<![CDATA[Jalopnik: 323]]> http://tags.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: 323]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/323 http://jalopnik.com/tag/323 <![CDATA[Norwegian Couple Nabbed For High Speed Sex]]> Norwegian police arrested a motoring couple after observing them engaged in high-speed hanky-panky in their Mazda 323.

Police spotted the car, speeding at 133 KPH in a 100 KPH zone, and after a kilometer in pursuit they noted the car swerving back and forth as the 22-year-old woman was straddling the 28-year-old man, the two doin' the nasty. After pulling the dirty duo over at a service station, officers seized the man's driving license. He now faces huge fines for reckless driving. When the case goes to court it should be an open and shut proceeding, as the police recorded the carnal activities with their dash cam for use as "evidence" later on. [Yahoo News]

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<![CDATA[The Cheapest Import Hatchback Your 1978 Dollars Could Buy: Mazda GLC]]>
$3,480 sounds cheap, but the '78 Chevette Scooter went for $2,999. Still, the Mazda GLC was a good deal. Can you imagine a carmaker using the word "little" in their marketing today?

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<![CDATA[PCH, 80s Acronymic Forced Inductors Edition: Dodge Omni GLHS or Mazda 323 GTX?]]> Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Like chlamydia and financial crises, turbocharging was hot in the 80s…

…and that means plenty of lightweight, crazy-handling turbocharged vehicles of that era can be had for a few tattered bills and some pocket lint these days. Yes, back when turbos made lots of noise and it was considered perfectly normal for turbo lag to make the car accelerate like a garbage truck dragging an overturned double-wide… right up until the moment at which the turbo built up pressure and the car leaped like a bobcat stung in the ass by an Asian giant hornet… straight into the nearest tree or parked car. Uncivilized turbocharged subcompacts, for total hoons serious drivers! And, since we had a near-even split between the two Detroit heroes in the Get Rich In The Limo Business Edition PCH, we're going to give third-tier PCH contender Japan a shot at wresting the rusty, oil-leaking Project Car Hell trophy away from the Americans today.

Carroll Shelby's Dodge Omni GLHS was one of the all-time bang-for-buck car deals of the 1980s, and you still see the Goes Like Hell Some-More machines knocking off crazy times at racetracks around the country. Since that Texan's sacred name goes on the car, you've got to figure on spending Barrett-Jackson-grade bucks on one, right? Actually, no- we've found this 1987 Dodge Omni GLHS (go here if the ad disappears), and the seller is asking just $1,500 for it! The description states "It is not running, but was running a few months ago," which may be Craigslist-ese for "It was running right up until the moment when a huge explosion tore the cylinder head completely off the engine"… or maybe it just needs a simple tune-up. The body looks semi-beat but not hopeless, and the word "rust" isn't mentioned at all in the description. How hard could it be?

Texas torque steer is macho and all, but wouldn't you rather have all-wheel-drive and rally history on your side when you take on a hopeless somewhat ambitious 80s Turbo Hell Project? 80s Mazda 323 GTXs have become harder to find than optimistic economists these days, but they're out there if you're willing to discard your sanity take on a challenging project. Say, this 1988 Mazda 323 GTX (go here if the ad disappears), which you can steal for under a grand. The seller says "needs exhaust work and trans work but can be driven," and we figure that means nothing to worry about when you've got an engine full of hard-to-find turbo exhaust parts and an even-harder-to-find early Mazda all-wheel-drive drivetrain setup- no chance in hell most likely it's all easy stuff! There's rust, though its extent is not described in detail, but look on the bright side: the seller will accept trades!

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<![CDATA[PCH, Subcompact Turbo Hoonage Edition: Mazda GTX or Turbo Geo Metro?]]> Not very surprisingly, the '63 Jaguar XK-E emerged victorious from Dead Man's Curve in yesterday's Jan & Dean-themed Choose Your Eternity poll. If it hadn't been for the unifying theme, I'd never have set a Chevy up against a car whose soul is possessed by the Prince of Darkness. But no matter- today we're going to look at a pair of cars that present somewhat more of dilemma. One is a hacked-up Japanese factory hot rod, while the other is an even more hacked-up Japanese unhot rod.


It's hard to get excited over the Mazda 323, even when it's in the form of a forgotten Mercury. But there's one very important exception to the 323=snoresville equation: the GTX! You want all-wheel-drive turbocharged hoonage without all the careful engineering of your Evos and your WRXs? Just a cheap tin can spraying gravel and chunks of burning rubber in all directions? Have you got twenty Benjamins handy? If you answered "Yes" to all three questions, take a look at this '88 GTX (go here if the ad disappears). This is clearly a seller who's ready to deal- why, it says "Price Lowered" right in the headline! The seller has "Invested too much, sold as is!" in his or her own words, and now it's your chance to cash in. Take a look at the long list of costly- and perhaps even correctly installed- aftermarket goodies: Reich ECU, thudding Migraine-o-Matic speakers, big intercooler, and- perhaps best of all- a fuel cell taking up the entire cargo area. You can count on one thing with this car, and that's that the gas pedal has only known two positions during the car's entire life: "Off" and "Full." We'd probably get all the trim off a grandma-issue 323 and make this thing into a truly soporific sleeper, but you could also go the full nutso-rally route. There's sure to be a plethora of fun surprises in store, either way!

The GTX would be lots of fun, and it belongs on any short list of Jalopnik-approved Hoonmobiles, fer sher. But true hoonage requires a car that's just plain wrong, a car that hurts one's brain to even contemplate. This turbocharged Geo Metro is such a car (go here if the ad disappears). The seller doesn't seem to think it's important to state the year of the car (the photos seem to indicate an early-90s car), nor the number of cylinders (sure looks like the 3-banger). But that stuff doesn't matter- what matters is that it has "a wrx turbo setup,custom transmission,roll cage,lots of custom work." Hmmm... a WRX turbo setup? That sounds, like, not-so-appropriate for a 1.0-liter Suzuki three-cylinder engine... and just what is meant by a "custom" transmission, anyway? Ah, the mysteries you'll be unraveling! The word "GEO" Rustoleumed across the intercooler is a nice touch, as is the casts-doubt-upon-paperwork statement "selling for a friend that will be here in a month or two." Just imagine what this thing would be like to drive if you could actually get it registered and working properly; Super Sleeper Potential!

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<![CDATA[Workhorse Engine of the Day: Mazda B]]> We tend to think about rotaries when we think about Mazda engines, but it would really be stretching the definition of "workhorse" to include Mazda's Wankel in this series (perhaps we will do a Supercool Screamin' Engine of the Day series at some point, just so we can rant on about RX-3s, Cosmos, etc.). However, Mazda has made some strong and reliable piston engines as well (just to show they're not philosophically opposed to reciprocating mass), and today we honor one such engine: the Mazda B series. They started making Bs in 1987, they're still making them today, and they've powered a staggeringly long list of makes and models, from Miatas to Escorts to Sephias. [Wikipedia]

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