date is oct 5
the mp3 is the mother of this entire cult following
the masterpiece that spawned the p5 and the msp
the wimpy 140hp 2001 car that beat out 2002 svt focus, ser spec-v, jetta vr6, and others in comparison tests.
the little 140hp econobox that was written up in car and driver comparisons of the top handling cars in the world right next to corvettes and some large pieces of fine italian machinery all costing multiple times the price of an mp3
basically, its a protege that came out in limited production in 2001. It had the pointed, dead sexy, headlights that are shared by the 2002-2003 protege, protege5, and mazdaspeed protege
the mp3 came in two colors, the intoxicating laser blue mica and bright yellow
It had the same body kit as the 2003mazdaspeed protege(orange and black), and almost identical suspension as the mazdaspeed protege (except without the turbo/lsd/sparco stuff etc..)
it also was I believe the first production car to be sold with a mp3 player. It featured a kenwood unit along with a kenwood 10" sub.
Other features of the mp3 include:
17" racing hart wheels
mp3 floormats
and a clunk