To close this Week of Small JDM curios, what could be better than Autozam, a marque whose brief existence personified the concept of strange and petite on this market in the ‘90s? It’s been a while since we’ve had a look at Mazda’s hubristic adventures in brand-creating, which started as a notion to become a Japanese GM and ended up in the company Sloane-laddering their way to near bankruptcy.
The car itself may not be so unknown to some of you, as these were fairly popular in places like Australia or Europe under the name Mazda 121. Alas, success abroad was not to be mirrored by domestic acclaim, as this post’s title hinted.
It had all started so well for the little four-door. Unveiled in September 1990, mere months after the official launch of the Autozam marque, the Revue had been the subject of much thought on the part of Mazda, both in terms of its bubbly appearance and its parsimonious construction. The latter was evidenced by the simplicity of the dash, the lack of body variants, or the fact that power windows were simply not an option for the rear passengers.
The concept was sound, if a little unconventional. The Revue was to offer as much interior space as possible thanks to a long wheelbase and a high roof, while being small and yet retain the traditional three-box design. Well, almost – they called it the 2.5-box design, but it wasn’t a hatchback. It was sold to the Japanese public as “the world’s smallest sedan” and with only 3.8 meters in total length, it was certainly not huge.
The lack of a body variant and cheap construction alluded to above were at least partially offset by the presence of a sophisticated three-position power-operated fabric roof option. These were really having a moment in the ‘90s.
Like any JDM car, the Revue was offered in a multitude of grades – Special S, S1, Special K, K1, Luna K… Cuir (French for “leather”) was an option, though probably a rarely picked one on the JDM.
The platform was closely linked (but not strictly identical) to the Ford Festiva, featuring the same engines. The S grade cars, as far as I can tell, were powered by a 76hp 1.3 litre 4-cyl., while the more upmarket K grade had access to the 88hp 1.5 litre engine. Both could be coupled to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.
I’m not 100% certain of this, but I believe these seven-spoke wheel covers denote a post-1993 K-class car. I like the little “Autozam” script on the hub, which stayed on there until a Mazda logo replaced it in late 1996.
The target audience for the Revue was chiefly female, just like the smaller Autozam Carol. But whereas the Carol made a lot of sense for city-dwelling women, being a very cute two-door kei car with lots of cool gadgets, the Revue failed to appeal as much. Maybe the somewhat pedestrian interior, which didn’t really mesh with the bubbly body, was at fault.
This was also perhaps too much car for the intended clientele: women favoured coupés and hatchbacks, not four-door sedans. Even with a canvas top. And because these were obviously aimed at women, men tended to avoid them (cooties, I suppose). As a result, the Autozam (and later Mazda) Revue sold fewer than 58k units by the time it production was halted in December 1997. And the last cars in stock were only sold by the summer of the next year.
On the international scene though, the Mazda 121 was quite a little hit, particularly in Germany and the UK. Alas, even there, Mazda managed to shoot themselves in the foot: the 121 sold like hotcakes, but each one that was imported there took the place of a far more remunerative Miata, 626 or Xedos, so Mazda’s quotas never matched demand.
Mazda toyed with the idea of using the Revue as a base for a hip-looking commercial van, following in the footsteps of the Citroën 2CV it clearly channelled in many ways. The company’s experimental M2 division built the 1004 van in 1991, but amidst the whole multi-marque debacle that was unfolding at the time, the idea was abandoned. But not entirely forgotten.
Mazda realized that the Revue had badly misfired, but that it was mostly a question of image (at least for the JDM), so they used the car’s very satisfactory platform and turned the cutesy Autozam into the butch DW Demio tall wagon (a.k.a the 121 in most overseas markets), launched in 1996. This was one of the best rebodies ever devised, certainly as far as domestic sales were concerned, allowing Mazda to finally come out of the funk they had been in since about 1990.
Today, the Autozam marque is chiefly remembered because of the charismatic AZ-1 and the adorable Carol, but there are a few Revues still puttering about here and there, if you look long and hard enough. These cars are as durable as anything Toyota ever made, and with fewer gadgets to go wrong (aside from that power fabric top, which our feature car predictably does not have), the survival rate must be relatively high.
Now that we’ve reviewed the Revue, the next Autozam on my personal hit list would be the Clef – the short-lived marque’s only luxury car. Finding one will be the real challenge, as I don’t think they broke the five-figure barrier, in terms of units made. Wish me luck.
Related post:
Curbside Capsule: 1990-97 Mazda 121 – A Bubbly Design That Really Pops, by William Stopford
Very interesting essay because you explain what can cause a car to fail, of which this car had many factors including taking the sales away from more profitable Mazda cars in its market. Thanks.
Just 58k over 7 years? I never knew these sold so poorly in Japan. There used to be a few 121-s around in Europe in the 90s-00s, yes. That truncated sedan shape was memorable as it was quite unique. Odd, but likeable in a way – very Mazda in that sense. And I remember these from NZ as well, they weren’t uncommon when I was staying there about 10 years ago. You’d come across both versions there, the Mazda 121 (those were the ones officially sold there, I assume) and Autozam Revue (second hand imports from Japan, as are half of the cars in NZ). A guy I was working with had an Autozam his wife used to drive, but it’d blown its head gasket and now it was sitting at his farm, abandoned and waiting to get fixed. Apart from an interesting badge, it seemed pretty much the same as a 121.
Very popular briefly in Aussie those 121s were everywhere, NZ too including ex JDM Autozams now there are none, Disposable cars.
Interesting little car I have not heard of before. I am surprised it was not more successful as even with four doors it does have quite a cute vibe to it. It does have a very tall roof in appearance. I am surprised Mitsuoka did not create a variant on it. 🙂
Though not the biggest hit, not unusual in Europe. Often the sleds of housewives or students.
And old people trundling along at about two thirds of the speed limit.
Fair few of those in Oz at the time too, in 1.3 automatics.
These used to be everywhere down under. It’s hard to imagine such a popular car having misfired so badly on the home market.
These were an excellent little vehicle. The AU motoring press described it as a smash hit for Mazda. This DA-series 121 consistently led in local reviews and was awarded ‘best small car’ for year after year. It’s true to say the “Bubble” achieved almost cult like status here, and sales held strong right through the seven year model run. Demand (and regard) for its replacement Metro aka Demio declined significantly.
I confess to owning one and the same colour as the featured car, and agree with Tatra87 about their durability. Mine was utterly reliable to 220,000 kms on its original 1.3 (manual) which is no bad effort for a tiddler. And it delivered me at minimum 40+ mpg no matter how hard I flogged it. Overall in design and quality I thought it fantastic.
BTW speaking of design, the Revue was quite distinctively unique.
Does anyone else see more than a casual resemblance in design (styling) theme between the last photo of the featured Revue – which was introduced back in 1990 – and this MY2000-intro Holden Commodore VX?
Agreed on all points (except the VX resemblance, I must say). I drove a few, and they were as good as it said on the tin. My memory is that they felt high-quality, and solid – perhaps a product of that boot vs a hatch – and were very roomy for one so small, mainly all seats sat you sat up as if ordering last drinks at a bar.
One thing Prof 87 doesn’t mention is that the boot, or trunk, if you insist, was shaped to resemble a female bottom. I am not inventing that.
I suppose, if drunk, and in the dark, and without one’s glasses, one approached the vehicle with libidinous thoughts on the go, it’s possible to see it that way, but otherwise, it makes no sense, and besides, such anthropomorphizing just leads to ribald wonderings about the location of the rest of the bits in the area.
Only in Japan. And only in the bubble economy.
What a dreary thing it is that the altogether-duller replacement was so much more popular.
Yes, I remember reading about that, and didn’t the Aussie motoring press have fun with that somewhat revealing comment from the designer!
Justy, as to the admitted inspiration behind this car’s rear end, I’d certainly like to revue the stylist’s initial (conceptual) design sketches!
Speaking of the boot (or trunk, gasp) of the Mazda and worth a mention are its lid hinges. These are tucked within the drip channel itself at each leading corner, outboard of the sealing rubber, and hence don’t impinge at all on the load space. Each hinge assembly is barely larger than a handprint, comprising a very compact set of tiny linkage, including a gas strut in miniature. It’s an impressive touch of superior design you won’t find in much more expensive cars.
Such as the Holden, and many others. This pictured VT replaced my Bubble and I’m surprised you can’t see the similarity of theme, which imho pervades its design; the rear window curvature and general roof pillar arching etc, even their under-bumper intakes feature the same smily face.
Anyway thanks for your kind response. Although by no means the most potent of machinery, I’m sure you’ll agree these little jiggers were a relatively fun drive within their inexpensive ‘city car’ focus. One thing that always impressed me was its chassis inclusion of anti-roll bars at both ends, another sign of basic quality even in the stripper models, that delivered surprising resistance to front-end roll and kneel.
Autozam Revue vs GM Holden.
It’s like a Mini-Metro or a Mini-Corsa B sedan.