+1
they could have been designed better, or it could just not be for my taste

 

I say lightly refine the look. Maybe make the headlights with black housings and double beams with entegrated orange LEDs for turn signals to eliminate needing the popular "clear corner" mod. As well as a hood that slopes at a bit of a wedge-ier angle with a lower wider grille. Keep the overall theme and widen the rear of the front fender flares to make for a larger fender vent as well as raking the rear windshield a tad bit more. Give the car a lower, wider, flattened racey look.

 

Photoshop gurus....engage

 

Personally, I feel the Rx8 tries to be a little bit on middle of the road car -- has pure sport car performance but has the practicality of a sedan. It's a tough act to pull off and I don't think the Rx8 quite did that. It's been said that the Rx8 although has the handling/balance of a sport car but somehow lacking edge. But it's not a 4dr either. So in some way, the Rx8 tries to please both sides but ended up pleasing only a few. If buyers want a sport sedan, Mazda has either the Speed3 or 6 to fill.

I think it should be either one or the other but not both. I think Mazda should loose the back seat which should trim the weight down to around 2800 - 2900 (a la Rx7). Add a bit more power. Firm up the suspension a bit. Then we will have a true no nonsen, no excuse sport car. Then the Rx8 can be considered in the same class as the 350Z, Boxster, M coupe, and Cayman.

 

Okay but, just for the record, what you really want then is a new RX-7—not an RX-8. Which is fine, so long as you realize it's not the same thing. (Personally, I'm glad we have the 8. I like the back seats. And what I especially like is that the car was designed from the ground up to have them—not like a 260Z where back seats were added to a 2-seater as an afterthought.)

 

move the cupholder, add some low end torque, and include a sunvisor repair kit and i would be 100% happy.

 

Scrolling characters for the SAT radio instead of an 8 character readout. I never know the name of the bands or songs.

 

Auto Week Said; In 2010 Is The Redesign And No On The Two Door.

 

front view - make the mouth/vent area look less organic. Straight edge rectangle and a bit lower.

profile - looks good!

rear - needs to widen and lower.


interior - telescopic steering wheel and standard din stereo

 

Since this posting I did realise I had not moved it up as high as it could go. I can now just see under it to the right. I still feel a little higher mount is in order.

I should also add that air conditioned seats are a must on the RX. They cool more efficiently then regular AC so you could cut the AC power consumption while increasing cooling comfort. Both needed on the RX.

I would also like to see all engine power driven accessory moved to a CVT type drive system. Alternator, AC, Water pump would work on a system that would be belt driven but would be kept at constant speed regardless of engine rpm. This would be a more efficient system with less power drain and lighter components.

More power should be from turbo. Skip the supercharger a turbo works off wasted energy so it is more efficient and works over a wider rpm range then a supercharger can. Both traits fit well with the rotary engine. It would also be interesting if Mazda could find a way to use the high temp of the exhaust to extract hp, some type of regenerative system.

I would also like to see a very basic/light hybrid system. Maybe integrate the alternator starter into a single integrated unit that would replace the fly wheel so weight would remain the same. a small battery pack or super capacitor could be mounted in the trucks floor indentation. Another alternative would be a hydraulic recuperation system based on nitrogen. UPS is currently testing such a system with expectations of 40% increase in city mileage. This system is small, simple and relatively light.

Above all, keep the weight the same or less then the current car.

See I don't ask for much