The economics of auto manufacturing is very different today than it was 10 years ago. Computer design and simulation and flexible manufacturing plants allow manufacturers to build any model in lower quantities profitably.

Time will tell.

 

I was in a Taco Bell line when I overheard some guy telling some dude about 'his' car and how he just loved it. So the dude looks outside and says "Wow! that is nice!"..." How does it drive?"

The guy said "great!" Then the dude asked him "is that it out there -the red one?" The guy said "yeah!".

The dude asks " What is that a RX-7 or RX-8?"

The guy looks outside, startled, said "no".... not that one mine's the Vette (points to a red late model C4).

The dude says "oh". "Well I thought that red Mazda...."

Thats the best compliment yet.

 

its all about marketing. Mazda's marketing budget is pretty small for the rx8. I see 350Z comercial during prime time NFL football games... while i havnt seen an RX8 tv ad for a while, let alone prime time. I mean, you cant really blame Mazda for it... they just dont have the deep pockets that Nissan has. And as far as marketing is concerned, theres much better return when they invest the advertisment money in mass market vhehicles such as the mazda 3 and 6 than on a niche market car like the RX8 that has a very limited audience. Theyd figure people who are interested in the RX8 are enthusiasts who are usually well informed about the car already.

 

on the s2k community seems to be thriving, despite not having a lot of comercial exposure.

 

about 6 or 7 people asked me ,"what car is that?Its a very nice car" and its been three months since I bought the RX-8. I kinda liked it when people dont know what car it is. Its better in low profile.

 

I am pretty sure this has happened to other 8 drivers, but I am all the time getting asked "Is that a Mustang?". It just happened twice this morning while at the gas station. I haven't thought of a witty answer to the question though. I just give a general "No, it's a Mazda Rx-8". How do you other 8 owners answer the question?

 

I've been asked if it's a Porsche...... :o

 

You guys are all right. I think that Mazda needs to advertise this car a bit more, but on the other hand, I love the fact that everywhere I go, heads turn toward my 8 and people stop me on the street just to find out what type of car it is. Just yesterday I pulled up to a fast food restaurant in my 8 and almost everyone inside the lobby stopped me to ask questions about the car. That type of attention really makes my day.

 

The problem with exclusivity is that it means your resale value is nothing and the potential exists for the car to be dropped quickly. The RX8 looks to be a quality car with uniqueness. Mazda needs to advertise and educate about what this car can do if they want to boost sales. A non-roadster that sells 20kish units a year is not going to last too long.

Chevy sold 8k units of the New HHR in one month and how many 300 C's has Chrysler sold since it came out in April? 150k?

Sale for the 8 should be 40-60k per year I think. Its a coupe that seats four with incredible handling what's not to like?

 

you're comparing 2 different market segments. The market for small utility wagon and large family sedan is A LOT bigger than sporty coupes, hence a larger number of potential buyers to sell to.

40k is unrealistic for this car, the rotary engine WILL keep some people away, that's just the nature of being unique :o

 

The best was when I pulled in to a Jack in the Box drive thru. I rolled up to give the guy the money, and he gave that double look and was like WOW nice car! I was like oh thanks, and then he called like 2 other guys and was like “check it out” and began to ask me questions like “how much” “what car is it” but the best was “is it fast” lol..i love it.. I’m so glad I didn’t get a BMW 3 series!

 

a) I've seen a lot of ads for the car in Wired Magazine. They seem to do small amounts of very targeted advertising which, for the productio size of the car, is probably the right move.

b) I personally love the fact that no one knows what the hell my car is. I have to say, however, that I'm not really sure what's going on when I see middle-aged men in porsches staring at me. Are they simply admiring the car? Or are they wonderig why they spent all of their midlife-crisis money on something twice as expensive and ten times as commonplace? Either way, it makes me smile....