Visiting Frey’s Mazda Classic Car Museum - Augsburg, Germany.

Iím fascinated with the passion we have for cars. If I see any car, I know right away if itís good or bad. And when it comes to our Mazdas, itís an easy decision. Mazda does things that maybe other brands donít do in the same way. Coming up with new designs or with new ideas is a key point with Mazda, and every time they make a new car, you know you wonít find the same anywhere else. Itís truly fascinating. Like I always say, weíre not a Mazda dealer. I always say, I am Mazda. We live for the br

and. We know the brand. We couldnít do what we do without believing in it 100%. We are the Frey Family from Freyís Mazda Classic Museum in Augsburg. Back in 1970, my wife and I rented a small workshop. And we started the business together. We were an independent workshop. I was a qualified car electrician and my wife kept the books and did the invoicing. Soon after, our son came along and my wife would rock him in his pram with her foot, sheíd clean the cars and I was down in the pit, changing o

il. And thatís how it all started. Then it all kicked off very quickly from there. Business went pretty well. After five years, we moved out of there and built new premises. We had a lot of debt and the idea was that, if we really had to, we could sleep there too, if the money ran out. Business just boomed and before we knew it we had 10 people on the books. I was a Lada dealer at the time before Mazda approached me and said: Get rid of Lada and take us on instead. And I was like... that they of

fered me that, because I wanted the Wankel engine, so we took on Mazda and it was just excellent. When did I sell my first Mazda? 1972. That was of course the biggest issue, that we always loved older cars. I always wanted old cars and I was selling cars like hotcakes. My wife wasnít that fussed about the old cars, and thatís how our museum came about. And my sons, I think they caught the bug when I said they could do anything on the cars, and they did. Since then, theyíve loved old cars almost

more than I do. Marcus and I would be at the workshop at the crack of dawn. We just loved the workshop. Even as little kids they let us hang out there, so we were very lucky. As Joachim said, we could do what we liked. I drove a car a bit before the age you were allowed to. Weíd also siphon off petrol from the old cars. But letís not go into that. We canít go into the details. When I was twelve, my dad taught me how to drive, I still remember it, it was a gold Mazda 626. Iíll never forget it, he

was on the right, handbrake in hand, and he taught me how to drive. It was a real key event in my life, I have to say, it was 1978 or 1979, Mazda brought out its new 929 model and I was so fascinated by it, because it was huge, and maybe I was little, you might say it isnít actually that big but to me it was huge. The Mazda brand has been with us our whole lives and thatís where my heart lies. We have 120 vehicles in our collection, all ready to demo, still have enough for parts or those waitin

g to be restored. It goes without saying that we have a number of Mazdas in the collection and it was tricky getting all our cars under one roof. The general idea was to have somewhere to showcase them in one place without becoming a storeroom. But the main thought was that this was for us, not for just anyone, not for the public, but just for us. We had a few connections with the City of Augsburg and we were soon going up to a few industry buildings in Augsburg to tell them thereís something in

this and we can do this. Among others, we came across this plot and of course it looked a bit different then. It was a pile of rubble, to be honest. When we imagined how great it could look, Mazda Deutschland or Mazda Europa also took notice and said, yes, letís turn it into a museum. This Cosmo was actually our very first classic car. We read in a newspaper at the time, that this car was being sold in the US. That was about 35 years ago. It would have cost an arm and a leg in those days, back

then, but we thought it was worth it, so much so that me and my wife and my two sons drove over there and bought the car. We spent the first few years restoring it. We spent hours under that car and, yes, sometimes our own hands took a few blows. Lots of people found it amusing. And now Iím so happy Iíve got that car. It was launched in 1967. One of the best things is that only a handful were made. Around 1,500 I believe. And it was the first car with a Wankel engine, so it hailed a new Mazda er

a and it came in a truly stunning sports car design, in my opinion. So many design elements back then came together, as they do today, to form a stunning car. Iíd say, thatís a model you could really say tugged at my heartstrings. I think it would be the last one Iíd ever give up if I had to. That would be the last. The Mazda 360 CoupÈ, that was pretty much our first car and thatís basically the history of Mazda right there, the reason they made cars at all after the war. But I knew nothing abou

t the car and had never seen one myself. Then we got an old magazine at a gathering in Ulm and I looked at it, and said: Look, thereís a Mazda CoupÈ 360 in Australia, which Iíve never seen before. There was a small picture of it and I phoned them, the magazine edition was two years old already, and the guy said, yes, Iíve still got it. It had a price tag of £3,500. It was still in pounds back then, and I said to him, I could handle that. What condition is it in? And he said: This car is the best

in the world. And the car arrived a few months later, the engine was in pieces, broken, the pistons were damaged and on the seats, there werenít even any seats, the car was in pieces so I called him, and he said: What did you expect? It was the best in the world. Have you seen a better one? And I had to admit he was right of course, we hadnít ever seen a better one. Even before the war, Mazda started up in the transporter world, so transport vehicles played a big part. The GO was the first Mazd

a model, a three-wheeler, the GB successor, built before the war and straight after the war. It played a big part in Hiroshima of course, because when the city was destroyed by the nuclear bomb, these three-wheelers were put to work to rebuild the city. You canít get them in Europe at all now. So, we have a friend in Japan, and we sent him on a mission. One day we got a phone call and he said he had one that was intact, as it were, but needed restoring and thatís where we came in. There were of

course always a few hurdles in the restoration. We had to update the exhaust. We had that made, but somehow it didnít seem to fit properly. So what do you do when it doesnít quite fit? You have to bend it. But you can only bend it if you get a flame and make it really hot then shape it, a bit of wood, a bit of iron. My dad got the blowtorch and made it really hot. ìAnd push." He takes the blowtorch and puts it to the side but instead of holding it in the air or what have you, the flame went righ

t onto his own arm. He was in a lot of pain and heís still got the scar. But I have to say, the exhaust was a great fit after that. Thatís the Mazda 1000, called that because of its 1000 cc. A very beautiful, rare CoupÈ, made by Mazda back in the day. We bought it on eBay in Australia and every Australian car back then had to have the grates on the headlights, so the insects donít break the headlights. This car of course has a very special history. To help us prepare the car or clean it, we had

the toolbag in the trunk. Thatís when I found out that every car came with a toolbag and for me, thatís the best thing ever. Well, weíre here at the Mazda 323, one of the most important models Mazda ever made - technically speaking: 1.1 liter - 55 hp. This modelís been around since weíve been a Mazda dealership. Thatís why itís been an important part of our lives. This 1978 model was of course just the absolute sensation. Weíd won a Mazda contract. We were really proud of that, that this car had

driven from Japan, through China to Russia without any problems at all. We always came back to that in our sales pitches and people were really impressed. We made this one special by collecting autographs. When we set up the museum, we just thought it was important to say to people who were, I mean everyoneís important really, but to say to VIPs that they could immortalize themselves. The man or woman of the moment, the person who opened the museum, our CEO at the time in Japan, not right then,

but now, who signed this, so one of the VIPs and of course the boss of Mazda Deutschland, Mazda Europe and a number of Directors and the odd public figure who has come to visit. So itís the stuff of legends. And every dealership had to do it. Whyís that? Because there were only 600 dealers back then. Youíre sure about that? Youíre certain? I know everything. Can I phone a friend? Letís have a quick look if thatís true. They have no idea about most things. The Wankel engine pick-up truck. Who di

d they make the 600 units for? For all the dealers in North America. The dealers in North America had to pick up the pick-up. Now I look like a fool. And? Iím waiting for an apology. These are Mazda Rotary Pick-Ups. They were built exclusively for the American market, built and sold in the mid-1970s. The common man didnít own a pick-up, but they combined it with dual-tire Mazda pick-ups, which was just so exciting. This one was on a Mazda dealerís forecourt but never got used, so it obviously fe

ll into poor condition. But it was a whole lot of fun, bringing a car like that back to life, and it was a nice challenge for us technicians. Hereís the Mazda 121 - Gen II. This is a special design not least because itís yellow. So thereís the paintwork and at the time Mazda brought out a limited-edition model in cooperation with Haribo of all things, so they added a gummy-bear polish. The hub caps on it, and the sports steering wheel had a little gold bear on them and on the rear blind. Itís ac

tually quite special, extremely rare. We spent ages looking for one of these, because it was a special thing for us as a dealer back then. We got this one, which was one of a couple. The lady drove over to us and picked the spot, so she knows itís in good hands. And we gave her our word. Iíll tell you one example of why Mazda is so special. A point in time and thatís definitely the Wankel engine, the rotary engine. Iím sitting here, because itís my favorite corner. Itís the Wankel engine corner,

and I say Mazda and Wankel belong together and thatís why I became a Mazda dealer in the first place, because I believe we have the best and the most stunning cars that Mazda ever made. The three-disc Wankel engine was a highlight for me, the best thing on the market, so powerful, and the smoothness just set Mazda apart, and could never be replaced. This particular RX-5 is a special limited anniversary edition and thatís whatís so appealing and exciting about this car, I just love it. I saw it

for sale online in England of all places and it was right near the town where I had worked and lived and I took it as a sign that this car should join us. So I collected it from England myself. I flew to England and this car youíre looking at now is just how I found it with the previous owner in England. Thatís our Mazda VIP car, and we are all very proud to have a car of this caliber in our museum and at Mazda for that matter. This car came from Australia to Japan in 1975. In Japan they then pu

t in the dream engine, a Wankel engine, what else? With its own fridge. Isnít that epic? I can sit in the back of this car with my own chauffeur and control the heating or the radio and the aircon myself. I reckon this is a top class VIP car. Right now weíre in a bus, a school bus. this is the Parkway 26, 26 because the top version has 26 seats and, most importantly for us, it has a Wankel engine, a rotary engine. Only 44 of these were ever made, so itís a very rare specimen and very comfortable

, too, as you can see. Every so often our friend in Japan gets in touch. He called us to say he has a Parkway bus, which is extremely rare, and he sent us a photo of it. It was awesome and we had to have it. What my dad left out of the story there was this guy, that was right at the start of our acquaintance. This was one of the first models that came to us through him and since then weíve called him the Bus Man. Since that time, isnít that right, dad? Now everyone knows him as the Bus Man. This

is a Mazda Pathfinder from the 70s it actually originated from Burma, Myanmar as it is now, and I think itís a highlight from Mazdaís history, having something like this here. This car was featured in a newspaper in Hamburg, in a sales ad. We made contact. There were five of these cars, all brand new. Theyíd just been at the port for five years, because there was a dispute about the insurance. Theyíd been sent from Myanmar or Burma to Hamburg without any anti-freeze protection and over Christma

s the frost killed them off. The engines froze up, totally wrecked them. Five years later, I got my hands on one, and it was a wreck and I said, donít worry, itís a Mazda. Then we looked for an engine and I called Mazda in Japan, they said they never built that car, but they sent the parts to Myanmar and they then built 9-seater pick-ups for the police. I said not to worry, I can buy the engine in Myanmar. So I called the German ambassador and asked if he could source the engine. It was a flat ì

noî from him. I maintained that it should be the German ambassadorís responsibility to get me that engine. In any case I never got that engine, to this day. I installed a 929 engine, because it had to run on something, but itís not the original engine in there. Any car sitting there untreated in Hamburg will get the fresh sea air, but itís very damaging. Even the wings had holes in. So we worked hard on this car, but thereís no art to selling a complete car. This is the Mazda AZ-1. Such a specia

l car. I like it just for the wing doors and itís so unusual. The thing about his car was that it had no official papers, which meant we couldnít import it from Japan. So, we had it taken apart there and shipped it to Germany in pieces, then we put it back together again. It was like one big jigsaw and hereís the finished article. Thatís it. We got in, but canít get out. Itís just epic, a car of this size. Itís really quite small, you usually only see wing doors on luxury cars. Itís not a high-s

peed car, but a 3-cylinder turbo with incredible acceleration and it makes a fantastic noise. Like that. One of Mazdaís most important models of all time, the four MX-5 generations. Mazda launched this first model in 1989. Lightweight, fun to drive, excellent value for money and amazing quality. It rallied up a fan community which is still going strong today. Even if you donít have the Mazda symbol on your hood, everyone knows the MX-5. We have about fifteen MX-5s in our collection from across t

he generations, limited editions and special colors, some with more hp, some a bit less. I think the Mazda MX-5 made a huge contribution. Until then we were just a car firm. Everyone knew we stood for high quality, and everyone knew these were stunning cars. But the MX-5 gave us our way in. Even the average customer became a huge fan, so they went from just a customer buying a car to drive and keeping the books healthy, to a whole community of fans. It was suddenly some kind of organized movemen

t. ìLetís go for a drive", and there were meets, clubs, or groups all across Germany, across Europe and even the world. So, the MX-5 is a car that truly transformed our customer base. Itís something that defines us, you could say this is just a normal business, but itís in our hearts. When I saw this car, when the RX-7 came out, no-one knew it was possible to build a car with pop-up headlights. This RX-7 is so special. The original owner was Felix Wankel, the inventor of the Wankel engine, hence

the name. What we know is that Mazda Japan gave this car to Felix Wankel as a gift. And this design is really special. Itís an RX-7 with absolutely everything, from air conditioning to power steering, leather seats and turbo charger. A really special model. We do know, however, that Felix Wankel never passed his driving test, so would never have driven this himself. We can only assume he must have sat in the passengerís seat, because we found a cufflink. Itís such a special car, thatís why ití

s in our collection. A Mazda dealer passed on his Mazda collection thatís how it came to us. That was at least 25 years ago, weíve had it since then and itís not going anywhere, because itís right at home here. There are 100 cars that are close to my heart, but Iíll always have my favorites and Iíd say our RX-7 FD is right up there. The most stunning car is also the best, with 245 hp. As long as Iím able to drive that will always be my favorite. I think the Japanese are very similar to us German

s. They seek perfection and they achieve it, too. Iíve visited the production halls in Japan a few times. Itís just amazing how they produce cars and how much love they put into them. Most have the white gloves on which I find fascinating. Not because they donít want to get their hands dirty, but they have so much respect for what theyíre building and I think thatís the key to the whole thing. If you enjoy what youíre making, then production will be successful. Weíve witnessed how Mazda is like

one big family business, because theyíre all proud to be working at Mazda and that sense of pride spans the generations. When I think of our connection to Japan or to Mazda Europe or Mazda Deutschland to the top management - you feel part of a family and family is family, theyíre with you forever. I am Mazda to the core. I hope that Mazda continues to be as committed in the future to this concept, and continue with this mindset, with this drive, maybe being different from the rest, going that on

e step further. And when you drive a car like that, you get inspired. So, itís something very special.