Not surprisingly, the Mazda pickups of this era were basically Ford Rangers under a slightly different skin, which helped Mazda get past the 25% tariffs on small trucks. Mazda also used at least one Ford color name, as this truck is Oxford White. The seller has this 2000 Mazda B2500 SX posted here on craigslist in Seattle, Washington, and they’re asking $7,900. Here is the original listing, thanks to Curvette for the tip!
We’ve talked about the Chicken Tax on Barn Finds dozens of times over the years, so I won’t go into it too much here. It was basically a way to tax imported pickups to help domestic manufacturers. This Mazda/Ranger/Mazda was made in the U.S., New Jersey in this case, according to the VIN (I thought they were all made in St. Paul, MN?), so they were able to knock off that extra tax. There’s something decidedly Toyota-looking about the profile of these later Ranger-based Mazda pickups. They differentiated them a bit from the Ranger by adding some body lines.
The Mazda B-series lines almost have a Ford Flareside look to them, and I think I prefer the Ranger’s lines, but that’s just me. I also have a big mustache that I won’t trim for the month of “Movember,” so don’t take my word on anything fashion or design-wise. I don’t know if I’d even fit my mustache in this truck in another three weeks. We saw a very similar truck a month ago here on Barn Finds, with much better photos, but that seller was asking $3,000 more.
Mazda literature (I couldn’t find a PDF brochure, just a choppy eBay brochure) shows the SX trim as having a tan interior for the Oxford White trucks, but this sure looks white or gray to me. Maybe it’s a trick of the color temperature or something. The important part is that it looks nice overall inside. This one has a 5-speed manual, even nicer.
Yes, seller, the inside of the bed looks great, but how about popping the hood to show prospective buyers the engine? Out of 24 allowed photos, they show 17, with a few exterior duplicates, and most of the interior photos are similar to each other, yet there is no engine photo. And I think they’re a dealer, ouch. In any case, it’s like complaining that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west; it will never change. The engine should be a 2.5-liter SOHC inline-four with 119 horsepower and 146 lb-ft of torque, sending power through the 5-speed manual to the rear wheels. It’s said to have been in Washington state since new and is in great running condition. Any thoughts on this Mazda B2500?
Fleet special (except for the clutch pedal). Besides the few sheet metal dents it appears to have been relatively carefully used. Lot of miles left in this one. I’d try for a slightly reduced price but considering stuff this size has been gone from the market for a number of years and still counting $$ don’t look that bad.