1970 MAZDA 1800 (LUCE)

Talk about a 1970s Japanese car that doesn't look like a 1970s Japanese car. There's a good reason for that. This car was designed Giorgetto Giugiaro, then with Bertone. From certain angles the car resembles a Lancia and the roofline is pure E3 BMW (i.e.Bavaria).

While the Luce looks really good, it's performance is underwhelming. With an 1800cc, 98 HP 4, you'd expect mid-range performance. That wasn't the case. It took the Luce almost 18 seconds to hit 60. Part of that was no doubt due to the automatic transmission that Mazda installed in many of these cars.

The Luce has many good points besides its looks. It is rear wheel drive and car magazines praised its handling back in the day. It was also well built with its fit and finish being better than many of its contemporaries.

This 1800 / Luce appears to be in very good condition. The seller doesn't give a lot of details in his listing and there are no pictures of the interior or engine compartment, but he does leave an e-mail address for you to contact him.

Located in Michigan, click here to see the eBay listing.

A big thanks to JaCG reader, Steve, for sending me the link to this car!