Mazda‘s push into the luxury segment is no longer a rumor or a stretch — it’s a reality playing out in showrooms right now. But the ambition goes back further than most people realize. In 1991, as Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura were rewriting American expectations of what a Japanese car could be, Mazda was quietly drawing up plans for Amati, its own dedicated luxury sub-brand. The goal was to build Japanese luxury vehicles tailored to American tastes — but a liquidity crisis killed the project before it could launch. Amati was officially canceled the following year, and the models that had been developed were quietly absorbed back into the Mazda lineup.
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