I would like cloth power seats (I don't like leather but need power seats) and the ability to get the GT model without sunroof.

 

sun roof without bose

white color

complimenting two tone, stay away from brown pls

fold down seats, at least one, use a removeable tower bar for strenght or something

better leather, as in sturdier, i.e. audi, not couch leather

better looking side mirror, with convex mirrors

truck release is probably on the floor board, i wish they will put in outside like european cars

i wonder if rear wiper is needed too

ROMANO:
got a wrx brake Q for you, pls PM me your email

 

Allow US buyers to delete the sunroof from the Touring and Grand Touring versions of the car.

There's no reason to deny taller drivers heated/leather seats, especially when Canadians can get their cars this way...

 

It doesn't have to be a high end car for this - the PT Cruiser offers this as a $400 option. In fact I think it's proliferated through the Chrysler lineup.

 

Audio line-in for the stereo.
Analog speedometer.
Rear door trim protectors standard and improved (visually more integrated.0

Less realistic, but very cool, would be a HUD for the primary instrumentation.

 

I would really like to see an aftermarket muffler developed that lets the true nature of the 'beast' thru - most rotaries without a muffler sound more like a wide open superbike, it would be nice to have a muffler that let the (quieted) wail thru.......
S

 

I too would also like to see cloth power seats. I feel a little cheated not being able to pick up the power lumbar support as an option without having to buy hot as hell in the summertime black leather on Winning Blue Metallic. I would love to see a special desert package with the following: a larger radiator, stronger battery, stronger air conditioning even if less mpg, a cooler tan interior, especially the seats, E rated glass and real tinted windows and a really cool Gold metallic paint job and finally satelite radio for those long trips where all I can hear is Rush Limbaugh and talk radio

 

I'm a Howard Stern type of guy myself!

 

You mean like this

From the X-Men car, thought I saw this combo before

 

Since many now have actual cars, I thought I would restart this thread to see if there are any editions or changes of mind.

 

I haven't gotten my RX-8 yet, but from the interior photos I'd vote for an analog speedometer, i.e. a needle gauge for speed. Mazda could have (and in my opinion should have) used a set of dash instrument gauges it already had, for example, in the Protege 5; those dials are not only functional but also attractive.

Since we're driving on public roads with posted speed limits (mostly), isn't the most critical thing to monitor your car's speed? (Especially if you want to avoid a ticket). Yes, those of us driving a manual transmission (that's most of us) do need a tachometer, but did that really need to be made more visible than the speedometer?

A digital indicator might not be bright enough to be legible in strong daylight.

Have people noticed that a speedometer needle gauge is something you can see in peripheral vision while driving, without really taking your eyes off the road? At most, a glance is enough, isn't it? With digital readout you'd have to focus your eyes on the numbers, read them, and then comprehend them.

If it takes 0.1 second for your brain to understand your speed from an analog speedometer, wouldn’t it be about 1 second with a digital readout? That’s a second that you’re not paying due attention to the road hazards, nor to pedestrians and other drivers.

 

In another life, I tested a Ford Excursion. It had flip out windows in like the 3rd or 4th row like the flipouts in the 8. Up front there was a button where the driver could open/shut those small windows. That'd be cool on the 8; save you from wrenching your neck trying to open the rear windows.

Hey, would it be at all practical to make one or both seats flip down? I know there's the drive shaft tunnel dividing the space but folding down a seat would let you load longer items on occasion.

 

1) Actually, I can read digital way faster than a needle.

2) The cruise control is to keep you legal. If you're driving in such a state that you can't spare a glance at the speedo, a peripheral look at a needle is not going to help you, and really, that's the time to pull over because either positions are so bad you shouldn't be driving, you're too impaired (sleep or otherwise) to drive, or you're going so fast the cops will be there any minute.

3) I've driven both and as long as the thing doesn't start blinking a constant number at me when I exceed 85 MPH it'll be just fine once I learn where it's at.

I do think they wasted guage pods on useless gauges though, either they should fix the temp and oil pressure guages to work or reduce them to idiot lights and admit the truth.

 

I agree with the line in for audio. My iPod would sound great through the Bose! Also, the HUD for primary instrumentation would be cutting edge.

 

I disagree wholeheartedly with you here.

I can comprehend a digital number instantly and compare it to what I know to be the speed limit; on an analog speedometer I have to look and recognize where it is, and if it's between marks interpolate an actual reading.

Quick, someone asks you the time (and you want to answer with an actual value, not "a little past 3:30.") Is it faster to read the information off a digital watch or off an analog one? For most people, it's much faster to read the information off a digital watch.

 

Well, I guess we're all different. I like an analog readout, others prefer digital. I noticed a few others in the "analog speedo club":

I just noticed you already posted this subject on another thread at http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.p...oto=nextoldest sorry for the duplication!

 

I think you are making it more work than is necessary. With an analogue guage, I don't look at the ticks. I notice the angle of the indicator in my peripheral vision which means I don't take my eyes off the road. It doesn't take more than one quick glance to note the proper angle for my desired speed, after that I use my peripheral vision.

I think it's been proven that analog readouts are better for quick guesstimates, while digital readouts require more attention and thinking. The difference between 60, 80, and 90 on a digital is one glowing line segment; whereas an analog indicator each value has a distinct angle.

 

That's a really bad analoogy, because it's exactly the opposite of what you need a speedo to tell you.

When glancing at a speedo, you don't need to know your exact speed - you need to know whether you're under or over a given reference (i.e. the speed limit). If you're in a 60mph zone, it doesn't matter if you're doing 65 or 66, you're still over the limit - but if you're doing 55 or 56, you're fine.

The difference between those 55 and 65 readily distinguishable on an analog dial, but it's the matter of a single LCD segment on a digital readout.

 

Once again, I disagree.

I don't think anyone here drives precisely at or below the speed limit. Sure you can tell you're above or below the limit, but by how much? An amount that will get you ticketed or two or three MPH?

Sure, with time you get used to the speedometer in your car and you can tell at a glance how fast you're going; you can do the same with a digital speedometer, IMHO. However, that only works with your primary car. I dare you to drive a Ford Taurus and a BMW M3 back to back and read the speed of either at a glance by looking at the analog speedometer - considering 60 MPH is at about 11:00 on one and at about 9:00 on the other. Now drive a Jeep Wrangler where 60 MPH is about 12:00. And so on. I've got a car with a digital speedo and I had a real problem figuring out how fast I was going while test driving an M3 one day; I almost had to study the speedometer each time I looked down since I'm used to reading a digital display now.

The argument of analog vs. digital speedometers is one that's been discussed here in the past, and the end result was basically that it's easiest for you to read whatever format you're used to. Some who moved to the S2000 had problems getting used to that speedometer; others who have driven an S2000 for a year or two have a problem reading an analog speedo. Personally when I drove an Gen II RX-7 for a week I had a hard time reading its analog speedo because it was off to the side with the tach in the center...

 

With my celica I had no idea what speed I was at because the numbers were so close together. It went up to 160mph at 3:00!

Now with the big number read out its very easy to tell. Tach is so easy to read now. I love watching it climb and hearing the backend roar while the front end is just humming away.

 

Let's agree to disagree then.

Actually, I wonder if it's somehow related to left- or right-brain"edness." Perhaps some folks are just wired differently to work better with one than the other.

 

OH to get back on topic I would like to have auto headlights. It was so nice not having to turn on and off the headlights in my Celica. I was suprised the RX8 didn't have it.

Great for going in tunnels. Go in tunnel, lights come on, out of tunnel lights turned off.

 

And along similar lines: automatic wipers. The Benz that we rented in Germany last year had these, and it was great. You'd swear the damned thing was sentient - just as you were thinking that the windshield could use a wipe... it wiped!

 

I didn't mean to derail the thread with the speedometer issue. What realistic changes would I like to see, more important than the style of speedometer? Well, I ordered an RX-8 GS with automatic transmission. It doesn't have limited-slip differential (that was only available for MT) Nor does it have Dynamic Stability Control/Traction Control System (only available for GT). These limitations affected Canadian pre-orders, I don't know if it is the case for others. Since my car will have these deficiencies, I was wondering whether driving in winter conditions of snow and ice might be difficult.

Do you think these features should be made available in future models of the RX-8 GS w/AT?

 

My last few vehicles were luxury or entry-luxury and had things like memory seats, auto-on HID lights, auto climate control, auto-up and auto-down windows, auto tilt down of mirrors when selecting reverse, speed sensitive wipers, individual remote keyfobs linked to memory for seat/mirror/radio stations etc. Never had rain sensing wipers - would love to try that. Never had NAV either and will be playing with that soon .

Initially I thought I would like the RX-8 to have these great luxury touches, but the more I think about it the more I come to the weird idea that pehaps it is better to leave some of these things manual and encourage more interaction with the car - it is a sports car after all and not a luxury sedan.

Except auto-up for the drivers window which is a necessity IMO.