A bunch of Mazda engineers recently took their basement collection of classics out for a drive for an internal event. Cars in the group included Miatas, a Eunos Cosmo, and even an FD RX-7 converted to LHD Spirit-R spec. But you know what we heard repeatedly from those who participated? The 323 GTX was the most impressive car of them all. Think about that before you plunk down $50,000 for an FD. Happy 323 Day from JNC!
They work pretty well in the snow, too, and not just the GTX version.
https://flic.kr/p/2nap5kv
Excellent, I took home another 323GTX on 3/23 day. It is my fourth that I have owned. This one is going to be a driver, and a winter driver at that! Rust free and in need of some TLC, should be ready to go next winter!
I still think it’s a shame that neither Mazda nor Ford made an AWD wagon using this platform. A CT20 Escort AWD wagon would’ve been better suited for purpose than the firstgen Explorer for almost everyone who bought one in the ’90s.
Had a black metallic 1990 323. Died in 1998. No A/C, not that it broke, it didn’t have it. Speedo died, rings shot. Got reported to California Highway Patrol as an excessive smoker. Whoops.
Then at the Richmond BART station, someone threw a car battery through the side window, landing on gearshift. Broke it that it went straight down, you had to hold it up to shift. Turns out it mechanically totalled the car. Which was great news since the settlement was worth more than us trying to trade it in. Got a brand new Volkswagen New Beetle, only green one in NorCal. Had to pay $5k over, but better than the $10k everyone else was charging.