Mazda began making cars with the rotary engine around 1960, and American manufacturers considered using rotary engines around that time too. Credit for the invention is often given to the German Felix Wankel, who supposedly obtain a patent earlier on his odd design in 1929 (presumably in Germany), but he did not build a prototype until 1957.<ref> | Mazda began making cars with the rotary engine around 1960, and American manufacturers considered using rotary engines around that time too. Credit for the invention is often given to the German Felix Wankel, who supposedly obtain a patent earlier on his odd design in 1929 (presumably in Germany), but he did not build a prototype until 1957.<ref> |