Hey everybody, this is my first post. I've been reading posts on this forum nearly everyday for quite a while, just became a member. Excellent forum, lots of good info!

I thought this post from the rx8group at Yahoogroups was interesting;

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Holy Crap!

I dropped my car off at the shop to have the A/C checked this morning.
Got a rental car and headed towards the beach.
The shop is fairly close to South Beach so I thought I'd drive down
Ocean Drive to see the spring break action.

I'm driving along Ocean Drive taking in the scenery and there it was
parked on the side of the road.
I thought I was hallucinating for a second and almost wrecked the
rental car in the midst of an anxiety attack.
I quickly parked and ran over to see it.

A red RX-8 with California plates. Doors open. Engine running. Radio
Blaring.
I was shocked to say the least .

Apparently the Mazda team had transported one to South Beach to show
it off. They were taking pictures of people sitting in the car and
gathering info in order to send out more information about the car
along with your personalized photo. I had my photo taken and gave out
my email address but haven't received the email yet.

Anyway, This is the first time that I saw the RX-8 in person.

My impression:

Ehhhhhhh!!!!!!! I dunno folks!

I was actually a little displeased with the appearance. It didn't
look quite as sporty or agressive as it does in photos. The body is
pretty "plasticky" looking and with only 2700 miles on the odometer
it already had a few nice scratches on it.
It obviously wasn't quite what I expected as far as appearance goes.
I'll probably get flamed for saying this but it definitely looks
better in pictures than in person.

The interior was nice. The seats were very sporty and comfortable.
The guages were decent and the radio was incredible. The interior
makes up for the exterior except I'm really starting to question the
back seats and the suicide doors. The engineers must have been
smoking crack because there is absolutely no room in the back seat. I
don't quite understand what they were thinking. It's more like a 2+2
than a sedan. In fact, my 911 has a more spacious back seat than the
RX-8.

I guess you could say that I was rather dissappointed but perhaps my
expectations were higher.

Other than aesthetics, I did notice something about the car that I
found rather alarming. The plastic cover was removed from the engine
compartment so that you could see the engine.
The car was idling and the engine was shaking like a frigging Harley
V-twin!!!!!!!!!
The intake hose and attached throttle body were actually bouncing
around!!!!!! The throttle body wasn't bolted to anything!!!!!!!
What's up with that???? I read that in the Renesis the rotors are now
dynamically balanced instead of statically balanced. Would that cause
the vibration???


Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera but I'm going to go back
tomorrow. If the car is there again then I will take some photos of
it.



Gary
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Here's part of my response...........

The car you saw was probably a pre-production car, which would explain the unbolted throttle body, vibration, lack of refinement, etc.

As far as rear legroom goes, it has one inch more than a Lexus IS300! Not bad, in my opinion that's better than a 2+2. The seats may have been all the way back.

As far as appearance, Car & Driver says it looks better in person. A matter of personal opinion, I suppose.

I'll reserve my final judgment until I see & drive one myself. Of course, you drive a Porsche 911 (drool) & I currently drive a '92 Pontiac Sunbird so I'm more easily impressed!

 

one word (or is it two?) "Pre-production" (add 'mule' and even 'abused' if you'd like to get the insinuation.

 

I sat in the back of the Rx-8 in Detroit.. there is as much room if not more than a 3 series BMW coupe. I highly doubt a 911 has more room in the back.. rolleyes..

 

maybe he was bullshitting?
________
Child Wellbutrin

 

I think he is bullshitting. Why on earth would Mazda show their flagship, not yet released car with a missing engine cover and loose parts? It would have been a better story if it had a flat tire, cracked windshield and bean burrito stains on the seat.

 

LOL. maybe it did, maybe it did

 

I don't know about the bean burrito, maybe a seven layer nacho from the bell. :D

 

I've seen pictures of men who look average height (6' +/-) sitting in the back seat of an RX-8; read about them sitting in them; they look fairly comfortable and most of the reviews state similar. I've seen back "seats" of 911s. Most reviews of that genre call them "pacakge shelves" which is appropriate since the back of the front seat is very near or touching the back seat if the front is very far back at all. OTH I've driven (when I did P/T valet) a car where the seats where so far up I couldn't get in it w/o backing it up some - in a 911, that is what it would take to get a 5'6" (+/-) person actually sitting in the back. I'm sure at least a few here have owned 911s, not just seen or driven them like me, to confirm, deny or correct me. Reminds me, 2 guys at work have 911s; I'll check one out first chance I get.

 

I owned a 1988 911 coupe up until last summer. I couldn't even fit a childseat in the back of the car. It was way too tight. Nobody taller than 5 feet would be able to straddle the front seat from back there--and thats even with the front seat slid forward most of the way. Sorry, I ain't buyin' this story. It flies in the face of every other credible report I've seen/read.

 

Well, there is ONE believable point to the story -- the typical Porsche owner attitude that anything that isn't a Porsche is crap. :p

 

A buddy of mine saw the same one two weeks ago. He said it looked really nice. It was on I-95 headed toward the beach. Hmmmm. I wonder

 

i really REALLY don't know... a SINGLE, BEAT TO **** RX-8 mule, with california plates, ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY???? why the hell would it be there?? magazine review?? highly doubtful...

i mean seriously, there are SO MANY better ways to get better exposure than that... i sincerely think this is nearly 100% BS.

 

bull$hit.. couple people i know drive 911s and carerra 4s, and there is no way the rx8 has less room... he is smoking crack... and why would mazda take their car to miami?? LA is the car capital of the world.. they would be better served here... hmm, showcase the car in hollywood with all the guys buying cars, or out in miami... NO BRAINER

 

Unless he actually sat in the rear seats, he'd never realize how surprisingly roomy it is (it doesn't seem clear whether he tried it). I thought the same until I climbed in back at the LA show. It isn't obvious your feet go under the front seats and addition your're sitting very low, eyelevel is just above the tiny rear portal's bottom edge. You don't want to be back there if you're claustrophophic, but otherwise I thought it was brilliantly design solution for seating 4 people.

A "plasticky" exterior seems to imply paint finish issue. I'd be interested in what color he saw.

Finally I have to admit I wasn't too impressed with the RX-8 when I first saw it in person. It was the X-Men version sitting on a spinning pedestal, jacked up too high on ugly wheels, and that spoiler, ugh. All those silver accoutrements busied up an already complex design. And then 2 Art Center friends remarked that it was "photogenic", meaning better in photos than in person.

A week later I went back to the show to have a look at a red pre-production unit, and then placed an order a few days later. Seeing the design without all the excess jewelry, on the ground, in stock wheels made a big difference.

I still agree with the photogenic remark though. You can take a picture from one angle it looks really awkward, then from another and it's absolutely beautiful. I think the new Z4 fall into this category too. But the more I looked at the 8, the more I appreciate its forms. Like a Ferrari, I believe this design will age very well.

 

Well, it is probably in Miami (assuming his story is true) for the Ft. Lauderdale Auto show that starts tomorrow and runs thru saturday. I will be there taking LOTS of pictures of the RX-8. I am really hoping it is there, although my dealership says they are not sure if it will be...

 

It's true. Check out this thread including pictures in the Southeast forum.

http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3361

 

 

That pic is great... typical Porche owner's situation... HA.

 

IF you go to that southeast forum thread as shown above, there is a pic there with 3 gals in an RX-8 (with cloth seats) - first good pic I've seen of the drivers seat in cloth - that totally verifies that the piece that person posted about lack of room in the back seat is false.

 

This is BS, don't believe it.

 

Remember now, this is just one man's opinion. He may have been smoking crack at the time.

In regards to the Porche slamming, he actually posted later that he prefers his 3rd gen RX-7 to his 911.

 

Huh? Go to the SE forum and see the pics. I have no doubt the guy saw it or sat in it. As far as the roominess issue, I don't see why he would lie about it...

 

Ummm, was there a pic with cloth seats??? All I saw was a photo of 4 really hot chics!!!

Come to think of it, was there even a car in that pic?!?

 

Well I believe him. His 'plasticky' comments might be about the grilles rather than the paintwork. The engine cover is definitely off, I enhanced the image in PhotoShop and it's obvious:



His post was balanced because he stated several things he liked and he was obviously excited to see the car so I think it was legitimate.

 

I'm confirming the RX-8 sighting in Miami because the car broke down and I had to actually help the woman (Wanda) start it up. The car was parked on 8th St. and Ocean Drive. Some guy was trying to help her start it up by hailing a cab to jump start it. He couldn't get it started and I came in to help. It was obvious that the batteries weren't the problem since all the cabin lights, digital gauges, brake lights, etc. were all on, but the dude didn't know.

I told the girl that I could get it started easily but she didn't trust me cuz i'm some random asian guy that passed by. But she relunctantly gave in and I told her to put the car in neutral and while I gave it a little push from the back. As soon as I pushed the car, I told her to press the gas pedal a bit and start it up. BAM, it worked. I made the guy feel like an idiot and Wanda was happy and I left the scene.

Yup, I got to touch an RX-8 but not that I care. I'm in to Hondas.