[s-cars] avant rear hatch won't unlock

[Abe Berman]

Mark,

Having played the double bass for years in high school and owning an
89 Mazda 626 sedan, I learned to get creative with transport...

If you can't get the tailgate to open, try this:

Completely recline both front seat backs.  Lower the seat cushions to
lowest level.  Obviously the rear seats are folded down.  Insert the
bottom of the bass (bridge facing dashboard) into passenger front door
and carefully begin rotating the bass so that the bridge is facing
upwards as you direct the bottom of the bass towards the tailgate.  In
my Mazda, once the bass was lying on its back as far into the trunk, I
brought the seatbacks to normal position and the scroll sat nicely on
a folded towel on the armrest between the two front seats.

Hope this helps in the interim with your dilemma.

Abe