Old_Man_Wiggins

Greetings.

Just wanted to drop a note here and say that I think it's great to see such an enthusiastic group of Protege owners. I myself just bought a 2003 Mazda Protege ES only 8 days ago, which is not only my first Mazda, but also my first brand new car. I had seen a '02/'03 Protege on the highway a few months back... a Sunlight Silver ES with a couple of really hot girls inside , and I thought to myself, "Hey... that's a really great looking car." (Yeah, I was checking out the girls too.) At the time, I was driving a red 1998 Honda Prelude Type SH, but it had developed an expensive engine problem (and with only 49,000 miles on it), so a new car was an option I had been considering.

I wasn't sure what kind of car to get, but I knew that it was time to settle into something a little more practical. (Four speeding tickets in three years on a Honda Prelude can get a little expensive in the insurance department.) Originally, I wanted to stay with a Honda, but to be honest, I just don't like the '03 Civic and the Accord is too expensive, IMHO.

But, once I saw that Protege on the road, I took a closer look at them... and I liked what I saw. I knew they had been around for many years, but the 3rd gen styling really caught my eye. My other cars throughout the years were the VW Scirocco (4 of them... '78, '81, '85, '86), an '86 Toyota MR2, a '91 Nissan 300ZX, and then the '98 Prelude. Getting a 4-door car was not only a new idea for me, but all my friends and family would wonder if I had fallen and hit my head on something hard.

Either that or they might wonder if I had a wife and kids hidden away somewhere that I forgot to mention...

I looked at the Ford Focus, the Chevy Cavalier (ugh...), some of the Kia models, as well as the Nissan Sentra and Toyota Corolla. (The MR2 was a source of endless headaches and I just don't trust Toyota anymore.) But I had fallen for the Protege.

Although it does help when I am employed by a supplier to Ford and I can get a Protege at a "Ford Partnership" price. Of course, I saw this as a good omen and just had to take advantage.

I live in the Kansas City metro area, and there are a few Mazda dealers around... and after looking through thier inventory I found a Laser Blue Mica ES that had my name on it... and the rest is history. My parents, back home in Indiana, saw the pictures I sent in an email and were like, "A Mazda??" (They themselves have gone through three Honda Accords and now own a 2001 Honda Odyssey).

Sometimes... you just have to evolve...

Right now, the car is stock, but that may change little by little as time goes by. Already I'm looking to enhance the stereo, and I bought a factory "ES" decal which I'm going to add to the trunk lid to match the quarter panels. Ooohh... somebody stop me.

It's good to be part of a new community and I'm looking forward to gaining valuable information from other Protege fans. For those of you who bothered to read this far, thanks for your attention! lol


Old Man Wiggins
--------

Sir Nuke

Hello Mr. Wiggins and Welcome to our happy little corner of the net, and to our Club. There are TWO BIG fridge'S in the corner with anything you can think of in them...help yourself...of course only take what you can LEGALLY have.

make yourself at home on one of the big fluffy couches, kick your shoes off, put your feet up on one of the tables, yes we are allowed to do that, mom don't care....and take it easy.

oh...btw....every once in a while a food fight breaks out...so you may not want to wear nice clothes here.

Welcome!!

Old_Man_Wiggins

Good clothes? Hmm... I think I have a tie here somewhere...

Thanks for the hospitality, SirNuke.



Old Man Wiggins

icynelly

Cool, have you thought of the mods you wanna do for it yet?

shackmgr6073

Welcome fellow Midwesterner!! Enjoy your new ride! Anywho, let us know of any questions.......

Old_Man_Wiggins

Hmm... mods?

Well, I'm a bit curious about exhaust systems, some replacement components for the stereo (speakers primarily),... and I'm going to get the windows tinted, naturally... but that's not really a "mod", I guess. I bought a set of those bolt-on covers (with the holes and aluminum look) for the clutch/brake/gas pedals, and they look pretty good. (Better than stock anyway.)

I was thinking of mostly cosmetic stuff, like those LED's that you can put in the headlight housing to give them a colored tint. I dunno... do those work? Kinda looks like a pain to install though.

Later on... who knows? Maybe a tighter, lowered suspension... some 17' wheels... not sure yet. I think right now I'm targeting a better sound system, but I'm just thinking of minor upgrades, rather than a full blown "boom" system. I'll search the rest of the forum for ideas on that stuff.

Well, I'm sitting here in front of my computer while a gorgeous sunny day passes by... I could be out washing and waxing the new Pro.

Thanks again guys.

Lataz.