I need help identifying my new protege. it's and "SE" but I've never heard of anything other then Lx/Dx/Es. so what exactly is it? and more importantly, what freaking size engine does it have?

 

its the second gen 1.8 engine Sports Edition...its equivalent to the ES on the thrid gen's

 

alright, I was under the assumption that 99's were 3rd gens....

 

'99s are third gens. In Canada, the standard models sold were as follows (I may be slightly off in terms of badging, but the engine choices were as follows):

'99 & '00 - DX & SE (1.6L), LX (1.8L)
'01 to '03 - SE (1.6L), LX, ES & Protege 5 (2.0L)

Then there are of course the Mazdaspeeds.