3. Mazda T-1100/1500/2000
The Japanese car industry started with extremely small models called Kei Cars. So, after the war, those were the only cars they produced and sold in Japan. The main goal was to build cars as affordably as possible. They also wanted to introduce a utilitarian vehicle to fulfill many duties.
But sometimes, Kei Cars featured interesting technical solutions or unusual wheel configurations. And the Mazda T-Series truck is a perfect example of that. They introduced it in 1959, as a three-wheeled truck. It came with a choice of two engines, both four cylinders. The smaller engine was a 1.1-liter with 46 HP and the bigger one was a 1.5-liter with 60 HP. Despite the fact that many Japanese car companies produced similar vehicles, the Mazda T-Series had a spacious cabin for three passengers.
It had a decent power and load capacity, making this vehicle a useful, capable workhorse in the post-war Japanese economy. Most competitors were a little more than three-wheel motorcycles while the Mazda was a proper truck with a single front wheel. In 1962, Mazda introduced the most powerful yet strangest-looking three-wheel truck on the Japanese market in the form of the T-2000. It produced 81 HP and had a longer truck bed that could carry more weight.
All three variants proved to be popular on the domestic Japanese market as well as in some other Asian markets. The production lasted until 1974 without much change to the basic design and engines.