When I was 18 YO Mazda had these for sale - stick shift and RWD - 4 cylinder.
Me thinks it's like a BMW 2002 - any one have one?
When I was 18 YO Mazda had these for sale - stick shift and RWD - 4 cylinder.
Me thinks it's like a BMW 2002 - any one have one?
I bet I haven't seen one of those in 35 years . . .
No, but I had the later pedestrian one as a hand-me-down in the 90s. A 1986 four-cylinder automatic in glorious '80s maroon everything - exterior, interior, and awesome center oscillating vent...
I remember when we bought it, trying to convince my dad the GT on the lot with the turbo and stick was much better. He didn't bite.
I had a 1980 626, the only new car I've ever owned. Mine was a two door, blue, with a manual transmission and the same alloy wheels that came on RX-7s back then. I drove it for 20 years until a unlicensed driver ran a red light and T-boned me. They were great cars. I still have an issue of Autoweek where they favorably compared them to a 3 series BMW.
Unfortunately they've pretty much disappeared from the planet. Rust prevention wasn't very good on Mazdas back then, mine only lasted as long as it did by not driving it in the winter (and it had Rusty Jones rustproofing. 
) They were underpowered, but then again in that time period the manufacturers were still trying to figure out emissions controls - there was a maze of vacuum lines connecting to the carburetor. The fabric used on the seats was pretty flimsy as well, my seats started tearing within a few years; I had them recovered with GM fabric that was similar in color and texture, and they still looked good when I junked the car.
The air dam is something I bought from J.C. Whitney, it was essentially a piece of lawn edging.
A lot about the 626 had changed by the time I got around to buying one brand new in 1989, but it was still a great sedan for the money. Durable, thrifty, and fun to drive. And oh, yeah--those oscillating center vents! Scintillating! I dailied that car for 14 years.
My parents had a metallic brown 1981 626 sedan. It was a fantastic little car. They kept it for about ten years. Theirs was the Luxury trim package. The corduroy seats were very durable. No tears, but the foam was starting to give out toward the end.
My weekend car
Wish it had more power but I can't seem my self tear this apart 
My sister's best friend had an '85 two door with a stick. I remember it had some button on the dash that was supposed to "change" the car between Sport and Touring mode, but it never felt any different to me when I drove it
I drove it to school once when I was replacing the starter in my X-11, and recall her asking how in the world I got it into fifth gear at only 35mph. It had a fairly wide ratio gearbox without a lot of torque.
It met it's demise one night when she was going home. She was making a right turn, and a cop making a left turn, decided he needed to cross three lanes of traffic and make a right hand turn, running into her car and tearing the whole left side up.
My neighbor had one when I was a kid in the mid 2000s, I was always fascinated with it as I was with all cars that were different than the cars I'd see on the daily. One day it disappeared and they had a brand new car in their parking spot shortly after. I never knew if they sold it, got into an accident, or if they moved from their apartment and someone took over their designated parking spot. Hopefully that car is still out there somewhere.
I honestly don't think I've ever seen that first (?) gen 626. And I'm a Mazda fan, so I'd remember. I liked the later 80s one with the hatch.
Chiquito, that thing looks NICE.
Kind of amazing MPG numbers they are advertising!
I learned to properly drive stick on a RHD '81 626. A brown 4 door in Australia in 1989 or so. I'd love to get my hands on another one, I remember it fondly.
Until the Miata, they had the smoothcase with the best transmission gearing for road racing.
In reply to chiquito1228 :
Wow, I'm impressed at the condition of your car. I daresay it's probably the nicest one left in the US.
Is that an aftermarket cruise control module on the passenger side inner fender, behind the shock tower? I added one to my car back in the day, and mounted it in about the same location. However, water got in it after the first rainstorm and it failed.
racerfink said:My sister's best friend had an '85 two door with a stick. I remember it had some button on the dash that was supposed to "change" the car between Sport and Touring mode, but it never felt any different to me when I drove it
I drove it to school once when I was replacing the starter in my X-11, and recall her asking how in the world I got it into fifth gear at only 35mph. It had a fairly wide ratio gearbox without a lot of torque.
It met it's demise one night when she was going home. She was making a right turn, and a cop making a left turn, decided he needed to cross three lanes of traffic and make a right hand turn, running into her car and tearing the whole left side up.
My dad had an 83, I remember the higher end struts had a solenoid on top, probably to increase compression damping for sport mode.
There's actually an 86 turbo coupe on FB for sale a few pages back
My parents' car was identical to this one, minus the stripes.
In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :
My dad bought a new 1979 Datsun 210 that was that Pooh brown color. I hate that color.
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
Best color ever.
I love brown cars.
In reply to stuart in mn :
The cruise control is oem. The only thing it has aftermarket is a cassette player install by dealer on 1982.
A friend in school had a white one. He replaced with a car from a company new to the U.S.: Hyundai.
“Rhymes with Monday,” he’d say.
In reply to CyberEric :
Thank you
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