A show car needs to stop people in their tracks. At events everyone has attention deficit disorder, so the only way to make people stop to look at what you have to offer is by giving them something with a little razzle-dazzle. Which is what this 2001 Mazda Protege 5 wagon has with novel paint work that easily earns its share of "oohs" and "aahs" at shows. They say beauty is only skin keep. That may be a good ol' saying to keep in mind with regard to human beings; but when you're talking about a car, that says plenty. And the quality of the artistic exterior says quite a bit about Paint by Praxx, the company in Norco, CA responsible for the execution of the puzzle design.
Known as "Puzzzld", the vehicle belongs to the American Products Company (www.4apc.net), a performance parts and accessory outfit. As you might imagine, the guys there were not concerned about the performance upgrades they would make; after all, that was kind of a given. The stereo installation was a different matter. After the APC bolt-on's and the Intrax springs by Premier Autoworks, not to mention the KMC "Boost" wheels on Falken tires, the car went to Bush Customs in Corona, CA for upholstery work before arriving at A.S. Kustomz in La Habra. There Phil "Deez" Traverse got down to it, stripping the Mazda down and Dynamatting it (he also sprayed it with Cascade to get to the hard to reach areas).
The main thing about the install was that the system design would have to conform to the paint motif. Accordingly, the sub enclosure was built in a puzzle shape out of fiberglass. Inside reside two Audiobahn Alum12 subwoofers. Up front the car is all Audiobahn, like the rest of the system, with ABC6002's in fiberglass kick panels which were painted to match the car. In the doors you find AMD50 midbass speakers. The sound is rounded out with ABC5002's mounted in the factory locations.
Powering the system are two amps, the A1800D, which takes care of the bass, and the A6601X, which is responsible for the highs. The signal that plays through the speakers comes from the only component not to come from Audiobahn; that's the Pioneer 6300 head unit. It sends the signal to the AEQ-7 from the former manufacturer.
A unique vehicle like this needs some protection. Here it's the Crimestopper CS-2000 - not that it's ever out of the vision of vigilant eyes, or eyes dazzled by the intricacy of the exterior. But you can't be too careful. Speaking of which, no one actually drives the Mazda to any shows, as you might guess. It's trailered to all events, like its appearance at the 2001 SEMA. Check it out at a show near you and see how seamlessly all the pieces add up to one unforgettable car.
 |  |  Audiobahn ABC6002 speaker...  Audiobahn ABC6002 speaker in the custom kick panel. |
 18" "Boost" wheels and Falken...  18" "Boost" wheels and Falken tires | | |