Background Japanese automobiles began increasing in popularity in the
United States during the 1970s as the market shifted towards small, economical cars following the
1973 oil crisis. Since the major American manufacturers
General Motors,
Ford Motor Company,
Chrysler and
American Motors (AMC) were ill-prepared for the shift, they began losing market share to Japanese manufacturers for the first time. By the end of the decade, Ford, Chrysler and AMC were in dire financial straits and were
downsizing to try to stay afloat. Chrysler sought a government
bailout with CEO
Lee Iacocca negotiating $2 billion ($ in dollars) worth loan guarantees from the
United States Congress in highly publicized hearings that made him a recognized public figure. His efforts were successful and the
Chrysler Loan Guarantee Act signed into law by
President Jimmy Carter in 1979 saved the company from bankruptcy.
French automaker
Renault came to the rescue of AMC and purchased a majority share of the company in 1980. The American government subsequently began
acting to protect the domestic automobile industry and in May 1981, President
Ronald Reagan got the Japanese government to agree to a
voluntary export restraint of 1.68 million vehicles a year to the United States. With the restriction in place, the major Japanese automakers adjusted their business strategies. Instead of exporting large volumes of low-priced
economy cars, they instead sought to use their limited allotment to export higher-priced vehicles while producing their lower-priced models in newly built factories within the United States. Increasing demand for more luxurious cars in Japan aided this adjustment and competition between the major automakers was fierce. The excess liquidity within the economy as a result of the 1985
Plaza Accord currency equalization efforts, followed by the
Louvre Accord in 1987 that contributed to the
Japanese asset price bubble gave them nearly endless amounts of capital to use to develop these new vehicles, which were growing increasingly exotic as the decade waned. at the 1989
Tokyo Motor Show. The division was going to be headquartered at Mazda North American Operations in Irvine and unlike its rivals, Mazda planned to sell the vehicles within its existing dealerships. The compact Amati 300 was going to be an American adaptation of the
Eunos 500 sedan which began production at the Hofu plant in early 1992 and was released later that year for the Japanese and international markets. The mid-size Amati 500 was more ambitious, containing a supercharged
miller cycle engine and Yaw controlled
four-wheel steering. It went into production as the
Eunos 800 at the Hofu plant later in 1992 and was released for sale in the Japanese and international markets in 1993. The brand's flagship was the enigmatic Amati 1000, which was never unveiled to the public nor were any specifications published, though the Australian car magazine
Wheels published exterior and interior renderings of it in December 1992, two months after Amati was cancelled. Bob Hall described it as strongly resembling a 1991
Mazda 929, but with fatter pillars and a long, horizontal hood. It was slightly longer than the 929 and had more room in the back seat. Colliver himself would retire from Mazda in 1994. The
Ford Motor Company, which owned a 24% stake in Mazda, bought an additional 12% in 1995 to give Mazda an injection of fresh capital. Ford then dispatched executives over to Mazda to help them return to profitability. The
Autozam,
Eunos, and
ɛ̃fini brands would all be discontinued before the end of the decade. ==Legacy==