1992 Mazda MX3 (Reaction) Motorweek Retro
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- #acwj
This week's Motorweek Retro Reaction is the 1992 Mazda MX3!
Golly, I miss when automakers had FUN with their lineups, and taking an economy platform, putting a sexy 2-door body on it, and here squeezing in a tiny V6!
Back in the day there were tons of cars like this, and this Mazda has long been my favorite of them!
Be sure to subscribe to our channel and show the love!
This channel is supported by viewers like you! Please consider supporting our histories and news-pinions: / allcarswithjon
Got a Car you'd like to see me review? Just fill in this easy form to reach out to me!
forms.office.com/r/YdDkTnJRfr
OMG! We're on Instagram now!
/ allcarswithjon 
Авто/Мото
My boy have one in the late 90's, it was the V6 too.
Quick fun little car, one night a drunk driver side swiped us on the highway going 80mph.
We spun hit the wall, my head broke the windshield my boy was knocked out but we survived.
Now that I'm old and bald you can see the gnarly scar on my head lol.
In the late 80's and early 90's I was a huge Mazda fan. Had an 87 B2200 cab plus, and the wife had a MX-6 LX coupe. Both 5spd manuals. They were good cars. The late 90's early 2000's, Mazda lost it's way a bit. Bought a Toyota Previa All-Trac LE, (it drove over 275,000 miles through other family members)and never looked back. While we own three Toyotas today,(04 Lexus ES330, 11 Tacoma double cab V6 4X4, 15 Sienna XLE) at my advanced age, will try to keep them a long time. But I still have a soft spot for early 90's Mazdas. Still see them a lot too.
I remember these cars well from my youth as a couple friends had them - one had a 4 cylinder model, and another had a V6 model and the two variants were worlds apart - in both personality and other cars they competed with. My biggest impression from riding in them was just how cramped the inside was for 5' 6" tall me. The interior was nice, but too cramped. At the time I was a young US Navy sailor and had a 1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX (the top of the line turbo AWD model) so I had a similar class of car at the time, and even as small as my Eclipse was it still had a lot more room than the MX-3. In terms of usable real world room, my Eclipse could take 2 fully stuffed Navy duffel bags in the trunk area plus one more in the back seat while still being able to scoot the front seats all the way back; by comparison the MX-3 could get one duffel bag in the trunk and one in the back seat - but you could only scoot the front seats halfway back. The 4 cylinder MX-3 was disappointingly slow. The V6 model was reasonably quick, but my Eclipse was faster (my buddy and I had done impromptu races on an old runway) and had better handling. My Eclipse's window sticker was about $1,000 more at the time (~ $2,200 today), but it was money well spent because it got you a quicker car, better handling, and more importantly roomier. My friend with the V6 MX-3 would brag about it having a V6 when my Eclipse had only a 4 cylinder. My Eclipse's 2.0L DOCH turbo engine made 195hp/195 lb-ft of torque and gave it a 0-60 run that was almost 1.5 seconds faster. Sadly these did not sell nearly as well as Mazda had hoped and performance/pricing were likely why. The 4 cylinder model really was more of a peer of the NX, Paseo, Scoupe, Geo Storm, ect - but at a higher price. The V6 model competed with the turbo model Mitsubishi Eclipse/Eagle Talon, the Nissan 240SX, and most directly with Mazda's own MX-6 in price but with lower performance. Quite literally for another $500 or less at the time you could have bought a V6 Mazda MX-6 which sold for ~$18,000 at the time.
On my dream car list! Sold as a serious BMW competitor, Eunos 30X here in Australia - damn, I love these cars! They're from Mazda's "Golden Age". The underpinnings of this & the period 323/Astina were BMW 3 series quality. That little 6 is beautiful to drive! As smooth as a rotary, it was also used in the 323s. They did use a 1.8 I4 in the 323. I had the 2.5L V6 626 5spd, as good as my R30 2.4 I4 Skyline. These were levels above economy here. Cheers Jon!
Thanks for the comment!! :)
I've loved these cars for decades. I saw one for sale locally back in the mid 2000's, just a year before I got my driver's license. I wanted it so bad! Still my favorite car to this day. I wish there were more of them around. They're VERY hard to find now in any condition.
There were a lot of quirky little grand touring Coupé like this in the 80’s and 90’s. Mazda MX-3/MX-6, 1st & 2nd Gen Isuzu Piazza/Impulse/Geo Storm, Toyota Paseo, Renault Fuego, Pontiac Grand Am, et cetera. And then Cash for Clunkers came along, and they all pretty much disappeared.
Man, this car is so cool. I think this one was sold under three brands: Mazda, Autozam, and Eunos. It was called the AZ-3 in Japan. I looked at these in the used market and they were quite reasonable. I wouldn’t be buying a sports car yet, but definitely have this one as a consideration if I do. It’s rare too so that’s a plus.😀
Great video. I love this car too. Even after all these years, it is still a beautiful design. You are right, Mazda had the best designs of the early 90s: Milenia, Miata, MX-6, MX-3. I bought a first gen Miata and wish I still had it.
Personally, I liked the v6..but it was overpriced. Mazdas also had cramped interiors, at least in that era. The Miata was acceptable because of the convertible top.
8:30 - Wish Mr. Davis didn't talk over the sound of that V6 taking off. It's one of the best aspects of the car.
We have owned our 92 Mazda MX3 GS V6 5 speed since new. The only options not on it were A/C and ABS. It is such a fun car to drive we have kept it in mint condition all these years. It now is very rare and I take it to multiple car shows. They were pretty popular up here in Canada, but most were the less costly 4 cylinder models (same engine as the Miata).
We no longer winter use this car. Rock solid mechanically and no rust at all. I have used a synthic oil based rust proofing for years and it works! We live in Canada where they use a lot of salt on the roads in winter.
I love fun to drive sporty hatchbacks. We also have a non turbo 2007 Volvo 2.4i C30. 5 speed. This is a Canada and Europe only spec car and is also pretty rare. Only about 1100 of these models were sold in Canada in 2007. The US did not get the C30 until the 2008 models. All the US models were 2.5 litre turbos.
I agree with you we love our MX3!
I absolutely agree with you, dear Jon. It's a real shame that this class of small, affordable coupés no longer exists. Even here in Europe, it was a time when it was very chic and fun to drive without having to dig too deep into our pockets. And now? Do we have to live with SUV coupés for all time, the living contradiction in terms? A higher SUV plus coupé shape (originally flat, sporty, crouching just above the road) only results in - excuse the crude expression - eye cancer when you look at it - paired with a weight of often +/- 2 tons and absurd prices - unfortunately also in Europe. Thank you for your work. Best wishes from Germany to the USA. Take care .... 🙂👍
Back in the mid to late 90's when I was a teen and started driving, there were so many options for let's sat $500 to $1500
Now I can't think of anything that's relative cheap and fun to drive for a first car for a kid.
Thanks for the kind words. You know what... I agree SUV Coupes are stupid, but I quite like some of them. Just more flowing lines. Of course, that stupid weight and pricing makes them no-gos for me. :)
I really liked this car and wondered why they didn't continue to develop this car. It was one of those cool little cars from my early 20's that I thought would be a worthy challenger to the Integra. After all, it has a very cool small V6, cool styling, etc.
If you noticed, all the sporty subcompact coupes were discontinued around the same time. Ran out of gas. Pun
Mazda and Mitsubishi created the two smallest V6s in history(Mazda: 1.8 liter V6; Mitsubishi: 1.6 liter V6). I wish the Mitsubishi one was made available in the Mirage at that time. Imagine a V6 Mirage competing against the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Mazda Protege, and Nissan Sentra. What a great battle that would have been.
Such a good looking car at the time and still looks good now. My favorite sport coupe of that time was the Scoupe Turbo, but this was a better car. I just liked the Scoupe Turbo looks and the interior was roomy.
A friend of mine bought one of these brand new back in the day, and although I didn’t care much for the car, all he would talk about was that damned V6! But that’s just it. It was all about that V6 that owners could drive their friends crazy over and maybe Mazda thought they could sell a few extra cars because of it. Once he got over that V6, he sold it and bought an Acura Integra.
My boy had one too, it was crazy seeing a tiny hatch with a 1.3 V6 lol.
He should've just engine swapped. They had like 130hp, buut there was a larger version of the engine that made 200hp. VRIS > VTEC. Bolts in, can work on the stock ECU that's in there. $1k, 5 hour swap.
I got to demo one of these ... ended up going Saturn, lower price, lower insurance, better financing, more space, more accessory options. But I did really like the style and umph of it.
4:30 - I'm a similar age. In '92, it was the Celica GT AllTrac, Probe GT, 240SX, Integra GS-R, etc.
Probe GT needs more love. Specially the 2nd gen
@@fakename-xz8fz The Probe GT's v6 engine is a larger version of the MX-3's engine. 35 more hp. There was a Japanese version of that engine that made 70 more than the MX-3. Both are bolt in swaps.
High school me loved this car. I somehow thought this was attainable making $4.65/hour at a part-time job. :-) Needless to say, I never got one. Now, I can't unsee Ford Taurus, lol, nice catch. :-)
I don't think we'll ever see cars like these again either.
I had a 2003 Protege5 I got new, I sold it 16 years later at 180k miles to buy my aunt's 2004 Mazda6 Sportwagon.
I never knew it had a V6. I miss the pocket rockets from that time. I had a Suzuki Swift GT and loved it having 100hp
I believe the 1.8L 6 was originally developed for the Japanese market. Annual taxes on cars are partially based around engine displacement. After 1800 CC things start getting very expensive. So, as you said, the six was for smoothness especially at highway speeds, not raw power.
I could see them using it in a 626 in Japan as an alternative to a 1.6 four.
I would say that the Nissan 2.0L SR20 engine is definitely the most respected out of the three you mentioned.
You probably already know this but that tiny 6 cyl was a popular engine option in Japan, JDM MX-5 and MX-6 had it, and did others.
I always thought this car was awesome. Would have loved to autocross one.
For a more practical fun mazda, they had a sporty version of a 5 door protege wagon that was also really cool.
Good review! I forgot about these. I didn't know about the 1.8 V6. As neat as it was, I never understood the mentality of using such a small V6. The fuel economy on the highway was not as good as a 3800 in a Park Avenue. Having said that, I agree with you that their criticism against its performance was unfair. The automotive press is very bias.
I share your sadness about the modern car market. I miss seeing these fun, cheap cars. I also lament it as the one fault I found in these was the lack of power. Once the technology came along to make these sporty looking coups live up to their looks, they were gone.
The thing you have to give the '90s was that you had real diversity of choices and the choices did what they did very well. If you wanted something cheap and affordable, you had a long list of choices. If you wanted something and keep in sporty, you had vehicles like this. If you wanted something small but more comfort focused, Buick and Oldsmobile had your back. If you wanted something big and comfortable another long list of choices. If you wanted something off-road capable, Jeep, Land Rover, and even a few cheaper options were available. If you wanted a pickup truck you could get one that would fit in a garage and ones that were more serious. There were pretty much choices with every type of engine you could imagine.
Today, it's just a bunch of crossovers, SUVs, trucks, and a small handful of minivans and sedans. Trucks are a luxury vehicle instead of a work vehicle. Crossover / SUVs are mostly not off-road capable. Everything has to have a performance focused suspension and performance focus seats. Luxury seats are almost non-existent all suspensions must be firm. And everything is overcomplicated. One of my jokes is when I hear the song everybody wants to rule the World I change it to everybody wants a crossover (except for me).
Man, that 3800 PA was amazing. The 0-60 was fabulous considering size and luxobarge.
Gotta love Tears For Fears!
Mazda was the only foreign car I had.😊
They did a lot for Ford.
Economy car bones dressed up in a stylish exterior to mimic whatever expensive stuff was cool at the time - sounds a lot like a Buick envista, or a bronco sport, or even a maverick to me. The cheap(er) fwd crossovers are exactly the 2020s interpretation of this segment in my opinion. Cheap(er) versions of whatever the current trends are are always out there - even when what’s in style isn’t what those of us who actually like cars find appealing
There are certain people who desire a fancy inexpensive vehicle. Not everyone can afford the expensive cars. Though it may be unlikely that they will take good care of the vehicle, generally speaking, any modern vehicle that is properly serviced will give its owner years of good service.
If it makes you feel better to use the word cheap to describe things you don't like, that is on you.
@@warrenny I’m not saying I don’t like cheap things at all, I’m just pointing out pretty much what you said - there’s always demand for less expensive versions of whatever is on trend. What I don’t like is crossovers and SUVs - cheap or not.
I’d love for more cheap cars to be around which are more up my street like these mini sports cars or like a small hardtop sedan
@@AP-5555a my apologies. I probably sound harsher than I meant. And I understand your comment better now.
Selling sedans and small cars is very difficult because of a) public demand, and b) CAFE standards. I think Jon actually made a few good videos about the whole CAFE standards thing....in very simple terms, the interior volume and wheelbase determine the MPG needed.
And in a backwards way, the larger the vehicle, the LOWER the MPG is needed....so small cars need an insane MPG to qualify.
Saw a clean one base model 5 speed in Raleigh traffic looks great
My sister in law had one but I don't know what she thought of it. She's had a few Hyundai SUVs since, now Palisade.
Interesting liking small coupe cars as i been watching old vids of Mitsubishi sigma, Holden Camira or J body platform these cars i miss as they were affordable, efficient cars. I would like get one n deck it out like for camping with portable fridge n kettle, driving around Australia.
I almost bought an MX3. It had the V6 I think. Loved it, girlfriend hated it. Lost that argument.😊
Sorry to hear that
😂. I feel your pain on the gf thing.
Back in the 90s I really wanted the Buick Riviera; I'm talking about mid 90s one with the rounded shape. I went to look at it with my gf, and she just rolled her eyes at me. So, I never got one.
I remember these when i was in high school. Very odd looking cars.
Definitely a bygone era here. By the time I reached the age of this car’s target demographic, it was already gone along with all its competitors.
Your MX3 buyer today is probably an entry level compact CUV buyer like a CX-30, Trax, Renegade, etc. To me it’s very unfortunate. I also lament the manual transmissions going into extinction. I know all the reasons why but I still wish I had the choice, especially in the era of CVTs.
Its the car that you can knock off the jack in the game paperboy on the super Nintendo
This car I really liked the looks as well. That said it looks like a CRX that sat out in the sun too long. As for rational decision you were talking about at the time. If you wanted something at the time surprised you didn't go with a GTI as with the VW sporty yet not over the top design. Big hatch and upright seating position.
Lol, I’m 58 and every time I went to buy a new car I always thought I wanted a sporty coupe but then practicality won out and I’d get a sedan. I’ll be looking for another vehicle in a couple of years and I’m certainly not buying new and now at my age with a sporty coupe I’d look like I was having a middle age crisis! Lol, but who cares? Everyone should buy what they like and who cares what anyone else thinks! Lol
That's true, but I don't know about you... getting in and out would be a pain. Forget looking like I was in the middle of my crisis!
@@AllCarswithJon You are absolutely correct! I don’t want a car I have to fall into and then crawl out of! Lol! I’ve now got my dad’s 1996 Cadillac sedan DeVille and I never dreamed I’d like that car but I’ve fallen in love with that beast! It’s like driving a lazy boy recliner! Lol. I think I’ll just hang on to it for a few more years. I’ve also had both hips replaced and this old Cadillac feels like an old comfortable pair of shoes.
After watching a lot of your content, I often hear you mentioning cars you've owned. I'd be interested in seeing you make a video just about that. Something like a rundown list on all of them and a short opinion, thoughts, experience comments etc with them. Like here you mention the Protege, I remember the Neon you said you had from the compact compsrison video with the saturn Toyota Honda and Jetta, jeep from another recent video I think you said was your first vehicle, among others. Just a thought. I've seen another RUclipsr do something like that and enjoyed it. I assume a lot of your viewers, like myself, are older and have owned our fair share of makes and models as well. I think I remember a Buick, and Lincoln maybe also? Like I said it's just a thought on something I'd personally like to see you do because of your seemingly more diversified makes and models ownership. Maybe some other viewers would agree.
So that was one of the very first videos I did when I started the channel!
Thanks for the idea, because I may redo it. That early one I had no lighting, the webcam mic, and no editing. It's almost painful to watch now. :)
@AllCarswithJon I'll check it out anyway. I gave myself the idea to make a list of all the cars I've had. I know we had the Neon in common, and both liked it. Although mine was a 95 2-door sport, I believe you had a 4 door base and i think, was an earlier model. I did comment on that, I remember, because part of the comment was about the saturn also. I'm about to see if I can find that.
The new car market today is terrible. It's a real shame.
Wait, THAT'S "memorably good looking" to you?
Well, I guess different strokes.
lol, I understand your thoughts. If we were magically transported back to 1993, who wouldn't want to have a Merc 300E or a Porsche 964?
But Jon's channel is part nostalgia and part car enthusiast. Many of us were young (and not wealthy) in the 80s/90s. So we have fond memories of the these cars when they were new.
We all have different tastes. Some are hard core boxy styling fans. Some are rounded styling fans. Some like both. It's not my favorite but I think it looks fun. As amazing as some exotic looked, I never paid attention to them as they were way out of my price range, cars that could mimic any of the random styling cues that were affordable would catch our attention even if they didn't have the power to back it up.
@@colinschmitz8297 Very true. Some of the best $/0to60 would be cars like the Dodge Spirit R/T.
I wasn't a fan of that look, but their performance was definitely humbling to foreign cars with the exception of near-supercar models of the day.
Well, I remember it fondly 30 years later. So, yeah.
May not be for everyone, but MX3 was a pretty cool car for lots of folks.
The V6 was not a weight penalty. It was all aluminum and the 4 cyl. engines were heavy. I only saw 1 in the 90's it was debadged. I did not know about the 6 back then. I personally like the frameless door 323 F. OMG though, you are so wrong about the 6 cyl. You buy the 6 cyl MX3, remove the engine and install a 2.5l KLZE OR 2.5l KLDE with a turbo. 2-300 hp in a really light car, with really short gearing. Just the ZE, NA, that little car will be under 6 seconds to 60. 1 engine? ruclips.net/video/aYgNww8rM5g/видео.html OR 2? ruclips.net/video/J5Cer4JzyJQ/видео.html