Mazda still sells the old 323

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July-25th-2003 | 08:58 AM

#16

randallb

Protege Enthusiast

Joined: May 2002

Posts: 63

From: Westchester County, NY

No hiding FoMoCo...

Site made no effort to hide link to FoMoCo!

And that copy is good! "...More fun than breathing helium, the 323 puts the fun into funky ..."

Note the (optional) alloy wheels, but engines are choice of 1.3l or 1.6l.

July-25th-2003 | 09:31 AM

#17

Astral

Protege Enthusiast

Joined: May 2003

Posts: 134

From: Worcester, MA

Quote:

Originally posted by JJB

I think that production of the old bug actually ended when the new one roled out. They finally shut the lines down and modernized them (a bit) to handle the new car.

I read something that they are going to halt production of old Beetles in Mexico (so their factories are producing both old and new), and now they are selling the "VW Ultimate Edition".

I configured me a souped up old Beetle on VW Mexico site and it ended up costing ~$7500. Talk about a deal! Well, considering the car, not really...

July-25th-2003 | 12:30 PM

#18

arl240

Trogdor!

Joined: Mar 2002

Posts: 327

From: Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Personally, if I was in Africa, I would take the 323 over the Pro5 anyday. Anything breaks down on the 323, and it would be a helluva lot easier to fix in the middle of nowhere, then dealing with the much more modern complexities of a Pro5. Hell, I would prefer if the wheels had bushings and grease nipples instead of bearings.

July-25th-2003 | 02:02 PM

#19

B6TFestiva

Registered User

Joined: Oct 2002

Posts: 12

From: Ontario, Canada.

Quote:

just to be clear, that is NOT A FIRST GEN PROTEGE. It would be a zeroth gen, aka late 1980s 323. [/B]

My insurance slip says 1989 Mazda 323 Protege. Weird eh?

July-25th-2003 | 08:56 PM

#20

Mark_02DX

whatever

Joined: Mar 2003

Posts: 490

From: cyberspace, where else?

Quote:

Originally posted by arl240
Personally, if I was in Africa, I would take the 323 over the Pro5 anyday. Anything breaks down on the 323, and it would be a helluva lot easier to fix in the middle of nowhere, then dealing with the much more modern complexities of a Pro5. Hell, I would prefer if the wheels had bushings and grease nipples instead of bearings.

And I'll bet that's exactly why it's still being sold. With a pipe wrench and duct tape, you can always find SOME way to keep it running.

July-25th-2003 | 10:40 PM

#21

JAC

huh?

Joined: Jun 2002

Posts: 871

From: Caracas,Venezuela

The sell this one in my country, I think it's the old old 323, it comes with a 1.3l engine that makes a whooping 64 hp!

July-30th-2003 | 01:09 PM

#22

randallb

Protege Enthusiast

Joined: May 2002

Posts: 63

From: Westchester County, NY

Today is last day for old beetle...

Quote:

Originally posted by midnightblue97

I'm sure you're aware that VW still sells the "old" Beetle in Mexico, and I think Brazil and ****. Actually I remember hearing something about that, I think that they're discontinuing production sometime soon....

According to a news story today "..The world's last new Volkswagen bug rolled off the assembly line Wednesday at the VW plant in Puebla, 65 miles southeast of Mexico City. The German car manufacturer planned to say goodbye to its homegrown legend by beaming footage of the car all over the world, then sending it to a museum in Wolfsburg, Germany...."
(July 30, 2003).