The Mazda 626 was known as the Capella in Japan, and though it had some really trick technology on it, it was mostly remembered as a fairly middle-of-the-road compact in the US. However, if you were in Japan, you could get the Capella Canvas Top. It was basically a regular Capella except with an old-timey rollback canvas roof, but instead of cruising by the Riviera in the 1960s you were gliding through Bubble Era Japan. Happy 626 Day from JNC!
I really like them. Back in the day, when i was a kid the 626 equipped with diesel engine was a total hype in late ’80 to early ’90. And i would really love to own a coupe version someday… The interiors of Mazdas from that time really catch my hart.
I really liked the 626’s.They had tasteful, simple lines without being boring. In a nice place between the jellybeans & origami.
I had a friend who cut a hole in the roof of his old Corolla and installed a piece of waxed canvas with Velcro on it. Needless to say it did not meet Mazda’s (or Toyota’s) engineering standards for safety and reliability. Surprisingly it never did fly off at speed although it did leak if you drove over 30 in the rain. BTW – I do not recommend anyone doing this. As Dave states, buy a real one and import it!
Way back, just after high school, a friend’s dad had two 3rd-gen 626GTs as company cars. It didn’t take my friend long to find out that they did great burnouts, using the handbrake as a line-lock. Haven’t seen a 626GT since though.
The 626 is such an ignored car.
I’m always on the hunt for this car in hopes of seeing the digital instrument panel.