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)
Gimme that Integra. My first Acura and second car I ever bought with my own money was a 1990 Acura Integra LS in that red wine color. That car was awesome. The handling was crazy good ( I remember the ads would talk about the double-wishbone that their race cars used) and the shifter was near perfect, just so smooth. Reliable as hell as well. If closer I would buy it “for my son”.
Nothing against the Mazda but that Acura was amazing. Too bad so many got ruined by the tuner crowd.
I’ll take the Integra…I just like it better, has more power and doesn’t have a rebuilt title
Love both, but had to go for the Integra because I have fond memories of many, many hours in one – plus you simply don’t see unmolested versions of those anymore.
The Mazda would be a great daily, but it’s not really odd looking enough to be endearing. The Acura is pretty nice, and even with the high mileage, it’s worth keeping around.
If the 323 were a Protege – I’d have selected that.
So the Integra.
I was a fool to let go of my ’91 Integra GS. Red, just like the one in the brochure. Sigh.
Both are great cars, but the Integra is better.
No matter what goes wrong with the Integra, there is a vast aftermarket set of parts available that’ll keep it running better than when you bought it.
Acura. The fact this car survived the Fast and the Furious era in stock condition is a miracle. Wish the bra wasn’t on there but it looks incredibly well taken care of.
323 looks great, but I never wanted a 323 when I was a kid. I would have gladly taken an Integra though.
Pretty sure the Acura 1.8 put out 140hp. . . and the LS was the mid-tier model hence the hubcaps. Still those things were a joy to drive and I’m tempted to buy this one and ship it to PA just for the nostalgia drive. I had a 92 GS and a 90 RS back when they were a little bit fresher. What a car they came up with.
They were amazing. I thought the same on the hp but it was in 1994 they bumped it up to 142hp. Yeah the GS was top of the line at the time. RS (no sunroof), LS and GS.
Regular Sport, Luxury Sport and Grand Sport. Oh, simpler times.
Don’t forget the Luxury Sport Special! I had a 1991. It had two tone seats, a center armrest, and a few other goodies over the regular LS.
My GS was beautiful. Black with bone/black interior, Honda’s finest. Tan seats, doors and console, black dash and steering wheel; power everything. I remember the sunroof switch was on the dash below the steering wheel instead of on the ceiling. I thought that was so high-tech for some reason.
My RS was a hooptie, manual windows and everything. Still a riot to hoon.
My folks had a 91 GS black over black that was amazing. Theirs was a 4 door. I kept thinking they would hand that car down to me or my brother. No chance though. They loved that car. I had forgotten about that sunroof switch.
I had the same year/model Integra (but in Red). Great car, no issues other than the electric antenna motor broke a few times. Definitely would buy again!
I actually gritted my teeth when voting for the Mazda. Whichever one I pick, the other one will always be the one that got away. It’s also 1/3 the miles, though the Integra looks absolutely amazing for a 1991 car, much less one with almost 300k on the clock.
Listen, the little Mazda is great, I love it … but there’s a clean stock 2nd gen Integra on the other side. I honestly don’t remember the last time I even SAW one of those. Mileage be damned! It’s a freaking 90’s Honda.
Belts be damned, they don’t bother me. I like both cars, but I’d take the hatchback in red as long as it doesn’t hide any really nasty surprises.
Small red car, lower miles, lower price, newer car, looks like the 323 is my ride of the day.
Whichever one is easier to convert to normal seatbelts.
Would the Acura be a bad choice? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps but I picked it anyway.
I was already leaning toward the Acura for its general condition, but the ad’s three magic words … “timing belt changed” … sealed the deal.
That said, I would be a little worried about what’s underneath that ridiculous swatch of vinyl on the hood, and it would for sure be the first thing jettisoned on the way home.
That Mazda is all care and clean.
Keep that garage door open, because me and a lotta friends named Benjamin are on the way.
P.S. I’ve always had a bad taste for Integras after a North-Jersey dealer (circa 1987) slowly “explained” to me why a $1,000 VAT was fair. He talked to me like I was an idiot, and maybe I was. But I left that overpriced iron sitting right where it was. I wound up with an ’88 Honda Accord LXi from Staten Island Honda (I’ve told the story here) and was very happy.
I voted Mazda, salvage title and all. Slow car fast, and a glorious red! I could have a lot of fun with it, even in the summer!
I’m not sure that many manufacturers were quite ready for the passive restraint laws of that time, and integrating airbags and associated sensors probably was viewed as something that needed more development and testing for full implementation. The motorized belts provided a bridge, albeit an awkward and probably fairly expensive one.
That said, I’m going for the Acura. It’s amazing to find one that hasn’t been completely gutted/modded at this point, and it’s still pleasant, functional looking, and sporty after all these years.
Motorized seatbelts, their poor step-cousin the door-mounted seatbelt, and first generation airbags were all part of the “passive restraint” era of vehicle safety, where the idea was make it really difficult not to utilize the belts and whatnot. I think I only ever had one vehicle – a 1990 Jetta – with a the door-mounted shoulder harness, and I still had to buckle the lap belt manually.
Still beats the 1974-only seatbelt interlock system.
82 Rabbit LS with only the door-mounted shoulder belt. Took a couple hours getting it inspected because the mechanic couldn’t believe there weren’t lap belts up front. He did believe after we put it on the lift and couldn’t find bolt holes for them. Then called State Police Headquarters and was told it was legal if it came that way from the factory (!)
I move two from the rear up front, and put in brown ones from a junkyard just to have them all.
My ’82 Rabbit was a pickup, so it didn’t have any of this nonsense.
I had a Protege with that 1.6, but it was newer and had a bit more power, but it was still not a fun car to drive, so I don’t imagine this will be either, but I still think it’s the better option. Integra would drive better, until it blew up, which I expect will be soon so expected reliability won for me today. Plus, white cars suck, even more so with bras on them.
Bucket seats, have all got to go
I’m here for a good Cake reference!