Did anyone see the July 22 Business Week article on the 350 Z? Given all of the posts about the RX-8 price, I thought this excerpt from the article was intersting:

"But competition is heating up among midrange sports cars, even as demand has fallen in the past decade. In that shrinking market, the Z's price tag may yet prove a liability. "There's not much point in launching a car at an uncompetitive price," snipes Lewis Booth, CEO of Mazda Motor Corp., whose RX-8 sports car, to be launched next year, is expected to start at about $20,000."

 

i doubt it that seems a little low, how much were the RX7's when they first came out compared to there market. but we can only hope, if they are ill have a blue RX8 sitting next to a Blue MP3. now thats going to be a sweet picture.

 

I agree with Freekwonder, that 20K seems a bit low and very optimistic. If Mazda brings the RX-8 into an entry-level of 25K it would be fantastic.

 

The price quoted in Newsweek has to be a typo. Mazda has said all along the the base price wil be under $30K. To me, that means a loaded one will be under $35K.:o

I for one, will probably get one farly loaded, then wait for the Mazdaspped version.:p

 

must be nice to have the bucks to buy two!:p

 

It probably is a typo but I will not argue that price. i wont also getmy hopes up. what ever the price turns out to be, 25 k sounds about right to me in black with grey interior.

 

Mazda will probably price it at 26K or even 25k for the base models just to compete with the 350Z, i believe fully loaded could reach as high as 30k - 32k maybe.

 

When you re-read the full BizWeek article carefully you'll notice the author is not quoting the CEO. The CEO quote is:

"There's not much point in launching a car at an uncompetitive price," snipes Lewis Booth, CEO of Mazda Motor Corp.,

The rest is the author's interpretation...i.e.. is expected to start at about $20,000.

Anyhow, this is CLEARLY wrong. Think about pricing in the lineup:
Protege starts at around 17K
626 and soon to be Mazda 6 will start at around 20K

There is no way the RX-8 will start at about 20K. I wish it were 20K, but if it were true, you might as well mothball the 6 as you would have to have a screw lose to buy the 6 over the RX-8 for the same money. In fact you might as well junk the Protege too, because who wouldn't scrounge/beg/borrow an extra 3K to get the Rx-8 over the Protege?

When you look at the current Mazda lineup, the logical conclusion is that the RX-8 replaces the hole left by the Mellenia ie. 30K. I want one and wish it were 25K or even less, but I'm saving for 30K. If it's less I'll be happy.

 

Oh I agree that there has to be some sort of mistake. I was just curious as to how the magazine came to that conclusion. I doubt they pulled it out of thin air. Whatever the case, I do expect it to be around $25-$30K.

Perhaps Mazda will just wait and see how the 350Z sells at its price before deciding what to do with the RX-8. The big concern would with a high RX-8 price would be the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class, etc. Those have more cachet than a "Mazda", but would be priced relatively the same.

 

Yeah, it's hard to say where the 20K comes from, but I do agree the price is more like your 25-30 price range. Most people tend to compare RX-8 to 350z, which is natural... However, I think the RX-8 is a sports sedan and not a sports car so the closest comparison to the RX-8 is actually the Infiniti G35: 250hp vs 260hp, both have four doors, etc...

The G35 starts at around $29K. I think the RX-8 has to be less than that, as Infiniti has a slightly more luxurious and upscale target market than Mazda.

Another comparison you could make is the RX-8/Maxima: 250hp vs 255hp, both have four dours, etc... The Maxima starts at around $25K.

I think these two set the lower/upper bound for the starting price of the RX-8. ie $25-29K.

 

20k is still too much for a "mazda" but if the price drops to 18k i'll be interested then.

 

I highly doubt the RX-8 will be priced below $20k.

$26k Base to $32k Fully Loaded sounds about right.

 

That just doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever. It's not just a new car Mazda is launching, but a new market grasp. Toyota has Lexus, Nissan has Infiniti, and Honda has Acura. Frankly, I think it's time for Mazda to rethink starting a luxury brand. The Millennia was supposed to be the first car in Mazda's "Amati" luxury brand. Between the Mazdaspeed Protege and the new RX-8, these cars could pave the way for luxury sedans, coupes, and SUVs by mazda. Mazda is a great company that has arguably manufactered some of the most reliable vehicles ever to come out of Japan. I know someone who has a '91 Protege base model that has almost never needed a single repair and still works well. What doesn't make sense about that is the same guy is a millionaire and could afford a damn Bentley, but hey - that has to say something for Mazda!