,000 rpm on the counter), "the rotors make only 2,000 turns" p. 3. This characteristic is presented as the source of "the flexibility, power and longevity of the rotary".

Silence and distribution arguments

A box mentions the low noise of the engine at top speed ("Pardon Mr. Rolls..."), and mentions "350,000 drivers who have already trusted the Mazda rotary, all over the world" p. 3. The final slogan proclaims: "Once again, progress comes from Japan."

The page includes a photograph of the RX 3 coupé, the circular Mazda logo, the "France Motors" banner, as well as an unidentifiable handwritten mark at the bottom right.

Context

The Wankel rotary engine, developed by Felix Wankel and then operated under licence by several manufacturers (NSU, Citroën, Mazda), saw keen industrial interest in the 1960s-1970s for its compactness and flexibility.

Citroën itself experimented with this technology via the joint venture Comotor (with NSU), notably on the GS Birotor model. Mazda was the manufacturer that most durably industrialised this engine, particularly with the RX series.

Ralph Nader, cited implicitly, had become known for his criticisms of automotive safety and nuisances, which sheds light on the tone of the advertisement, which responds in anticipation to environmental criticisms.

Archivist's perspective

This advertising page does not come from Citroën but from a technological competitor-partner, Mazda, concerning the same rotary engine. Its presence in the Paul Magès archives is probably explained by the interest he took, as an engineer working on alternative engines for Citroën, in the communication and performance claimed by other operators of the Wankel licence.

The document seems to have been kept as a piece of competitive intelligence or documentary material rather than as an internal production. It could thus shed light, by contrast, on the note by Paul Magès comparing the price/quality ratio of the rotary engine, written in November 1972, where the commercial arguments put forward here (low pollution, silence, longevity) perhaps find a critical or comparative echo.

Not precisely dated, this page is likely from the first half of the 1970s, a period of active marketing for the Mazda RX 3 in Europe.