1.8 Ghia (KJ/KL)

STORY

The Australian Ford Laser arrived in March 1981 as a Ford-badged Mazda 323, co-developed with the second-generation 323 after Ford bought a 24.5 percent stake in Mazda in 1979. The KE series of October 1987 added a turbocharged TX3 and a turbo four-wheel-drive version imported from Japan. The KJ of October 1994 was the first Laser built entirely in Japan, and later Lasers were imported from Japan. The last series, the KQ, was discontinued in 2002. Japan and other markets had their own Laser lines.