It provides 28 mpg on the EPA city cycle and takes much of the howl out of high-speed cruising. "The 323LX 1.6i feels more Germanic than any other Japanese car we have driven," wrote Car and Driver's Larry Griffin in a road test of the five-speed sedan (a three-speed automatic was also available). But the fact that this engine was fuel injected instead of carbureted was big news. The 323's new engine was the iron block, aluminum head, 1.6-liter SOHC eight-valve "B6." None of that was too startling. But it was more refined and more substantially constructed. It didn't even look much different from the GLC. Offered, like the GLC, as a three-door hatchback or four-door sedan, the 323 was slightly larger and rode on a 1.4-inch-longer 94.5-inch wheelbase. Mazda sold 211,093 cars in the United States during 1985. In 1984 the line was pared down to just the three-door hatch and four-door sedan.
2004 MAZDA PROTEGE REVIEW MANUAL
It was matched to four- or five-speed manual transmissions or a three-speed automatic.Īlso new to the second GLC was a four-door sedan-with-a-trunk body style that supplemented the never-popular five-door.Īfter a carryover year in 1982, in 1983 a "Sport" version of the five-door hatch joined the three-door.
2004 MAZDA PROTEGE REVIEW SERIES
Mazda's "BD" GLC's greatest asset was the new, lighter-weight Series E SOHC four-cylinder engine that displaced 1.5 liters and made 68 hp. However, the new 1981 GLC did have an independent rear suspension. MacPherson strut front suspension? Of course. Mazda's first front-drive car sold in America was as conservatively engineered as the rear-drive car it replaced. In 1976, Mazda sold only 35,383 cars in the United States. Mazda would continue selling versions of the "AP-series" rear-drive GLC wagon up through 1983. In 1980 there was a new nose with rectangular headlamps and some revisions to the interior. A 65-hp, 1.4-liter engine went into the GLC for 1979, and that inspired a new Sport model.
2004 MAZDA PROTEGE REVIEW DRIVER
Car and Driver measured it traipsing from zero to 60 mph in 15.1 seconds and trotting through the quarter-mile in 19.7 seconds at 66.8 mph.ĭuring 1978, a five-door version was added to the line. Add in a five-speed transmission ($120) to replace the four-speed, an AM radio ($69) and 155mm section width Bridgestone radial tires and the total was still only $3,495.īut with 52 horsepower from its carbureted 1.3-liter SOHC engine on tap, it wasn't quick. Initially available only as a three-door, it was priced at $2,945, with the Deluxe model at $3,245. It was what Mazda dealers needed: a cheap, showroom traffic builder. The GLC is clearly the finest old-school minicar going." However, being last does offer one undeniable benefit - the chance to better all previous offerings - and Mazda has used this advantage well. "This time it's Mazda with the spanking new GLC do-everything MaxiMizer - because this is quite likely the last econocar built from the now obsolete front-engine, rear-drive blueprint. "Someone had to be last," wrote Car and Driver's Don Sherman in a test of the GLC. It looked like a contemporary hatchback in the mold of the front-drive Volkswagen Golf or Honda Civic, but the first "Great Little Car" was a primitive rear-driver with a solid rear axle: a Japanese Chevette. By the mid-1970s it was apparent that Mazda was going to have to do something different.īy 1977 Mazda knew it had to make a piston-powered car the heart of its North American line. But while the Wankel was powerful and smooth, it was also thirsty and ill-suited to the realities of commuting. As the company expanded its American presence, it did so on the unique and compelling engineering of the Wankel rotary engine. Mazda dribbled into the American market during 1970 with limited distribution in the states of Washington and Oregon. The history of the Mazda 3 starts when it seemed Mazda would never build a car like it.
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