Once common but now rare: Mazda 323 "Bugeye"

Welcome to a new segment called "Once common but now rare". This new article covers cars that were once a common site on New Zealand roads but have now seemed to have disappeared and are an uncommon site on the road. This week's car is well loved by Mazda enthusiasts the world over and are usually seen running a rotary engine instead of the car's little four cylinder engine, The Mazda 323 "Bugeye".

The "Bugeye" was first introduced in January of 1977 as a cheap to run and great little car. (Hence American versions were named GLC for "Great Little Car") They were quite economical with 985, 1272 and 1415 cc four cylinders with an option for a 1490 cc motor in the van body style. These came matched to either a four speed manual transmission or a three speed auto.

The Mazda could be had in four body styles. A 3 door hatchback, 5 door hatchback, 3 door wagon and 5 door wagon. The car was quite light at 812 kg and delivered peppy performance. Production of the "Bugeye" ended in June 1979 and the 323 was facelifted and had a more angular front end treatment.

Now the reason why these things are rare is that in the 80's and 90's and even the early 2000's these were pretty cheap and were previously used as granny's runabout. Then people discovered that the Wankel Rotary engine used in the Mazda RX series and Cosmo's could fit in the engine bay of the 323, sparking an entirely new trend. If you put a high revving, performance oriented Rotary engine into your clapped out 323, you're hardly gonna just putt around in it are you? Thought not, and this is one of the main reasons why there are practically NONE around.

Overall, the Mazda 323 "Bugeye" is a great little car (pun intended) and I would gladly own one. The 323 is a great example of what was once a cheap runabout that has now evolved into a cult classic. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more cool car stuff!!!