Good morning! Today I’m raiding the “Underappreciated Survivors For Sale” group on Facebook again, for a couple of low-mileage cars that are painted in the most boring and common hue of all: plain. But could either of them add a little color to your life? We’ll see.
Yesterday was all about the winter beaters, and rust was order of the day. I get the feeling that both of these cars are worse underneath than they look in photos, so you can’t expect much more than a year out of either one. The voting was close, with the Hyundai taking a slight edge over the Impala, due mostly to it having 4WD.
4WD is nice to have in the snow, but I got through a lot of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota winters without it. Nose-heavy FWD cars like that Impala do just fine in the snow. I think for me, the choice would be whichever one had better tires. Nothing bugs me more than having to put new tires on a cheap old half-dead car just to make it safe to drive.
Now then: Cars, refrigerators, and Kleenex all have something in common: their most common color is white. I think the popularity of white cars is skewed somewhat by fleet sales; work vans and trucks are still almost universally painted white, but passenger cars devoid of pigment in their paint are awfully common too. I personally have only owned one white car, and it’s the only car I ever bought new: a 2002 Mazda Protege. I guess that makes me part of the problem. In my defense, however, I tried to buy a green one, but the only two cars on the lot with the options I wanted were both white.
When it comes to older cars like this, you don’t really get to pick the color. You get what you get, unless you want to go through the trouble of painting or wrapping it. These two are both clean, low-mileage examples of their respective breeds, but you have to be okay with plain white. Let’s check them out.
1992 Mazda 323 SE – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Dacono, CO
Odometer reading: 89,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Mazda’s BG platform is one of the unsung heroes of the automotive world. This simple front-wheel-drive design provided the backbone for not only Mazda’s own 323, Familia, and Protege models, but also two entire generations of Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer in the US, as well as a Kia or two. It’s one of those designs that “just works,” and is rugged enough to last.
This is the most humble BG variant, the 323 hatchback, with a simple 1.6-liter engine and an overdrive automatic transmission. I never could understand exactly why, but the percentage of these 323 hatchbacks with automatics is much higher than, say, Honda Civic hatchbacks of the same era. It’s a shame, too, because Mazda’s manual transmissions are generally excellent. But we have to take what we can get, and this car is in great shape mechanically, despite having the wrong transmission.
It also, sadly, has the wrong seatbelts. Here again, Mazda chose automatic, with motorized shoulder harnesses and manual lap belts. The steering wheel looks like it should have an airbag in the hub, but it doesn’t. It’s a nice, friendly space, apart from the motorized belts, and it looks like it’s in good condition. I’d personally yank that steering wheel cover off in a heartbeat, but I know some people like them.
GM and Chrysler weren’t the only ones having trouble keeping white paint on cars in the early 1990s, clearly. The rear of this car is shedding paint like a pug sheds fur. Luckily, it looks like it’s galvanized underneath, so the bare spots won’t rust as quickly as they might otherwise. It’s probably not worth fixing, but it’s worth keeping an eye on.
1995 Oldsmobile Achieva S – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3-liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Dunkirk, MD
Odometer reading: 57,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
GM’s N-body is best remembered for the Pontiac Grand Am, the official used car of pretty much everywhere. But other GM divisions got in on the fun as well, and in their second generation, all the N-body variants got their own sheetmetal to make them stand out. Buick’s wild Skylark was the most polarizing (and probably not coincidentally, my favorite), but Oldsmobile’s replacement for the humdrum Calais was mighty weird as well, and carried a downright dumb name – the Achieva.
The split-grille arrangement of the Achieva’s front end hides a nasty potential danger: That part between the two grille halves is part of the hood, and sticks out at an angle when the hood is raised. It’s usually up out of the way far enough to not be a danger, but – and I speak from experience here – if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to reach something under that hood, the resulting impact with the back of your cranium is not pleasant. Under that pointy beak of death is Oldsmobile’s “Quad OHC” four-cylinder, a single-cam version of the Quad 4, driving the front wheels through a tried-and-true three-speed Turbo Hydramatic. This one has only 57,000 miles on its odometer, and the seller says it runs well.
Oldsmobile used to say there was a “Special Feel” in their cars, but I have never found that to be the case. Except for some badges and trim differences, this car pretty much feels like any other GM product of the time, which is to say not bad at all, but nothing special. We’re a little starved for interior photos on this listing, but from what I can see, it looks all right. This is the base-level S model, as evidenced by the manual-crank windows. Hey, it’s one less thing to go wrong, or rather, four less things to go wrong, since it’s a four-door.
All of GM’s N-body cars looked better as coupes, but I think the Achieva pulled off the four-door look better than the others. The plain-vanilla paint job isn’t doing it any favors, but it’s in nice condition, and I’m sure it would shine up well enough for a Radwood-type gathering. Bonus points if you can get your hands on an old Hertz or Avis rent-a-car key fob to complete the look.
What I appreciate about these two, and the reason I picked them, is that they’re both priced reasonably. Too many cars this age and condition have ridiculously high price tags these days, due to the whole nostalgia thing, but these two are kind of bargains, actually. Hell, you could even use them as normal cars, at this price. Which one intrigues you more?
(Image credits: Facebook Marketplace sellers)
Definitely the Achieva but still like the 323
Same here. Really like the 323, but if it’s auto I’ll go Olds.
The Protege/323 four-door of this period is hands-down one of the most handsome cars of the 90s. I’m sure I would enjoy the hatch, but I’d always wish I could find a four-door.
Ultimately, though, if I’m going to buy a car with an automatic, let’s make it an Oldsmobile. We’ll take the Achieva.
Normally I’d choose the Mazda – but auto seatbelts, peeling paint, high mileage and the automatic are putting me off.
So it’s Ye Olde Olds for me.
…uh, that Achieva has the LD2 DOHC Quad 4 for ’95.
The L40 SOHC Quad was dropped in June ’94.
I turned up my nose and voted for the Iron Duke decendant vs an overheating child of the GLC, especially without the manual.
Very close! A manual in either would swing the win decisively.
Wow, the only car I ever bought new was a 2003 Protégé – although mine was a silver Protégé5 with the five-speed, which I still regret selling.
Mazda . . . oh, it’s an automatic? Achieva would be fine with one of those . . . oh, it’s a sedan? Mazda, then, because it doesn’t have airbags so I can replace the steering wheel with something decent without dealing with inspection issues.
I learned to drive stick while driving cross country in a 323. It was a fun experience and that car was a champ. For a second I thought here was a chance to recreate that adventure, but alas…
I will happily pay $2k to not have a SOHC Quad 4 in my life.
In this case you wouldn’t, starting with ’95 they are a regular Quad4.
*checks notes…you’re right! I was thinking of the teal 1994 Grand Am I once had as a loaner car, with the SOHC version. It was so long ago 94 and 95 have blended together. My offer still stands regardless.
As much as I dislike most N bodies (Grand Ams and the later 3rd gens were OK) it’s still a more compelling vehicle than the barebones 323 HB.
I bet the Mazda doesn’t even come with A/C. Also those early Mazda ATs were not any better than American made FWD transmissions. And the motorized seatbelts are the last nail in the coffin for it.
My aunt had the same 323 HB, white with an Automatic. Miserable driving experience and a penalty box for rear passengers. The Quad OHC would do much better as a daily
just opened the ad and noted it has indeed the Quad 4 DOHC version under the hood.
The SOHC was discontinued after 94MY so it makes sense. And the 95 version has balance shafts so it would be ok and peppier than the base 323.
As much as I love a lot of GM stuff from that era, I absolutely hate those N-bodies. They’re just dreadful shitboxes. One of the pointy beaked Skylarks of this generation was one of our driver’s ed cars in high school. What a miserable thing that was. I vastly preferred the other driver’s ed car, an ’87 Caprice wagon with about 45 degrees of play in the steering.
The Olds isn’t bad, but I actually kinda like the Mazda and would consider it if I needed a small cheap car.
Mazda for me. I think the reason for the large number of autoboxes in the 323 was due to women buying them. I knew 6 or 7 women in the 90’s who had a 323 or protégé and every one was a slushbox. Could be a statically anomaly too.
A mid-90s GM car? Great decision, those will run and run for… OH NO IT HAS THE QUAD 4.
*alarm klaxons go off, wallet snaps shut*
I like the Mazda more,but I refuse to vote for an automatic one. Oldsmobile is always the correct answer anyway,so that’s good.
I love Oldsmobiles too, but those N-bodies are miserable. They’re part of what drove Olds out of relevance and out of business.
A 2nd gen N Body might be miserable but it feels like a cushy, full size, rocketship next to a base 323 with hard rock seats, motorized seatbelts and no amenities other than A/C
They absolutely do not. They’re cramped and creaky.
Yes. That’s one of the perils of badge engineering. You easily end up with a “good enough” product,but no real way to establish a good reason for any of the brands to exist in their own right.
I guess your name says that Olds or nuthin’ for you, but…still…I mean…a nice Alero maybe?
Yeah,I sort of have to vote for Oldsmobile by default,but in this case I probably would anyway. That Mazda with an automatic is about as interesting to me as a sloppy Olds. The reason for my vote in this case is pretty much because they do the same job,but the Olds looks better kept.
Mazda for me. It’s a much better design than the mongrel that was the Achieva.
I loved the Achievas back when, still think it’s a handsome design, but the base model version here – it’s got steelies under those plastic covers and the “as few as we can legally get away with” gauge cluster – is just kinda meh.
A coupe with a manual changes the equation entirely.