A Mazda 626 hatchback, seen on the road in the far north of Beijing. The good Maz’ was painted in purple and in reasonable shape, but it needed some love and care.
The fifth generation ‘GE’ Mazda 626 was manufactured from 1991 until 1997, in sedan and hatchback form. The hatchback was sold in various Asian markets and in Europe, but not in China. This was the very first GE hatchback I had ever seen in country. May there be more!
The interior looked a bit worn out, and the radio is sadly not original.
The 626 was available with various engines, including a 1.8, a 2.0, and a 2.5 V6. The 2.0 was the most common one, delivering 115 hp and 170 Nm. The engine was mated to a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.
Mazda called it a hatchback, but it is really more of a mix between a fastback and a notchnack. Large rear window had its own wiper.
A very nice design element was this spoiler, fully integrated in the body work.
Black license plates were issued to foreign owned companies from the 1980’s to the early 00’s. These companies could buy a car locally, and they were also allowed to import their own cars.
In the old days black-plated cars had some privileges comparable to diplomatic cars; no police officer would dare to stop them and they could basically park wherever they wanted without fear of a fine.
Nowadays, a black-plated car is counted just like all the others. The government does not issue new black plates anymore but those who have one can keep it until eternity.
Have you seen a similar Mazda in China? Show us! You can now upload images in the comments below.