Spotted: a Mazda 929 and a Toyota Corolla

The parking lot of a shopping mall is not usually the place where you encounter unusual cars. Yet sometimes that may just be the case. Indeed, at a mall in Hoorn, we saw this cute Japanese duo.

The specimens spotted

The white sedan is a 1987 Mazda 929, which has been in the Netherlands since 2020. When was the last time you saw them? It may be a matter of years since we last encountered one in Dutch traffic. When we passed it again some time later, there was another now rare Japanese next to it: a 1985 Toyota Corolla 1.3 Commercial. So it is also an original Dutch van version. To be honest, we find the sport rims on both specimens (and the decals on the Mazda) a bit unfortunate. On the other hand, we have long enjoyed the fact that these somewhat lesser-known Japanese are still among us anno 2024.

The Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla probably doesn’t need that much introduction. If only because that model line still exists. We see here a Toyota Corolla of generation E70, produced from 1979 through 1987. Whereas the current Corolla lineup is nice and clear with a hatchback, an estate and a sedan (the latter no longer in the Netherlands since last year), the E70 offered a wide variety of body styles. There were a two- and four-door sedan, a two-door coupe, a three-door liftback, a three- and five-door station wagon, and a three- and five-door van version of the latter. So of that you see here the two-door version.

To add further chaos to the order, not all models were delivered at the same times either. Thus, most body styles were replaced by the all-new model generation E80 as early as 1983. So for more practical models such as the station wagon and its van version, the E70 additionally remained on offer until 1987. Then models were also given updated looks, sometimes even varying by market, so that sometimes a late E70 doesn’t even look like an early one anymore.

The Mazda 929

The Mazda 929 (known as Mazda Luce in some countries) is a model line that was delivered from 1973 through 1997 and was the brand’s top model during that period. There were seven model generations, of which the one we spotted is the third. It is a late one of that generation, though, as the third Mazda 929 was delivered from 1982 through 1987. There were three body styles at the time. In addition to this four-door sedan, in some – especially Asian – markets you also had a four-door “hardtop sedan,” with slightly different styling and frameless door windows. There was also a two-door Coupe, although it is better known internationally as the Mazda Cosmo. This generation of Mazda 929 was available with several four-cylinder engines, as well as two types of rotary engine. A type of fuel engine with which the brand is inextricably linked.