Mazda MX-3 - History

History

First introduced at Geneva in March 1991, production continued to 1998. The MX-3's platform is called the EC platform, and shares much with the BG platform of the contemporary Familia/323/Protegé. The first model year available for most markets, including North America where it went on sale in September 1991, was 1992. Originally available with a single-cam 1.6-liter inline-four or the twin-cam V6, a few more engines were available as development continued. In the summer of 1991 the Autozam AZ-3 was added to the Japanese market lineup. "Autozam" was meant to be Mazda's more youthful brand, so it combined a somewhat lower price with a sportier (but smaller) twin-cam four of 1.5 liters.

In January 1994 a DOHC version of the familiar B6 engine, the B6D, replaced the previous version. This provided a useful power increase but conversely also made the considerably more expensive V6 version less desirable. Sales of the V6 in the United States market came to an end after the 1994 model year, although they continued in Canada, Japan and many other export markets. While called K8-DE in North American specs, Japanese and other markets received an engine called the K8-ZE. Aside from emissions equipment and varying power claims due to myriad ratings methods, the differences are negligible.