- #1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER DRIVER#
- #1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER MANUAL#
- #1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER FREE#
- #1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER WINDOWS#
In the United States it was originally known as the GLC, then the 323, then finally from 1990 on as the Protegé. Later Familias appeared with a succession of names around the world, including 1000, 1200, and 1300, 800, 808, and 818, Mizer, GLC, 323, Protegé (sic) and Astina. 10,589,052 examples of this car were sold worldwide since introduction. The next generation (joined by the Wankel-powered R100 version) were among the first Mazda cars sold in the United States. The first Familias were styled by Italy's Giugiaro and shown in 1963 as the Mazda 1000 Berlina. Warren Brown covers the automotive industry for The Washington Post.The Mazda Familia is Mazda's compact car family, also known as the Mazda 323 in Europe and North America and later known as the Mazda Protegé in North America, produced in Japan between 19. Price as tested is $12,498, including $1,635 in options and $314 in destination charges. Dealer's invoice on base model is $9,178.
#1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER MANUAL#
Mileage: For five-speed manual model, about 25 to the gallon (14.5-gallon tank, estimated 352-mile range), combined city-highway, running with one to four occupants. Okay? Sound system: Four-speaker AM/FM stereo radio and cassette, Mazda original equipment package. The car only loses composure - the back end swings out - when you lose common sense and exceed the 65-mph speed limit by a mighty big chunk. Ride, acceleration and handling: Straight A's. Both you and would-be car thieves can miss it in a shopping-mall parking lot. Head-turning quotient: Common, but pleasant aerodynamic lines.
#1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER WINDOWS#
The Protege LX is a spirited, well-made, well-equipped car - power windows and locks, excellent seats, great 1.8-liter, 16-valve, four-cylinder engine - offered at a reasonable price. What about it, Mazda? Praise: Superb value. That ought to turn most of these unhappy folks into loyal customers who could do Mazda loads of good through word-of-mouth advertising. Let's say, knock their provable failed-transmission costs off the price of a new Protege. Remember Audi? I would humbly suggest to Mazda officials that they reconsider their response to Kramer and other complainants, and make them a deal they can't refuse. But, then, the last time a car company tried that tactic against an alleged defect, it lost hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
#1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER DRIVER#
Some Mazda salespeople suggested that the transmission breakdowns resulted from driver error - habitual improper shifting, for example. Typical of those complaints was one from Debra Kramer, of Maryland, who said that the transmission in her 1986 323 went out at 40,000 miles. But I have received several calls and letters from owners of earlier 323 models, who complained about transmission failures in those cars at under 50,000 miles. Complaints: Other than a disconcerting level of road noise, I have no gripes about the 1990 323 Protege LX per se. All of the cars can carry four people comfortably. There are now several different models of the car, including a hatchback and two four-door Protege types, the upscale LX and the base, 103-horsepower SE. Mazda improved the 323 bit by bit, offering a tad more performance here, a little more styling there. But it was boring as all get-out, even to the people who bought it as basic transportation.
#1990 PROTEGE CAR AND DRIVER FREE#
It was reliable and, according to records at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, virtually free of safety recalls. Hot diggity! Background: The first front-wheel drive Mazda 323, dubbed the GLC in this country, was introduced as a 1981 model, a bubble of a subcompact as modest in performance as it was in interior appointments and external appearance. But, hey, you know how it is when you find something surprisingly, wonderfully delightful - something just this side of innocence? That's what I found in the Protege LX. I mean, I wore seat belts and all of that and I made sure that the roads were sufficiently vacant, and I sure as heck did not drink a drop of anything wicked before I slipped behind the wheel. Mind you, I didn't do anything totally foolish. The Protege LX is stuffed with a 125-horsepower, four-cylinder engine that literally hums when it runs and, whoa, by golly, this little hummer can run! I had such fun in this one on Virginia's back roads, I feel like sending a check to the state police just to soothe my conscience. As for the Protege, well, it's simply one of the best front-wheel-drive subcompacts available - a terrific value for the dollar. This small sedan is so good, it could bring a smile to the face of Debra Kramer, an unhappy former owner of a Mazda 323. I LIKE small guys - little dudes who knock big dudes out, undersized underdogs who bite back and win, little cars that run like hell.
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