Aesculapius

Promotion, promotion, promotion.....or lack thereof.

Not many people outside of mazda or rotary circles have ever heard of the car. I was one of such people up until 2 months ago.

I consider myself a car enthusiast, but my job does not allow me to stay current with every concept and future car.

The way I found out about the RX-8 was by looking at the consumer reports web site. I was looking for a new car but just couldn't find the right one for me. All of a sudden, I saw "Mazda Rx-8" listed and knowing a little about rotaries and the rx-7, checked it out.

As soon as I saw the car and the pricing I was hooked.

I think a LOT of people will be jazzed about this car once they know it exists.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

they need to do some TV ad blitz like they did (and still doing) with the Mazda6 to get the name out

I can just imagine an RX-8 commercial showing a spinning rotor and the tach soaring toward 9000... much cooler looking than some silly pistons going up 'n down :D :D :D

Puppy1

Hey here is an idea: Get this car into the next biggest blockbuster movie event of the summer season.....

.....Oh they all ready thought of that. For once, mazda seems to be right on track.:D

nostatic

Nice reply, DonG35Miata. Or should I say "DonG35Miagi". Get it?? Subtle reference, huh?!

I read a lot of car magazines. I also spend a ridiculous amount of time online reading about fifteen different forums like this one, and I've seen a similar reaction to the one DonG35 describes. On the Nissan 350Z boards, they say the RX-8 is not a *true* sports car and that its performance is lacking. On the Subie/Mistu boards, they say the RX-8's performance is lacking. On the Audi/BMW boards, they say the RX-8 is a weak attempt at a sports sedan--and that there are too many compromises in the suicide door design. They also say "it's just a Mazda".

None of these comments surprise me. They also won't stop me from ordering an RX-8. I currently own a 2002 Audi A4, have a wife and two little boys. We're fairly fortunate, having owned several BMWs and a couple Porsche 911s (not all at the same time of course). The RX-8 speaks to me, and it just pisses me off to hear so many people dismiss it so quickly. Sure some magazine reviews may sway some folks, but even the RX-7 owners look down on the RX-8--and I've owned a 1981, 1988, 1987 TurboII, and a 1993 R1.

I'll just never figure it out.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

most of the people on those other boards probably have never driven a rotary and don't know what it feels like.

you sir will never NEED to figure it out, because you already know what it is

BryanH

Hey Don, you don't consider the S2000 a 'very high performance sports car'? If my hunch is correct the RX-8 will be 95% as fast as the wonderful Honda around a race track, yet it's oodles more practical. So do you define a pure sports car as one that has strictly 2 seats and mediocre trunk space at best?

Not trying to pick on you, just curious why you think the RX-8 isn't sports car enough.

DonG35Miata

In reverse order... well, I actually DO consider a pure sports car as one with only two seats. So do most others IMHO. Four seaters are sports coupes, sports sedans, etc. I think having a pure two seater adds to the sports car experience for me. There are plenty of incredible handling, fast four seaters out there. I would still consider my 2+2 Supra and Diamond-Star turbo as sports cars, I guess, but not "pure" ones.

As for hunches, mine is different. I think the RX-8 is going to be a notch behind the 350Z, S2000, G35 Coupe, BMW Z4 in terms of performance. Very good, no doubt, but not in the "very high" category. I think you need sub- 6 sec 0-60 to get into that category these days. The RX-8 will be merely "high performance." Apparently the subjective reports on the handling say it is not that sharp-edged, either.

I still might get one. We will see how the reviews are, and my employment is in a month or so. They laid a coworker from work two weeks ago so I am going to be playing it conservative a month or two to make sure things are solid.

LOL Wax on, wax off... the Miata has certianly been through that enough. I may have to give a new nickname to my Miata, Miagi. (I forgot his name in the movie.) Before the nickname was Ahura Mazda... extra credit to anyone who knows what Ahura Mazda is without resorting to a search engine...

Rich

About half of the reviews said there was too much body roll and that overall it wasn't as sporty as they expected. The other half said that it cornered flat and had real sports car performance in a true 4-seater package. The difference was they were two different suspension tunings, neither of which was final. Once they finish tuning the suspension, I think it'll be very impressive. The Miata is pretty soft (even mine with the sport suspension package), and it's still the most enjoyable car I've ever driven. As long as Mazda gives it a dose of the magic dust that goes into the Miata, P5, and 6, it should be fantastic.

DonG35Miata

Agreed... I will probably keep my Miata forever. Pure fun! But I think a lot of the Miata's fun comes from the light weight, short wheelbase, and drop-top. (I LOVE driving my Miata with the top downbut with the top up, it seems cramped and noisy.) The RX-8 does not have any of those qualities, though at under 3,000 lbs it is one of the lighter sports cars available.

The final suspension tuning should be telling. I had a VW GTI 1.8T that some thought was soft, but I still loved driving it. Again, the perfect rotary Mazda for me is a roadster a little bigger than a Miata. I may just end up waiting for it... I hope the RX-8 succeeds, in any event!

liondogs

If the RX8 has the same overall "balance" of the Miata this car will be a very fun car no matter what the straight line or skid pad numbers say. Throw into the mix the IMHO great looks of the car and back it up with good marketing and you could have a segment killer on your hands.

I sure hope this is the case as I would love to see the RX7 return. The only way that will happen is if the RX8 does well.

Phyre

.................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..zoom.......

Spoonie

Fun = Yes
High performance = Not Really

As nice as the Maita is, It is far from being considered a High-Perfomance car. Maybe in the handling, but nothing else. I'm hoping that the RX8 doesn't follow the maita's lead.

Buger

I mentioned earlier in this thread that I would do a comparison of different cars to show how more torque does not necessarily mean faster acceleration. See

http://rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s...9898#post19898

Brian

zoom44

as far as public reaction this board at least seems to have about doubled in volume in the last 2 days

liondogs

I hope the RX8 follows the Miata's lead in handling. I believe it will have enough straight line "Zoom" to satisfy most people. What I don't want is a fast straight line car that handles like a bathtub on wheels in the curves or a great handling car that can't get out of its own way.

What I want is the total package or a car with "balance". A car that has excellent straight line zoom with crisp Miata like handling. We can debate numbers all day but until you sit in it and drive it nobody will know if Mazda has met this requirement.

DrKillJoY

FWIW ---- the real BIG media frenzy about hte RX-8 was last years 2002 NAIAS... with a big streaming video and media push by Mazda... this years "unveiling" was just the final specs and the price as far as I have seen... and of course their "concept" car...

MikeW

The Rx-8 is underpowered, just a little bit.

If the rotor width is extended from 80 to 90 mm, and a four port per rotor induction system is added. 300 hp is easily attainable.

$30,000 & 300 hp sound nice.

Hercules

That's a good point to make. 6 seconds to 60 isn't exactly slow. To be honest, I'm pretty pleased with the 7+ second Maxima I have as far as power goes (it's the 222hp version). What I want instead of that is a RWD platform, stickshift, and good handling characteristics which my other cars lack.

Hopefully the RX-8 will appease me in all those areas.

FamilyGuy

DonG35Miata... isn't Ahura Mazda some ancient god? Babylonian maybe? I seem to remember that from some obscure roleplaying supplement. *sob* I admit, I'm a geek, always will be :D


On the topic at hand. I think a lot of people looking for a pure sports car are going to pass over the Rx-8 in favor of the competition (or a future Rx-7).

However, I think tons of people looking for a small sedan 2+2 with a little something extra will jump right on it. The passenger space is acceptable, the gas mileage is much better than most sports cars, and the performance will rock most other $26,000 coupes on the market.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

exactly :D

buh-bye Mustang GT :D

DonG35Miata

Very close. Ahura Mazda is the name for God used by Zoroastrians, the first monotheistic religion. It was founded in ancient Persia and Darius and Cyrus, Persians kings praised in the Bible, were Zoroastrians. So was Freddie Mercury of Queen and the hot bald chick in the first Star Trek movie.

It predates Judaism and Christianity by between 600-1000 years and introduced a lot of religious concepts like one god, an adversary, heaven, hell, judgement, etc. The religion is still practiced, primarily in India where ancient Persians fled from Muslim persecution.

And yes, I wrote a very long paper on it when I was in college! It's a very positive, life-affirming religion actually. I gained a lot from studying it.

BTW I read that a Mazda founder was named Matsuda... that, and the similarity to Ahura Mazda, is where the Mazda brand name originated.