Welcome back to another Shitbox Showdown! It’s March 15th, the Ides of March, so I’ll be your friendly stranger in the black sedan, showing you a couple of green cars in Kansas City. But first, let’s see which vehicle you chose to cruise around New Orleans yesterday:
As I suspected: The Rambler takes an easy win. And I love the idea of using it as an Uber. (There should be such a thing as classic car Uber. Somebody get on that.) I still like the LeBaron, but you all are right – seven grand is too much for it. And no more K-cars for a while now, I promise.
Back in the 1990s, before dealerships got too chicken to stock actual colors on cars in the lot, there was one bold yet classy color combination that nearly every automaker offered: dark green, with a tan interior. Sometimes it was a little cooler or closer to teal, sometimes it was a bold emerald, sometimes a warmer forest green, but it nearly always worked. By sheer coincidence, I’ve found two cars for sale from the same year, within a few miles of each other, for nearly the same price, both rocking the green and tan. Let’s see who wears it better.
1998 Acura 3.0CL – $2,999
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Kansas City, KS
Odometer reading: 216,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep
What we have here is Acura’s second attempt at a grand tourer, after the Legend coupe. Unlike the Legend, the CL was available with either a four or a V6; also unlike the Legend, the V6 was not available with a manual. I regret to inform you, therefore, that this car doesn’t have enough pedals on the floor for a lot of you.
What it does have is that wonderful no-nonesense Honda ergonomic design of the 1980s and 90s: Everything you need, nothing you don’t, and all right at your fingertips. But unlike your average everyday Civic, the CL has leather seats and wood on the dash. Or something that looks like it; I honestly don’t know if these use real wood or not. The seats are ripped in a couple of places, but for 25 years and more than 200,000 miles, it doesn’t look awful.
Outside, it’s that nice cool bluish-green that Acura was so fond of for a few years. It’s shiny, and it looks like it still has most of its clearcoat, but I do see a spot of rust in front of the rear wheel, and where there’s one spot, there are more. It is still a Honda, after all.
I’ve never been sold on the styling of these. The proportions seem off. But now that there are virtually no luxury coupes left on the market, even the oddly-shaped ones seem more appealing. And look at those lovely slim roof pillars! Who needs rollover protection, with outward visibility like that?
1998 Mazda 626 LX – $2,800
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter dual overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Overland Park, KS
Odometer reading: 82,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sure does
And in this corner, we have Mazda’s entry into the midsized market, the 626 sedan. This is the last generation before it lost two digits and became the 6. This is the LX model, equipped with a V6 engine which, unlike the Acura’s, was available with a manual. I remember driving the V6 manual 626 when a friend of mine had one back in the ’90s; it was a hoot. This one, unfortunately, is an automatic, which presumably makes it less of a hoot.
It’s a nice car, though, also sporting tan leather seats. The 626 doesn’t have any wood on the dash, but it does have a pretty cool party trick – oscillating AC vents in the dashboard. This one is in good condition inside and out, but it ought to be, with only 82,000 miles.
This generation of 626 was panned when it was new for being less fun than its predecessor. Apparently Mazda, in their efforts to refine the 626, refined all the Mazda-ness out of it. Our 626 was different from the rest of the world’s: bigger, heavier, softer, and built in Michigan.
The seller says this 626 runs and drives well, as you’d expect with such low miles, but these cars have a well-known Achilles heel: the automatic transmission. They’re prone to failure, especially with the V6 engine. But this one is past the typical failure point, so it could be one of the good ones, or it could have already been replaced. In any event, as always, you pays your money, you takes your chances.
There they are, a pair of Japanese-nameplate cars, both built in America and primarily for America, both V6s, and both nice shiny green. So what’ll it be: the worn-out coupe, or the strangely low-mileage sedan?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
“Apparently Mazda, in their efforts to refine the 626, refined all the Mazda-ness out of it.”
This.
In fairness, I got the previous gen 626 as a rental twice. First time was awesome – great car, very fun, even in low spec. Second time wasn’t as great – the wipers came on by themselves somewhere on the interstate in rural Illinois and they would not go off. Eventually I took it to the side of the road, pulled the fuse, and kept going. Ultimately, I went with the CL, mainly because I never got one as a rental with renegade wipers.
Mazda by a mile.
-The KL-series V6 is a sweetheart.
-Delightfully low miles, but looks like it’s been garage-kept
-The transmission isn’t the greatest, but it’s not that bad. My first 626 handled the abuse of my brother using it as a construction vehicle for a year before I bought it from my family, and it survived my young driver abuse until a tall curb rang its death knell.
-OSCILLATING VENTS!!!
-I’d be embarrassed to roll up to anywhere in the Acura in its present state. It needs a thorough cosmetic overhaul.
-The Mazda may be a base model, but the wheels are common to other Ford and Mazda products, and that’s the biggest visual tell that it’s not fancier. That said, 15″ tires are wonderfully cheap, although they are getting harder to find the newest tread patterns from top manufacturers.
-Green over tan is one of the very best color combinations. The fact that Volvo has discontinued their Pine Grey and Lincoln is now offering their lovely Gilded Green has me leaning more towards an Aviator than an XC90 in the imaginary scenario I had to replace my current vehicle with a brand-new plug-in hybrid luxury 3-row crossover.
-I don’t think I’d be thrilled about the asking price, though. I can find numerous newer and better-equipped cars for the same money that would be more appealing, even with the difference in mileage.
-The Acura has “Accord coupe” vibes, but for the buyer that had just a bit more to spend on their purchase. Easy pass.
Damnit I’m a sucker for those oscillating vents
I had a ’98 626, in that weird color somewhere between plum and brown, with the tan leather but only four cylinders. And yep, the automatic crapped out somewhere around this mileage. Once we got past that, it was a very stout car that I drove past 200K. On the basis of being a known quantity, it gets my vote.
If the GL didn’t have a trashed interior, sure. For the money I will take the Mazda.
If it were a Millenia or 929, maybe. The weird vintage CL it is, even though I never really liked the exterior design either.
I am a stone freak for this color combination. I have owned several including a gorgeous and much missed 1998 Cadillac Eldorado ETC. So either of these could have been a winner but the Mazda wins by a country mile because of the oscillating vents. This is a feature that I would love to have in any of my cars. Does anyone know of another vehicle with this feature?
We picked out a similar vintage 626 for my ex’s sister, probably six or seven years ago at this point. It was all grey, inside and out, but it did have the V6 which felt plenty powerful. And those oscillating air vents were pretty damn cool too! I know it made it to at least 200k miles before they got rid of it. The 626 reminded me a lot of its contemporary Accord, we had a 1998 in my family for nearly 15 years (till my brother totaled it, which sucked because that car was mint, having been owned by my neat freak grandmother) and it was just a good, solid dependable, comfortable car. I still miss those big plain gauges.
Well, neither of the options are a K-Car, so it’s a win.
But I went with the Mazda because of mileage.
Nicer shade of green, too.
I somehow don’t believe Mark when he promises not to feature a k-car again for awhile….
I had the same color combo as that 626 on my first gen Mazda3. Man, that was a nice looking little car. My 2017 Mazda3 is blackonblackonblackonblack, and I do miss having a car with a splash of color to it. I’ll take the 626 for the nostalgia and non-trashed interior. You can get a new head unit for a couple hundred bucks.
In my opinion, the CL was very unfortunate. It started Acura’s “beak” era. Honda took the Accord, which at the time I believe was the best selling car in North America, beat it with the ugly stick, and called it the CL. They probably could have simply re-badged a leather Accord coupe and laughed all the way to the bank.
Gonna have to disagree with you regarding the start of the “beak” era. 2007-2009 is the well-established timeframe with the arrival of the new beaky MDX in ‘07 and the new gen TSX and TL in ‘09. I specifically looked for a 1st gen TSX for that reason.
LOL the beaks definitely got worse before they got better. They even accentuated it with that obnoxious grille.
I guess Mazda, if only b/c the Legend was simply amazing, and it was a huge letdown when Acura got rid of it for the CL.
To my eyes anyway, the Legend still looks terrific 20+ years later…just effortlessly cool and near perfectly proportioned.
I seem to remember Acura being annoyed when customers kept coming in wanting a Legend years after they were discontinued.
I had a green-over-tan 1994 Accord EX Coupe. My first Real Adult Car. It was beautiful, and at night the green looked almost black. Among other things, I took it on a California-to-Maine-and-Back roadtrip. Even though it came only with a 4-cylinder at the time, that thing pulled and cruised very nicely, smoothly, adultly. I loved it but it was a short-term lease, and my next ride was a truck.
My ’88 Accord LX-1, 2.0, I4 actually had the nicest little growl when you giddyupped those 120 ponies into a gallop!
Put me in that MazdaBox and watch me square off against the world!
Don’t those V6 Hondas have transmission problems? SO I voted Mazda
I’m going zoom zoom with this one. And why didn’t either one of these owners use saddle soap?
I owned a 626 of similar vintage and color, though with a 4-banger and a stick. It wasn’t exciting, but the manual helped. If the Acura had fewer miles, I’d choose it over nostalgia, but I gotta go zoom-zoom on this one.
In the poll, is “Mazta” a typo or a joke that I don’t get?
I actually assumed it was supposed to be “Matza.” Maybe Jason can weigh in on this.
Ah yes, the Israeli market name that Mazda used for 2 years.
Argh. It’s a typo. If I tried to blame our six month old kittens for jumping on the laptop while I was typing it up, would you believe me?
I’ll believe you only if you post a photo of said kittens; they sound adorable!
Mazta is always the answer?
Looks like you had a bad brian moment!
That’s a very pretty color combination on both of them.
As much as I love coupes, after taking a quick look at the mileage and the condition of the interiors, the Mazda sedan is the easy choice.
The rational choice is the Mazda, but I chose the Acura, because it is the only one of these two that I actually would want to drive. I am beginning to believe David Tracy is right (this may be a sign of my impending automotive doom). Cars are not rational. I wouldn’t drive the Mazda by choice, there is just nothing interesting about it.
You say that, but having owned 2 626s and a handful of its successor the 6, they are surprisingly rewarding to drive for being a FWD “mid-size” car of its time (a modern 3/civic/corolla is bigger than this in all dimensions except sometimes length, but only by about 1″!). The Acura looks tired, the big doors are no fun, and if the transmission is tuned anywhere near where the 2001 Accord V6 my mom had way back when then it will be more frustrating than rewarding to drive enthusiastically if any gear change is required in either direction.
Had a Mazda (88 MX-6 LX) and loved it. Oscillating vents FTW!
Too much of a mileage difference for the Acura’s luxury to make up for. And, I hate ripped leather seats.
Have had two green over tan vehicles, a 2002 Avalanche 2500 and a 98 Grand Prix GTP coupe (what is it about that year?). I’d never be upset to own another one, but they are hard to find.
Anyways, I’m going Acura here. Despite the mileage discrepancy, I’ll always lean towards a coupe, and I’m not a Mazda guy in general.
I drove a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue for a while that was probably almost the same car as your Grand Prix, minus supercharger, of course. Same colors, too – that GM dark forest metallic with the tan leather inside.
They made a 3/4 ton Avalanche!?
I guess it makes sense as they made a 3/4 ton ‘Burban back in the day.
Yes, the 3/4 Av was based on the 3/4 Burb, but was 8.1L only, no 6.0. They only made it for the first generation of Avalanche, so 2002-06. Not a bad idea for a Holy Grail, actually.
Fantastic truck, mine rusted away but was otherwise awesome. I’d buy another one new if I could.
Do I like the aesthetics of the Acura more? Yes. Do they both have crummy, short-lived automatic transmissions? Yes. But the Mazda has a timing chain, whereas the Acura has a timing belt. It also has lower mileage for virtually the same price.
Zoom zoom (sorta).
My recollection is that this generation CL was the first car to be sold in the US without a key slot for the trunk. Sorry, nerds, that’s it for trivia today.
It’s not the best looking Acura from that period by a long shot … and as with most used car listings, the price is borderline delusional … but it still gets a vote from me over the Hertz-spec Mazda.