I bought this Mazda 323 in late 2021 really cheap after I searched for a very long time (about six months months- I really wanted a 1st generation Volkswagen Golf). This 323 is a rare sight. We had to clean it up and change a few parts. Changing the timing belt put this car back into mint driving condition. A/C and even the cassette player work again now! I took my car to Cars and Coffee and other car shows in the Nashville area. Still getting complements how clean and original it is.
The 323 traded the boxy outline of its predecessors for something smoother when it landed in 1990, including the stylish wraparound taillights. The 323, of course, was part of a sprawling family of Mazda models known as the Familia in other markets (yes, just like in Fast and Furious), so the 323 hatch that we received here was just an appetizer version of all the variants sold elsewhere. Mazda had a solid hit on its hands with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder doing the work under hood, good for 82 hp. This unit could be paired with a four-speed automatic or a five-speed manual. Acceleration was not one of its strengths with 82 hp, but fuel economy was. Unlike many of its competitors that were offered in two- and four-door flavors, the 323 was offered solely in two-door form.
The 323, of course, was effectively the hatchback version of the Mazda Protege sedan of the time, which was nothing short of a blockbuster hit. But while those Proteges persisted well into the 2000s, the 323 had somehow dropped off the radar well before then. We would not be surprised to see a Protege sedan on the highway today, but a 323 is certainly a rare sight. Was it because they were cheaper and thus more disposable, or were there simply more Proteges, to begin with?