Good morning, and welcome back to another week of questionable automotive decisions. We’re starting the week off with two cars that both have one of everyone’s favorite features – a five-speed manual transmission – and one of everyone’s least favorites – motorized shoulder belts.
On Friday, I asked you to choose three of the week’s winners and get rid of one, to create a three-car fleet. I’m assuming that everyone read the assignment correctly and voted accordingly. If not, well, too bad. I wasn’t too surprised that the two “fun” cars, the Neon and the RX-8, had about equal support, but what did surprise me is that the van was excluded from the majority of your fleets. Is it camper vans in general that you’re against, or is it that camper van?
What came as even more of a surprise is that most of you chose to keep the Escort wagon, by a wide margin. It’s an incredibly practical little box on wheels, and it would definitely have a place in my garage (alongside the van and the Neon, to probably no one’s surprise), but I assumed the automatic would push more of you away. Guess I was wrong.
Moving on: I’ll admit, I sometimes come up with a headline first, and then find cars to fit it. And today is one of those days. I had assumed that finding two examples of early-’90s cars with manual transmissions and motorized seat belts would be a piece of, well, cake. Not so much. These two were the best examples I found in our typical price range, and it took me a while to track them down. Let’s take a look.
1991 Acura Integra LS – $3,995
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: White Salmon, WA
Odometer reading: 287,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
I remember way back in 1985 reading a comparison review between the Mercedes-Benz 190E and the Honda Accord SE-i, in which the reviewers actually preferred the Honda. I can’t remember what magazine it was, probably Road & Track, since that’s the one my dad subscribed to. My dad scoffed at the comparison, and I, being twelve years old and not yet having formed my own opinions about cars, figured he was probably right; there was no way a Japanese car company would ever pose a serious threat to the Germans. A year later, Honda introduced its upscale Acura brand, followed in short order by Toyota’s Lexus and Nissan’s Infiniti, and suddenly the idea didn’t seem so far-fetched.
By the time the second-generation Integra was launched, Acura, like the other upscale Japanese brands, was kicking ass and taking names. As usual, Japan kept the best versions for themselves, but even our Integra was no slouch in its day, with a 1.8-liter twin-cam engine boasting 130 horsepower. Of course, that figure was only the beginning; the second-generation Integra was the first to really capture the attention of the tuning market, and a lot of these cars ended up getting heavily modified – or ruined in the process. This Integra is still stock, even after almost 300,000 miles, and the seller says it runs and drives great.
Inside, the Integra is nice, but not particularly fancy. Don’t expect leather or wood or power-operated everything, even in this “luxury” LS model. It’s got power windows and locks, and a nice power-operated moonroof, but that’s about your lot. We only get a couple of photos of the interior in the ad, but what we can see is encouraging. It definitely doesn’t show its mileage.
It looks pretty good outside, but it’s also wet in the photos, which I never trust. It’s almost certainly not that shiny when it’s dry. But it’s straight and rust-free, and it even still has all four original wheel covers.
1993 Mazda 323 – $3,300
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: San Jose, CA
Odometer reading: 104,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
I can’t seem to stay away from Mazda’s BG platform. It’s just such a wonderful, joyous little car, even in this basic utilitarian 323 hatchback form. This one may not have the power of the Protege SE or Ford Escort GT models, and certainly not of the Japanese-market GTX or GT-R versions, but it’s a hell of a lot more entertaining to drive than, say, a Toyota Tercel. This one even has a five-speed stick, unlike so many 323s I see for sale.
The 323’s 1.6-liter engine only puts out 82 horsepower, but performance isn’t the point of this car; it’s an economy car first and foremost. The seller had other plans for it, and planned to build it into a clone of a 323 GT-R. Plans have changed, and fortunately the seller didn’t tear the little car apart before that happened. In fact, it has had a ton of recent work done, including a new clutch, timing belt, tires, brakes, and other goodies. It does have a rebuilt title, but from being stolen, not from being wrecked.
It only has 104,000 miles on it, and it’s in good shape. The interior is nice and clean, and not only does it have air conditioning, but it works perfectly. There is that matter of the motorized seat belts, but maybe you could find a rusted-out Canadian-market 323 and swap in its belts; Canada never had to put up with such foolishness.
Being a California car, this one doesn’t have any rust to contend with. There’s something strange about the paint, though; the front fenders don’t seem to quite match the rest of the car, like they’ve been replaced or repainted. That makes me wonder if the seller isn’t being entirely honest about the reason for the rebuilt title, or someone wasn’t honest with them about it. There is also a missing piece of trim under the left headlight, which I suppose is unobtainium these days, so you’ll just have to live without it.
I never understood how automatic seat belts even came into being. Airbags aren’t cheap, I get that, but I can’t imagine the mechanisms required to make shoulder harnesses move is any cheaper. And of course, they wouldn’t have existed in the first place if so many people hadn’t been so pig-headed about wearing regular seat belts. But I digress. These both have those silly things, so you’re stuck with them. Which one makes it worth putting up with them?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
While I love a 2G Integra, the 323 is rarer around here and satisfies my “regular car” passion.
As the host of regular ’80s/’90s car shows, I have personally witnessed teen- and twenty-something enthusiasts gushing over automatic belts, or “decapitator belts” as we called them back then. “That’s so cool!” they exclaim. No, you don’t understand. They sucked and we hated them. Everybody hated them.
One of the good things about growing up in a Chrysler-loving family was that we didn’t have to deal with automatic belt. ChryCo decided to go all-in on driver’s airbags early on, making them standard on half a dozen models for 1988 and across their entire car lineup for 1989. The minivans followed with standard driver airbags in ’91, and in 1993 the Ram became the 1st pickup with an airbag. Airbags were actually a major part of Chrysler marketing in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Amazingly, IIRC those ads did NOT point out that their ubiquitous airbags meant that Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth models weren’t saddled with automatic seatbelts. This was a true lost marketing opportunity.
It’s telling that as soon as airbags became mandatory in the mid-90s, the Supplemental Restraint cop-out that was automatic belts vanished very quickly from new cars.
I chose the Integra.
But the stolen 323 makes me remember a comedy bit I saw on TV
From a comedian awhile ago who used to have an 89 323. She said:
“I had an 89 Mazda 323 with like a billion miles, and someone broke the windows but didn’t bother to just try the door. Who the fuck locks the doors to an 89 Mazda 323?”
I remember the comedian being a woman, but I don’t remember who exactly. Maybe it was Paula Poundstone?
This literally happened on an 85 Sprint my dad owned when I was a teen. Total crapcan, but we ran it to 300k miles. No AC, radio never worked. We never locked it. Idiot wrecked the passenger door lock, then smashed a window, before apparently realizing it wasn’t worth stealing.
No. Just no. Those motorized seat belts were shit.
If forced though, I would go with the Integra. It just looks better even if it needs a paint over spray.
DAs are extremely desirable, and that is single stage paint. In one afternoon it would be shiny AF and look amazing. Save for a B18 swap and you’d have an epic car.
All things being equal I would go with the Acura. However cheaper, nicer, lower mileage, and lower price puts me in the Mazda seat.
However the automated seat belts are not to be blamed on people not wanting to wear seat belts. It is a choice and a stupid one but given the fears of population explosion and not enough resources we needed to help mother nature. And in the same span motorcyclists were not forced to wear a helmet so let’s not push the safety theory. It was just an onerous government trying to rule our lives.
I love the blue valve cover on the Mazda, but the Acura gets my vote.
Would gladly have the motorized mice over the early smaller-stature-people killing airbags and the truly abominable airbag steering wheels that couldn’t be replaced unless one wanted to swap it back on for every damn state inspection. My Legacy had over 270k miles on it without any issues from the belts and it did allow me to ditch the rubber sailboat helm for something that transformed the steering feel. Which is also what I would do were I buying this Acura.
Integra all day over a Less than Hot Hatch. miles be damned, it’s the one of the two I could even stomach spending money on to buy and maintain or upgrade.
My wife had a ’93 Integra RS 4 door 5 speed as her first new car. It served us for 15 years before we sold it to a friend who drove it for another 5 years. It was a great car in every way (except the stupid frameless windows that always leaked and made for a loud highway ride). The only mechanical failure I can think of was that the clutch plate failed and that was covered by a warranty extension by Acura. The Canadian models had regular three point belts.
The 323 speaks to my interest in low-powered shitboxes. I’ve stayed away from Mazdas after a rust encounter, but this seems to be a California car, so maybe safe. And, that’s pretty much beater money these days
The song good enough to survive advocating an automatic transmission. Thanks Mark!
I thought you were remembering a Motor Trend Honda/Mercedes comparison, because I’m pretty sure they did one, too, but you were right—R&T did it in the September ’85 issue. These tests were done when the Accord SE-i came out, which had fuel injection and a leather interior, definitely a trial balloon for the Acura concept.
The one I’m thinking of is whichever one swapped the badges for the photoshoot.
Acura, all day, every day.
Mileage be damned, I’ll take the Teggy!
Going for the Acura today. Motorized mice are the worst, so may as well have a little more power to make up for that.