So much for the competition! From the compilation of top-selling vehicles in 2004 (calendar year 2004, in Canada), the RX-8 sold 2,118 units vs. the 350Z's 983 units. That's a 2.15:1 ratio!

OK, so it's only Canada - how about this statistic - Since the start of RX-8 production, it took Mazda 18 months to produce 100,000 RX-8s. Compare that to the record-setting landslide seller Miata, where they produced the first 100K cars in 17 months (in other words, RX-8 sales are only slightly behind the pace of Miata sales at their frenzied peak).

Who was it who tried to claim here that RX-8s aren't selling? :D

Regards,
Gordon

 

thats bad news indeed.

but hard to compare since the 350 has been out a while, and the rx8 is still new. we'll see in 2 years

 

well then how many 350z's sold in the first year (granted there was no RX-8 competition but)

 

thats downright dissapointing.....In my worst nightmare I drive a gold (i mean champagne) Toyota camry, I pull up at a stop light and low and behold, next to me is a gold toyota camry. The driver and I share a short look and a smug nod, both knowing what a great value our camrys are. Then across the intersection in the left turn lane, another gold camry, followed by another. I would feel better if the 8 were discontinued so we could value our rare and wonderful vehicle even more.... by the way...theres like 9 350Zs in my town to four RX-8s

 

ditto... although this might be true, I still do see a lot more 350s n g35's flying around, I see a 8 every other day or so.

 

Hey, that was my car before I got the 8. It was a wonderfully reliable and comfortable car.

 

Gordbrg...I hear ya. I tried looking up global sales figures for the 350Z in 2003, and the 8 in 2004. The figures are scattered!! I know this much tho, I see 1 8 for every 15 Zeds on the roads in the US.

I like that our cars are rare. Good for resale and also good for head turning!! :D

- Irish

 

Here in Georgia, I have seen ONE other 8 in the Augusta area. I have seen enough S2000s and Zed's to nearly have a vomit attack .

 

Yea, I hope they don't sell to many 8. Here i San Diego, I see like 10 350z a day and maybe 3 rx8. I've had my since september 03 and stil get alot of good comment from people I meet. Most of them think the 8 was still a new car and I like it that way.

 

I hate to see someone with the same exact car

that is why I love to modify

 

Well at least it means more parts for us. Maybe someone will get cracking and release a proper replacement ECU pretty soon.

 

Up here in the mountains, (metro area of about 1.5 million) I only see another RX-8 on average maybe once a week. It's great! Maybe with the SUV obsessed culture up here, I stand a chance of it staying somewhat like that.

 

No way, don't say that...I love my 8! I can't relate to you guys/gals that would like to see less of them (than there are already) on the road. Do you not understand that, that would mean no more 8. No upgrades/updates and many years of dreaming of another RX8/7.

Did we not learn the lesson of the RX7?

I hope they sell a ton of RX8's that would mean they would invest more into it and continue to build them. I know there is a "cool" feeling not seeing your car all over the place, but my love of the 8 wants to see more and more of them so one day I can rip out the "new" SC, Turbo, or bigger displacement rotary in a new RX8 and stuff it into mine.

Don't wish any different please, your killing my future dream...LOL

Just my thoughts about that...

 

That's what i've been trying to explain to these morons but no one seems to get it.

 

Geez, they sell around 2000+ RX-8s a month in the US and only 2118 for the entire year in Canada? I know Canada has a much smaller population, but didn't think it was that small. BTW, from what I saw in a few monthly press releases, in the US the Z seems to out sell the 8 by a ratio of around 3 350Zs for every 2 RX-8s (3:2). Z's are dime a dozen.

 

Keep in mind that not only does Canada have a lower population, but they also have severe winters which doesn't make a rear-drive sports car appealing to many, and in general Canadians probably have less disposable income than Americans, which also would make it harder to justify owning a sports car.

 

Bingo on all points!

The population of Canada is ~30 million people; the population of the US is over 300 million people. We should expect at least 10 times more RX-8s sold in the US as in Canada. For the Miata, in the first 3 years (90-92), Canadians bought about 1/10 the number of Miatas as Americans; after that initial period, sales here slowed to about 1/20 of the US sales - for the reasons suggested by MI_FamilyMan.

Regards,
Gordon

 

I don't think seeing alot of 8's on the road is a bad thing. First off, and this may be a little sadistic sounding, that's more that will get wrecked meaning spare parts will be easier to find not to mention engines! Having more 8's on the road will also mean less of all the other cars I can't stand like that pathetically fugly new Mustang that the typical brainless lemming follower of a person seems to buy around here. In a perfect world, I would go outside and see nothing but rotary powered vehicles. Bring it on.

 

Another thing to remember is that there was only something like 700 allocated to canada for the first like 6-8 months. obviously MZ underestimated the Canadian love of Rotaries

 

Woah.. that's cold rotarygod.. the Mustang isn't my cup of java but *brainless lemmings* ?? That may be a bit much. Actually the 8's sales have dropped from over 2k to just over 1k in the past few months. That may be from the increased number of tradeins or just seasonal sales. If a perfect world was nothing but rotary cars I think you must work for Exxon Mobil.

 

I think what everyone is not realizing is that the 8 and Z are niche cars that will never in a million years be as common as a Camry. For everyone living near big cities, think about how many cars you come across in one day. For every thousand cars you see, one of them might be an RX8, two of them might be a Z (obviously that's not an exact ratio). But, whatever the ratio is, it likely won't change simply because that's how the market is. There are comparatively few people whose lifestyles allow the RX8 and Z to fit. Say it with me now, " I am unique, and I am happy I have a unique automobile. Pass the gravy boat."

 

well
were I live I see more 350z's and g35's than camry's

 

Something else you guys might find interesting. I work for a large used car retailer, and for every 10 or so 350Z's we have on the lot, we have 2-3 RX-8s. And sorry, the "350Z has been out longer" argument doesn't work. It's been out all of what, 6 months longer? That's not long enough to account for much of anything. And I realize this doesn't sound very scientific, and it isn't, but we have more than 20k cars on our lots at any given time, and what we have is pretty representative of currrent trends in buying and selling. So people seem to be buying a lot of Zs, but are getting rid of them just as fast. But the RX-8's seem to be staying put with their owners.

 

Elara, did you just say there are more than 20 thousand cars on your parking lot? that is insane!

 

Keep in mind that the more popular a car is, the more likely it is to end up in a chop-shop.