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Junkyard Gem: 1986 Mazda 323 DX Hatchback

Mazda built generation after generation of the Familia, starting with the Giugiaro-styled machines of the 1960s. The first Familia that sold well in North America was called the GLC (for "Great Little Car"), and it began life as a rear-wheel-drive cousin to the RX-7 before the Familia went to a front-wheel-drive platform for the 1981 model year. The GLC name stuck around these parts through 1985 — and I've documented a few discarded examples of these now-rare machines during my junkyard travels — before getting the 323 name starting in the 1986 model year. It's no sweat to find 1990s 323s in junkyards, but I've been scouring the car graveyards of the land for the elusive early 323 and, finally, found this moss-encrusted '86 in a San Francisco Bay Area yard. BMW popularized the lower-case-i nomenclature for fuel-injected cars with the first 3-Series back in the 1977 model year, and Mazda wasted no time making "1.6i" badges to tout the futuristic technology under the hood of their low-priced econo-commuter a decade later. At a time when most Civics had carburetors (and the notorious "Map of the Universe" diagram to untangle the underhood vacuum lines), the electronically fuel-injected engine in this car was a major selling point indeed. It wouldn't be many more years before the wretched Subaru Justy was the final carbureted Japanese car available in America, but this 1.6-liter B6 four-cylinder (which evolved into the engine that, flipped 90 degrees, powered the early Miatas) was high-tech stuff for a cheap car in 1986. Just 84 horsepower, but they were clean and reliable horses. In the middle 1980s, the common perception in North America was that you had to buy a Honda or Toyota if you wanted an affordable car that could make it to 200,000 miles. This 323 held together just as well as most Tercels or Civics from 1986. Of course, I've seen a junkyard RX-7 with 393,854 miles, so you just never know. When you see lots of moss and lichens on a car in a Northern California junkyard, you know it spent years — maybe decades — languishing in a shady outdoor spot. Perhaps this car racked up 20,000 miles per year slogging through a harrowing Lodi-to-Sausalito commute, then got parked and forgotten in 1996. We'll never know. With the optional automatic transmission — nearly every early 323 I've seen had the 5-speed manual — this car wouldn't have been much fun to drive. Point A to Point B would have been fine, though.

Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

2023 Honda Pilot and the promise and pitfalls of PHEVs | Autoblog Podcast #766

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Byron Hurd for a chat about the new 2023 Honda Pilot and its beefed-up TrailSport model. After that, we get a winter-weather long-term update on the BMW 330e care of Greg. Then, it's on to news. The big headlines this week were the brand-new Mazda CX-90 crossover and word that Genesis plans to build its outrageous (and expensive) X convertible concept. Is the world ready for a Bentley fighter from Korea? Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #766 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2023 Honda Pilot 2022 BMW 330e xDrive  News 2024 Mazda CX-90 three-row SUV revealed, with your choice of inline-6 or PHEV The ravishing Genesis X Convertible Concept is going into production Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.