The Mazda B series is the company’s line of pickup trucks, built in five generations between 1961 and 2006. Mazda used engine size to name the models, so a B1500 had a 1.5-litre engine and a B2600 a 2.6. In Japan the line was mostly called the Proceed, and through Ford it also became the Ford Courier and Ford Ranger.
Mazda B series at a glance
| Built | 1961–2006, five generations |
|---|---|
| Naming | engine displacement in litres: B1500, B2200, B2600 |
| Japan | Mazda Proceed for most of its production |
| Australia and New Zealand | Mazda Bravo and Mazda Bounty |
| South Africa | Mazda Drifter |
| Thailand | Mazda Magnum, Thunder and Fighter |
| Ford versions | Ford Courier and Ford Ranger |
| In North America | the Ford Ranger was sold as a Mazda B series from 1994 to 2010 |
| Replaced by | Mazda BT-50, in 2006 |
One page covers the whole B-series line; the B1500 to B4000 records and the pickup, cab, crew cab and 4×4 records are merged into it.
History of the Mazda B series
The B-series pickup was introduced in Japan in August 1961 as the B1500, chassis code BUA61, the only Japanese-market model badged under the B-series scheme. The second-generation BUD61 was the first of the long-running Proceed line: it had a 1,484 cc overhead-valve four with 60 PS, a one-tonne payload, and torsion bars at the front with leaf springs at the rear, a relatively advanced layout for a small truck. The B1500 was reworked between late 1962 and September 1963 as the BUB61, with an 80 mm longer cabin, a stretched body and wheelbase, and a new trapezoidal grille with thirteen bars. Alongside the standard two-door styleside pickup there were double-cab versions, including a pickup with a fully integrated coupé-utility body rather than a separate bed, based on the light van.
The B1500 and Proceed were successful but, being sleeker and more powerful than their Japanese rivals, also more expensive, and the first generation did not sell in the expected numbers. A new B1500/Proceed appeared in October 1965 with the same 1,484 cc engine. Over the following decades the line spread across the world under local names: Proceed in Japan, Bravo in Australia, Bounty in New Zealand, Drifter in South Africa, and Magnum, Thunder and Fighter in Thailand. Mazda’s association with Ford produced the B-series as the Ford Courier and Ford Ranger, and conversely the Ford Ranger was sold in North America as a Mazda B series from 1994 to 2010.
The last generation ran until 2006, when the BT-50 replaced it. The B-series also produced the smaller-engined models that give the records merged into this page their names, from the B1500 and B1600 to the B4000, with the B2000, B2200, B2300, B2500, B2600, B2900 and B3000 in between and in two- and four-wheel drive.
Design and features
- Engine-size names: the model number matched the engine’s displacement in litres.
- Worldwide badges: Proceed, Bravo, Bounty, Drifter, Magnum, Thunder and Fighter.
- Ford connection: built as the Ford Courier and Ranger, and the Ranger was sold as a Mazda in North America.
- Long life: five generations over 45 years, ending with the BT-50 in 2006.
Mazda B series versions
- B1500 (1961–1965): the first B-series pickup.
- B1600 and B1800: early export models with larger fours.
- B2000, B2200 and B2300: the main 1980s and 1990s models.
- B2500, B2600, B2900, B3000 and B4000: larger-engined versions, including four-wheel drive.
- Ford Courier and Ranger: the same trucks under Ford badges.
The B series was replaced by the Mazda BT-50, and above it in size sat the Mazda Titan trucks. More Mazdas are in the Mazda collection.
Sources
- Mazda B series, English Wikipedia: generations, names, Ford versions
- Mazda B-Serie, German Wikipedia: model range
- マツダ・プロシード, Japanese Wikipedia: Proceed name
