The Mazda Parkway is a

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...

that was based on the

Mazda Titan The Mazda Titan is a commercial truck produced by the Japanese automaker Mazda since 1971. From the fourth generation onwards, the vehicle had become a rebadged Isuzu Elf truck. Predecessor Mazda's original entry into the mid-sized Light min ...

platform, and was manufactured at the Hiroshima Factory exclusively for the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese market. In 1974, the Parkway was installed with the 13B

rotary engine The rotary engine is an early type of internal combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration. The engine's crankshaft remained stationary in operation, while the entire crankcase and i ...

and well as a 2000cc gasoline type "VA" and the diesel 2500cc type "XA". It also offered a novel transmission approach added to the manual transmission installed, called a sub transmission to cope with the load carrying requirements, and a

fluid coupling A fluid coupling or hydraulic coupling is a hydrodynamic or 'hydrokinetic' device used to transmit rotating mechanical power.

to preventing engine stalling, knocking and

oscillation Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

. The rotary-powered minibus was called the Parkway Rotary 26, and could accommodate 26 passengers, even though it weighed , and could achieve a maximum speed of . It was introduced July 22, 1974 and the rotary engine was replaced with a more conventional diesel engine in 1977. The Parkway Rotary was built only for the Japanese market, and certain aspects concerning its lack of speed become evident once it was realized that urban two-way streets are usually zoned at or less, as mentioned in the article ''

Speed limits in Japan Statutory speed limit in Japan defaults to for divided national expressways and for any other roads, unless otherwise posted. The highest speed limit in Japan is on some sections of Shin-Tōmei Expressway (E1A) and Tōhoku Expressway (E4). ...

''. There were two generations of the Parkway, from 1972 to 1982, and the type WVL from 1982 until 1997. It replaced the Mazda Light Bus that was previously built from 1964 until 1972. It was also available as the

Kia Combi The Kia Combi (originally marketed as the Asia Combi) was a series of mini-buses built from 1983 until October 2002 by Asia Motors, and later Kia. Asia Motors has been owned by Kia since 1976. In October 1983, the 24-seater Asia Motors AM805/807 ...

due to Mazda's partnership. The Parkway was a favorite with public transportation in southern Japan, such as

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

and

Hamamatsu is a city located in western Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. the city had an estimated population of 791,707 in 340,591 households, making it the prefecture's largest city, and a population density of . The total area of the site was . Overview ...

in Shizuoka Prefecture, and competed with the

Toyota Coaster The is a single-decker minibus produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. It was introduced in 1969, with the second generation introduced in 1982, followed by the third generation in 1993 and the fourth generation in late 2016. In Japan, the Coa ...

Nissan Civilian The Nissan Civilian (kana: 日産・シビリアン, Shibirian) is a single-decker minibus built by Japanese automaker Nissan since 1971. It is primarily available as a public bus and an intercity bus. In Japan, it was exclusive to '' Nissan S ...

Isuzu Journey The Isuzu Journey (kana:いすゞ・ジャーニー) is a minibus produced by the Japanese manufacturer Isuzu since 1970, and in 1973 in its current somewhat larger format. The range was primarily available as a city bus and a tourist coach. ...

, and

Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa The Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa (kana: 三菱ふそう・ローザ) is a Japanese minibus based on the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter manufactured by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. The Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa was launched in 1960 and is now in its fif ...

Mazda Light Bus

References

Vehicles introduced in 1972

Parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...