My favorite cars to behold, if not to drive, are the more obscure Japanese models of the 1980s which were generally uncommon throughout my younger years and are truly rare today. This second generation Mazda 626 is just such a car, not very well-loved second hand and initially sold using advertisements which underscored value over most any other trait. A shame, when you consider that they had genuine substance and depth, but nevertheless, their general ambiguity and embrace of techo-gimmickry really make them a nerd’s delight today.
The first-gen 626 had been an RWD car with some European pretense and that slightly-sportier theme carried into the new, front-drive 1983 model, which sold in reasonable quantities, but not as well as the Accord. No matter how much better the handling was, or how nifty the interior’s metallic-accents, open headrests, oscillating vents and adjustable shocks were, however, looking at the styling explains a lot about these cars and their lack of genuine success. What use is good handling and optional turbo power in a car which looks like this? It doesn’t say “touring,” it says “pre-calculus.”
Gotta admire the owner’s attempts to turn it into an art car. Let’s see here, we have a statuette of what looks to be Ganesh (if I’ve mistakenly misidentified this figurine, please accept my sincerest apologies), some black keys and… I guess that’s all it takes!
I must say, the placard glued to the dash is quite interesting. “Graduate school” isn’t a job or clerical title and few students in grad school goes by “Mrs.” As we see here, not much creativity is evident in the toned-down-for-1986 interior, but the open design of the door pull/storage pocket and the console mounted window switches at least suggest some desire to distinguish the car as modern. The button for the famed “swing” vents is curiously missing, since I can’t imagine anyone deliberately removing it, but given the generally sorry state of the car, it’s not surprising.
It’s hard to pin down the exact year of this car. It’s most likely a 1986 or 1987, and the body colored door handles were only featured on this car’s LX trim for the final year, but the very poorly integrated high-mount stop light is reminiscent of an aftermarket piece retrofitted to a 1985. What I’m more certain of is that using the filler panel around the license plate as a mooring for the bungee cord holding your bumper (or decklid) in place is a bad idea.
If any generation of 626 was going to become a mainstream success, it would’ve been the second-generation, which handled better than the Accord, and had a wider availability of engines and body styles. But its style was lacking and some say quality was as well. Mazda’s midsizer would continue the trend of being a gruff, anonymous midsize car with good handling (except between 1998 and 2002), with meager sales in the US. Oddly enough, the 626 did well in Germany and Scandinavia, where buyers aren’t exactly unsavvy, so the car’s attributes were at least recognized in a somewhat flattering context. I don’t know how well it did in Japan, but US models did come from Hiroshima, and the hyper conservative styling, as well as the right A-pillar mounted antenna suggests primary consideration for the home market.
The fact that it was an up-to-date, competent car, with middling sales and dorky styling which kept it from being a smash, certainly caused me to enjoy running across it. I can’t help but wonder how it would’ve paid off if some US Fords were based on this car after Mazda was finished with it. 1988 Tempo, anyone?
In the meantime, if anyone sees a nice 86 or 87 626 GT Turbo, please take pics and alert me through CC!
Related reading: 1985 Accord, 1985 Mazda 626 COAL, 1987 Mazda 626 COAL
Didn’t these have unequal length lower control arms (left side vs. right side) to better balance the weight left to right for handling?
Always thought the MX-6 was a sharp car until it went to the almond eyed organic shape when it was redesigned and got the V6.
I almost bought one of these on several occasions but it never worked out. They made for perfect low buck basic transportation about ten years ago. The engine is a robust unit related to the B2200 truck engine.
“I must say, the placard glued to the dash is quite interesting. “Graduate school” isn’t a job or clerical title and few students in grad school goes by “Mrs.”
That’s a classic desk sign. It probably belonged on the desk of a graduate school employee at the university.
Yes. Still amusing.
And there must be quite a life story behind that sign. As long as the 626 survives, Mrs. Blair lives on…
What an interesting car and I wonder why Mazda went from 626 to Mazda6?
The looks of this vehicle do not have the edgy pizzazz of the 86-89 Accord nor the futuristic look of the 86-91 Taurus, but it is not frumpy. A relative used to have a 1988 MX-6 does this 626 handle like a four door MX-6 or am I assuming too much. The interior and its decorations are interesting and I do wonder who owns this vehicle? Saab 900s also have the power window switches on the center console, I assumed it made it easier to switch between doors with crank windows and doors without. Least this car has a stick shift I wonder how easy these Mazda stick shifts are to drive. I do not see the Libby Light, but to me nothing screams giving up like a cockeyed plate with one screw especially one that is bent. Perhaps they trust that God will keep the other screw from coming out. Speaking of license plates this vehicle is obviously from out of state since there used to be a plate on the front. The Golf ball stick-on is something I have been tempted buy for a while, but never have.
They went away from 626 to get away from the turd the last generation had become. the transmission on the 4 cyl models sourced from Ford fell apart at 80k miles.(I know I replaced mine for 2500.00). Which was a shame since I bought my 02 626 on the memories of my long lasting 85 GLC. That 3rd generation was eaten up with trouble.
Mazda changed the names of all its Japanese-market models as well. I think the 6 is called Atenza (the 626 was the Capella).
US MX6 GT had four wheel steering from 1989, dunno if that’s what your relative had.
I think the change in naming followed the Euro trend towards simplificating; i.e. Volvo dropping door numbers, Saab to 9- and Audi moving to single digits.
Back in the day I had a colleague who went from being a long-time Cutlass owner to buying her first new 626 in 1981 to achieve better fuel economy following the two big gas crises. It was a dowdy brown sedan with few accessories and a four-speed, but an excellent, reliable car – with a little more rounded styling than this one. In 1987 she traded for a new, fully loaded 626 (still with four-speed) in silver metallic with a very nice silver grey velour-type interior. I remember it was much nicer than the 81, more sound insulation, solid feel, rode well. These cars were much less common on the roads of SoCal than the Accords and Camrys but everyone I knew who had them were quite happy with the handling, economy, and durability.
The main thing I remember about these is the oscillating air vents. When I first saw them move, I thought I was imagining things. As for the CHMSL looking like a retrofit on this car, I think they looked like that on all Mazdas for a few years – sort of a squarish light on a tall pole, as I recall.
I think the button for the swing air vents is missing in this car because they weren’t available in this model. I think they came out in the next model.
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
I thought they came out in 91 or 92 which was right around the time a sold them for 2 months before I realized auto sales was not my thing. I seem to remember that was part of our interior pitch.
My 1986 626 LX had the swing vents. My friend’s ’87 GT had them also, but my Dad’s ’87 DX didn’t. They were introduced in 1983 on all but the DX trimmed cars up until they stopped calling the “G” platformed Mazdas the 626 in 2002. I daily drive right now a rather rare (in the U.S.A.) 1991 626 LX 5-door hatchback, and it does have the swing vents. Also the button to activate the vents on my ’86 was missing like this car posted here. The plastic got old and brittle and one day it came off while turning on the vents.
I friggin’ love these cars.
I wanted to buy one of these back in 1990. It was an 83 model and it has the swing air vents and a crazy joystick that controlled the speakers. My parents were co-signing for any car loans I got (I was fresh out of college) and my Dad looked at it and saw the signs of a bad paint job/possible accident repair and would not co-sign on it. I was not a happy camper. I wound up with an ’85 Dodge 600 with a perfect body but no end of engine problems.
Whoever owns this car is apparently not worried someone might take it, the keys are still in the ignition.
It’s a Blair Witch Project car. No one takes it.
A friend bought one of these 3rd gen 626s she had previously the rwd model great comfort but shite to drive and awful on petrol she reckoned, Nora’s car was a liftback with seemingly all the options but it had marshmallow suspension and unsuited to the rural Tasmanian roads where she lived, her goal was to pay it off and trade it before anything went wrong. It was however reliable for her commute just not what she had expected having avoided the 2nd gen which had an awful reputation.
Had an ’86 626 GT 5-door, identical to the one Road and Track tested. One year only two-litre turbo twelve valve four. It was a monster. Torque steer rivalled only by turbo Mopars, could spin the tires at will, handled like it was glued to the road. Unfortunately Canada took it’s toll and after several years of road salt and time-speed-distance rallying the rear inner fenders separated from the rear floor so that the only thing keeping aft suspension in place were the rear seatback locks. Slid wide on a curve the night my son was born and destroyed what was left of the rear suspension. Replaced it with the biggest turd I have ever owned, a ’91 Grand Am SE Quad 4.
In 1986 we bought a 1984 626, base level, with air-conditioning (a necessity in Tucson). We drove it for 8 years. It was a pleasant, solid car; the 5-speed stick was good, and it handled well. It didn’t have power steering, though, and it needed it whenever either one of us was parking. It did have a bit of a fuel issue, though; we had it fixed more than once, and we never could quite get rid of the smell of raw fuel. The A/C had some issues, too, if I remember, and the AM-FM stereo radio wasn’t much to write home about (it eventually wouldn’t even go into stereo mode). This was the age before clearcoat as well, so the blue metallic paint developed some thin spots in the Arizona sun.
When we bought a Civic Hybrid in 2003, we were amazed to discover that the Civic had become nearly the same size as the 626 from the 80s.
I think these were pretty sharp looking cars, and I’m pretty sure a certain Italian gentleman – Mr G – had a hand in the styling, though he was not credited.
I had the next generation 626, the GD series, and I still miss it. Dash plastics poor, and fuel consumption problematic, but otherwise a delight.
I agree with you on the styling. The latter part of the 70s had some real meh 4 door Mazdas, but this model has a much cleaner look. The hatches were all over oz and had a neat ‘flange’ on the hatch door that integrated well with the body side. Mr G you say?
Yup. Everything derogatory said in the story and comments is probably true but it’s still running. I probably owned the only accord Lemon in history and this car benefits from following it. 4 cyl and 5 speed. Center punched by a 16yo high school girl running through a stop sign. I think it might never have worn out on it’s own.
The last one of these I saw was at a show several years ago
One of my all time favorite cars. Bought one new in 1986. A 4dr. Sedan LX with the 2.0L and 5 spd and the car routinely got 34 mpg. Lasted for 20 years and twice in that time frame the cylinder head had erosion by a cylinder resulting in a leak. Once at 250K and the last at 375K. Sadly gave it up in 2006. I should note that both my girlfriend, at the time, and my mother both bought a 626. Girlfriend a ’86 and mother ’89 with both based on my experience. They lasted also.
Then one night in 2009 a grad school friend drives up from L.A. and asks if I want his car since it just sits in L.A. as he prefers his larger Durango. Doesn’t want to leave it for his 90 year old father to move around. Sure, as it is a 1991 626 LX Hatchback with 165,000 miles. Put in a new radiator, new hoses, new timing belt, new water pump, new thermostat, new clutch, new master, new slave,new CV axles, new suspension, new struts, new brakes, new rotors, new tires, aligned and a new stereo. Sourced broken parking housings from a junk yard. Did all the work myself. Actually had a shop turn down the clutch job saying not worth it. Now drive it 2 days a week and couldn’t be happier. Great solid feel on the road and still getting that 33-34 mpg number. A little paint next month to go along with the pristine interior which always held up well on this generation.
Hello there fellow GD hatchback fan! Greetings from St. Louis, Missouri!
I love love LOVE these cars! It seriously is an unexplained fascination with a fairly standard Japanese sedan. None the less, I eat, sleep, and breathe Mazda 626’s (old Impalas too).
This generation of 626 deserved more attention than it got. I bought two, an 83 and an ’86 (in those days I changed cars at 50K) and both gave trouble-free service. Gas mileage, however, was unimpressive–a Mazda trait. The styling was conservative because back then Mazda was aping the Europeans. (Consider the similarities of the first series 929 to Mercedes and BMW.)
Even though I didn’t really go to college, anything that says “pre-calculus” plus turbo is still right up my alley. I’ve always wanted a GT 5-door of either this or the next generation and test drove a few of them back in the day. Compared to the contemporary Accords, I think they were actually much more in line with typical American tastes. They had a more substantial feel and compliant ride. If Honda hadn’t had their stellar rep or Mazda the Wankel blood on their hands when these cars were doing battle, we might live in a very different automotive world today. The second generation Accord sedan (which I also love) was every bit as frumpy.
my first Mazda was a slightly used ’80 GLC, the first of the FWD. it was, as they say, a Great Little Car. then years later I found a ’79, 4 cyl of course, 5 speed. it also was a great little car. and at the same time my wife drove a used 626, 4 cyl, 5 speed. and at one point my oldest daughter drove a mazda pickup, 4 cyl, 5 speed. we got them all used and they were all really good autos, i don’t remember any serious, major expenses with any of them.
these were great cars. 84 lx had a 6-way manual adjustable seat incl. tilt, height lumbar. all the seating was in decent velour+ vinyl (non touch) surfaces. our family was outgrowing it as the front end needed rebuild & a longer commute was going to be necessary for my wife. we bought a 96 subaru legacy. the seating in that car was so awful for thigh support,(I knew from 5 min into test drive this would never be my car with stock seats) i retrofit the mazda driver seat into it and kept that setup till time came to sell the subaru. wish i had kept that mazda driv. seat. This was the 1st car i had ever encountered that had a manual trans and cruise control. ours was charcoal grey 4d sedan. it was utterly unrecognizable. it stood out in no way. not ugly, just generic, tho’ clean Japanese exterior design.
btw, what’s with the black piano keys? Post-ironic attempt at band allegiance?
It’s an old superstition: Gluing piano keys on the bumper assures that your tires will never B-flat.
I have created this account for the sole purpose of telling you how much I love you for making it.
One of my eight Mazdas was an ’85 626 DX 5-speed. It had sealed beams, a carburetor instead of the FI that was added for ’86, and a slightly different tail light design. It was definitely one of the most fun to drive cars that I’ve owned, despite owning many…many other newer and much more powerful cars before and since then. My particular car had a Weber 32/36 and no emissions equipment, so it made more power than the stock 83HP that it originally put out. I’d love to find a clean Turbo hatch from this generation or the one afterwards nowadays. 0-60 in the low to mid 7’s was nothing to sneeze at back then, and it wouldn’t even embarrass itself these days in modern traffic.
My mom had one of these after the untimely death of her 1976 Charger SE (hit by a runaway truck in a parking lot). She was only driving short distances and wanted something easy on gas and reliable. She drove it almost totally trouble-free for 11 years. Can’t say she really loved it, but it was a reliable, refined and comfortable car, leagues ahead of anything similar from Detroit. When she replaced it she was doing a lot of highway driving with grandkids and got her last car, a 1999 Century. She said that while the Mazda was nice, the Century was like coming home….big and comfy.
I love that it’s a stick shift. My goodness, that dashboard has seen better days. Nice blast from the past, Perry!
“My favorite cars to behold, if not to drive”
That describes about 90% of CC’s content. I’m thrilled that these cars exist, but keep them out of my garage!
When I get my driver licence back in ’94 our family car was an ’83 626. White exterior, elegant blue plush interior – it was a nice looking car. At least in Hungary, couple of years after the fall of the communism. 🙂 It was a fine machine, precise 5spd shifter, very good handling, well built. The only problem was the rust: the chassis-part where the rear suspension connects to the body was rotten, the fuel tank was rotten, etc. The Mazda had got to go after a couple of years, and my parents bought an almost new, reliable, rot-free car. A ’94 Skoda Favorit! 🙂
I bought one of these in 1985, a 1986 2.0L 5 speed coupe in the same color as this one. That color was commonplace on the sedan, but hard to find on the coupe. i had to wait months for it. . It was my first new car, and the only time I owned a car “newer” than the year we were in. I wish I can say I had the experience others here had. My first reaction was that it handled very well in dry weather, but hydroplaned in wet. Replacing the tires helped a bit, but not much. The real problem was electrical. It would fry wiring harnesses, taking the battery and the alternator with it. It first happened in the first month I had the car, and continued over the next 30K miles. In turn it fried all three components from a 625 Turbo, a 626 Diesel (I’d never even heard of that one!!), a RX-7, a RX-7 Turbo, and a 929. All lasted some period of time, but eventually that radio would fade, the wipers would slow down, and it was back on a tow hook to the dealer again. I actually had a service manager tell me that I was overloading the electrical system, and that I should not use the radio and the defroster at the same time. This was ona new car less than two months old!! Did he think I was driving a 1962 Falcon?? The Lemon Law was no help to me since they would claim that it was fixed after every replacement, and the interval between failures was too long to merit their attention. Eventually they let me search through the technical service bulletins, and I found the answer. In an attempt to lower weight with the mid-design refresh in 1986, they used lower capacity parts. They couldn’t handle bumper to bumper traffic, particularly in wet weather. More failed in NYC than anywhere else. Mine always, and only, died while it was raining or snowing. The 929 parts did the trick and I was just starting to like the car when it started to smoke. It needed a ring job at 60K. Then the overly complex seat hinge broke and the drivers seat back fell. They quoted $300 for that. Then there was the time the cruise control jammed and would not disengage. Slamming the brakes and pounding the “Cruise Main” button on the dash did nothing. I could tell you the rest of that story, but retelling always necessitates a change of underwear. Needless to say, I survived, and the 626 was traded in. I spent the next few years driving a Corolla with a Camry payment getting out from under that mistake. It’s a shame, because it was a nice car otherwise.
I’m looking into buying an ’87 Mazda 626 like this with a broken odometer, what would you consider to be a reasonable price range?