The Mazda-Go (Japanese: マツダ号) is a three-wheeled truck that was first produced in 1931, being the first vehicle manufactured by

Mazda is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima (town), Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, Japan. The company was founded on January 30, 1920, as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd. ...

. It has also been considered to be the first

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

built, although the

Daihatsu is a Japanese automobile manufacturer headquartered in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. One of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers, the company was known for building three-wheeled vehicles and off-road vehicle ...

HB debuted in the same year.

Design

Resembling a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

with an open wagon or truck

bed A bed is a piece of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many beds ...

, the Mazda-Go is steered using handlebars and powered by an

air-cooled Air-cooled engines rely on the circulation of air directly over heat dissipation fins or hot areas of the engine to cool them in order to keep the engine within operating temperatures. Air-cooled designs are far simpler than their liquid-cooled ...

single-cylinder A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, motorized bicycles, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, power tools an ...

engine. The in-house-developed engine displaced and produced , powering the rear wheels through a three-speed transmission. Notable refinements included a rear differential and a reverse gear. The original model was designated the DA, with the "Mazda-Go" brand name being used to sell it and subsequent generations. A more powerful version called the DB soon appeared, followed by a number of other Mazda-Go models like the DC and the heavier-duty KC. The last version to appear before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was the 1938 GA, which re-entered production in December 1945 as Mazda's first post-war product. The GA has a single-cylinder

sidevalve A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine, is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

engine producing and a maximum cargo load of , while it itself weighs .

History

The Mazda-Go entered the market on 3 October 1931. Development had begun in 1929, a year after Mazda's first trial production run of motorcycles. After a July 1931 agreement, the Mazda-Go was sold by the

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and later on in export markets as well. Mitsubishi retained the distribution rights in Japan until August 1936 and for export sales until December 1937. Over the years, the Mazda-Go range would be produced in different variants, spawning other similar designs such as the HopeStar SM and

Daihatsu Midget The Daihatsu Midget is a single-seater kei truck, mini-truck, later a microvan/kei truck made by Japanese automaker Daihatsu. Several distinct vehicles have borne the Midget name over the years, but all have had in common a single or two-seat uti ...

. It was replaced in the post-war era by a new range of three-wheeled Mazda trucks, including the K360 and the T2000.

References

{{Mazda vehicles

Mazda-Go The Mazda-Go (Japanese: マツダ:wiktionary:号#Japanese, 号) is a three-wheeled truck that was first produced in 1931, being the first vehicle manufactured by Mazda. It has also been considered to be the first auto rickshaw built, although the ...

First car made by manufacturer Three-wheeled motor vehicles