An article in the Toronto Star today http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...path=News/News states that buyers should be very careful about buying new technologies and they specifically mention the RX-8. Indeed the writer specifies that we should be informed of any hidden warranties.

 

sheer neophobia and panic... i don't understand most of his rationale, as Mazda KNOWS that they have to get this thing just right for the rotary to survive...
not ONLY that, but he claims that the rotary has no distinct advantage over conventional engines, which is utter bullshit... it's not perfect, but there are many aspects which in applications with sports cars obviously make it superior to many engines... in comparison with Honda's F20C (the S2000 motor) it is superior in almost every single way, maybe even emissions and fuel consumption too (MAYBE), and that's regarded as possibly the most advanced small capacity passenger-car engine in the world by many people...

this is the kind of idiot that never trusted electronic fuel injection when it first made it's way into American cars, or that distributors are superior to ECUs...

you can wait if you like, but Mazda is in the business of making money: they KNOW that no one will buy a POS... do you think they're going to try their best to make this car as good as it can be, or not??

 

btw, i've always thought the Star was a rag :p heh heh heh

 

You would think the idiot who wrote this story -- Alex Law --would know better:

"Alex Law, is a former president of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada as well as a contributor to Car and Driver and Road & Track's Open Road magazine. He is also a jurist for the North American Car of the Year and International Car of the Century selection committees. "

Rotary is hardly "new technology" and his disdain for it is so apparent that his journalistic integrity is in question.

"Mazda's new rotary engine, which is, thankfully, an extremely small volume item"

"By all accounts, the Mazda Rotary has no advantages over many conventional engines"

"Don't get caught up in the excitement of something that's primary attraction is its novelty, and here, again, the Mazda RX8's rotary engine must be mentioned"

How does this guy get to be a jurist for NA Car of the Year? and whose payroll is he on?

 

I especially like this quote:

"Don't get caught up in the excitement of something that's primary attraction is its novelty, and here, again, the Mazda RX8's rotary engine must be mentioned."

I would guess, most of us interested in the RX-8 in part because of the rotary engine, aren't buying it because of the "novelty" of the rotary, but because through our experiences, and the experiences of others, we find the rotary to have characteristics and advantages (smoothness, size, power curve, whatever) that we appreciate. It also does happen to be a unique powerplant.

True, the car and engine incorporate some technologies that are fairly new, but are certainly not untested. Like wakeech says, Mazda (and Ford) aren't gonna release a car they feel would be a reliability risk. It's also probably true, the RX-8 is not the car for everybody, but I don't think it is trying to be.

I get the impression Alex Law is no expert. (I wanted to call him a weenie, but I don't know him personally)

 

Don't forget, there is a "Lemon Law" in America, and it applies to ALL cars, including the future RX-8.

There's no guarantee you won't get a lemon; but you are guaranteed resolution if you do.

 

there's no guarantee that you won't get a lemon. it could happen, that's why it's called a lemon. big deal, world isn't perfect. so you deal with it and move on. as for the article, by his accounts, everyone should drive a hyundai elantra. what does an M3 do that the elantra can't do? get to 60mph? elantra just takes a little more time. seat 4? probably equally spacious in both cars. his argument is from an economic stand point of view, which is valid, but only half the argument. hell, i bet car racing is a waste of time and money to him. what's the point of driving in circles? or driving in loops? or driving on unpaved roads? absolute madness!

 

Yeah... I am sure they will be testing the tires at least.

 

Umm.. weren't the rollovers caused by owners not using the correct tire pressure and when the blow out occured, they panicked and did not know how to control their big *** top heavy crappy handling suv, swearved onto the shoulder and rolled it?

In Canada we do not have the lemon law.. I hope the quality of the 8 is very good.

 

Having read the article I get the impression the author hates ANYTHING new in ANY car and would like us to return to the simplicity and reliability of equine transportation.

It seems he especially hates the RX-8 and rotaries with a passion (although he mentions his 'colleagues' don't agree with him). He is also against hybrids, 4WS, BMW i-drive, Mercedes COMMAND, and probably VSC, ABS , EBD, XM Radio, electric power steering and Xenons. A true luddite.

Anybodey got an e-mail address for the paper so we can tell them how the author is either stupid, incompetent or tragically uninformed?

 

Yeah, I wanted to write this guy a little note too, but I didn't see an address for comments.

Basically, I think this guy has a valid point, but he's taking it WAY too far with his examples. The rotary engine, after all, has been around for several decades...it's not like nobody's seen it before. While the side exhaust port layout is new and has a significant effect on performance/emissions/economy, it's hardly some baffeling scientific mystery that will keep mechanics scratching their heads. And as far as repairs are concerned, you shouldn't even need a rotary specific mechanic for anything other than engine block related repairs, like a rebuild for instance. The other (more common) repair and maintainance that will need to be done can be done by any boinger mechanic. The fuel system, cooling system, ignition system, suspension, brakes, steering, etc. are all the same as any other car. Most repairs should be easily addressed and should not cost any more than it would on a piston engine, unless the mechanic is milking you for money. "Oh, this is a rotary engined car?!? Well then, your brake job is going to cost double...we'll need to bring in our rotary specialist for this." Not likely.

 

No, as a matter of fact the problem was that consumers were inflating the tires to Ford's recommedation, Ford just recommened a lower tire pressure than Firestone so the ride would be smoother. As far as Ford not releasing anything that would be a reliability risk, is this new for them? Because I know that sure as hell wasn't their philosophy in the 80s and 90s.....

 

precisely my point, BigP... i too would like to write this f*ckin' mor... *ahem* gentleman a polite letter with bits and pieces of information amounting to a pretty sizeable arguement against all this "nay" he has "sayered" against the RX-8, and rotary engine in general.... let's look into this further, shall we??

 

i submitted a polite request for contact with Mr. Law to the webmaster... i'll let y'all know what i get back.

 

What exactly is so new about the rx-8? The side port rotary has been in testing in one form or another since about 92 or 93. Chances are there are no major hassles with that. The rx-8 itself has to have had one of the longest lead times in known history so they've had plenty of time to evaluate the durability of everything. As well as this all other non-engine mechanics and electronics have been on other mazda cars for years without getting a rep for being unreliable.

This sort of conservative "stay-at-home" attitude pisses me off. The car is hardly loaded to the eyeballs with technology so what is there to worry about? Maybe he bought a BMW 750 in the late 80's or something

-pete

 

Alex Law can be reached at

alexCAMS@aol.com.

 

how'd you find that out??
thanks... and i promise, i'll be polite.

 

wow, apparently, this Mr. Law is a moron.

I cant stand ppl that talk about stuff they know very little about, and especially cant stand it when they dont even know how to bullshit their views into something worthy of note.
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