johnchabin

iTrader: (2)

Now that this is done, a few random thoughts:

I never knew that 94s and 95s had black door panels/headliner/bins/etc. with tan seats and carpet from the factory. This thread reminded me that it's awfully hard to do something original.

Spending all that time in the car made me see what I didn't like about the tan. It's mostly that transition from the dash to the doors. With the tan it's interupted with this abrupt color change. Also the back 1/4s and the rear bins look like really cheap plastic. Of course, that's judging it almost 20 years later. And it scuffs and never looks clean. But the black scuffs too, huh?

I was surprised at how much had to come out to remove the rear bins - including the plastics in the trunk area. I was most afraid about the headliner, but that was a piece of cake.

I've always loved the interior and the way it flows and the way it's shaped. But once you get the panels off you realize that yes, this is indeed a Mazda. And it was an expensive Mazda in its day. It's awfully tough to get it all out without breaking a tab or something. Maybe the materials they used were light weight, but they could have done better (see same year NSX, for example).

I remember the 1992 car show in Denver had the new RX-7 on a rotating podium and we (engineering students) just stood there in awe. It's a beautiful car.