It was really nice to meet you Vlad!

 

I want to say the same! I enjoyed meeting you guys, though I have been to a few SevenStocks, I missed the opportunity earlier.

Maybe we can do a RX8Club thing Sunday next year. I was too wiped in the evenings from driving from Az on Friday (through some pouring rain there too!), and from the day of SevenStock for Saturday night.

And if there is a new engine, all I ask that it fit in the 8! I am sure it will be better in any aspect we need it to be.

 

Awesome time. It was a nightmare trying to fly home since I'm standby but I just got in the door.

Two words: CALIFORNIA SUCKS!!!!!!

I damn near got in 2 fights with locals out there.

I'll post my impressions of what I saw and of those who I met later tonight. Fantastic turnout from forum members this year! At least 2 dozen.

Get used to the rotary. Quoting a Mazda program manager from the banquet, "the rotary engine is forever!". It doesn't get much more definitive than that! We also heard them saying things like "here's to another 40 years". Awesome!


Get used to the idea of a new rotary. You'll see it next month. It's what has already been stated. A 1.55 liter engine. We don't know much more than that but are speculating of course. As zoom44 said, it's internally being called the "long stroke" rotary engine. The rotary is alive and well and the next generation rotary sports car is coming!!!!!

 

damn RG, I looked for you but I didn't see you. (which means I wasn't one of the 2 locals...haha)

You'll have to share that story later

 

zoom44 mentioned direct injection... how definitive is that?

 

You weren't... I was witness to one via phone.

 

See guys. This is why you attend the banquets. RE forever !


Great to meat to Vlad, and good to see Zoom44, RG, and it's always fun to talk to Yamamoto-San.

 

Good To Meet you guys. Post up the locals story - LOL!!!

 

Speculation. All we know is that the engine exists and that we will see another rotary sports car hit the market in the future. We can only guess that it will be all aluminum and direct injection but we got no confirmation of that and no one even hinted at it. It would make sense though which is the source of speculation.

There was word that one car we saw from a distance at the R&D center infact had the engine but that is unsubstantiated. I heard from someone else who has seen that car up close that it still had a Renesis in it as little as a couple of weeks ago. Odds are it was still a Renesis.

Watch the Tokyo auto show next month.

 

RG: It was a pleasue meeting you, finally. Hope to see you, Brillo and Ajax next year.

 

nice seeing you guys again this year =D

 

Oh absolutely!
Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to shake your hand when you were leaving.

 

I started to list out everyone's names that I met this weekend but once the list reached 25 I decided just to say it was awesome meeting EVERYONE and that this forum has been a great place to become friends with some really nice people.

 

I thought I met all of the attending forum members. I guess I missed a few.

 

LOL - mean the sig line quote. I'm sure Ted loves that.

-hS

 

He doesn't like me anyways so I could really care less what he thinks about it.

 

I uploaded the photos from SevenStock X at my gallery.

 

Those 3 guys in the 4th picture look awfully familiar!

 

hymee on the left - is that you in the middle RG ? And who is it on the right ?

 

Hymee, RG and Ajax.

Ahh. RE-Ted.
I always thought RETed was short for retarded.

 

Impressions part 1:

I'd like to talk about some of the people from the forum who were out there. In years past there were many forum members that I wanted to meet up with but never got the chance to. There were a few this year too but I still found a way to meet about 2 dozen of our forum comrades.

I love this place! You type to people online all day everyday and discuss cars and yet you somehow get to know them. You chat ocassionally through PM's, bs in the lounge, etc... The really neat thing is that when everyone comes together at an event like SS and you meet these same people in person, it's almost like meeting old friends. The hardest part is not calling someone by their forum name! When everyone meets up there is the initial surprise and excitement when you learn who you are talking to and then it's just friendship. No animosity towards any prior online disagreements. Just friends hanging out. It's really cool. There are a few people that specifically stand out to me. By no means am I saying the rest of you guys aren't important. I just didn't hang out with everyone so I didn't really get to know all of you.

The usual suspects:

Ajax: I met Jon at SS7. He's is a really cool guy. He likes great beer which I can appreciate and is an all around great friend to have. Laid back but with a nice sense of humor. If you get the chance, hang out with this guy. He'll ban you if you don't!

Brillo: I met Alan at a local club meet after chatting here. No this isn't some story about online love! He's turned into one of my best friends and is my traveling buddy for yearly SS trips.

Zoom44: Met Charlie at SS7 also. He's just like his online personality. He, John, and Alan are pretty much who I have hung with at SS events.

Boostd7: It's Ryan. He's got a cigar and he'll kill you if he gets the chance. What more is there to know?! Definitely someone to meet.

Mazdamaniac: Jeff is just a plain riot to hang out with. When he stops through Houston, Brillo and I make every effort to take him out. Jeff is funny and has got lots of snappy responses. No there were no photo shoots in his hotel room and he doesn't have naked women swarming around him. At least not this time. Jeff is an experience in his own right. Once you meet him in person, you'll truly understand the wording of his posts. Lots of fun.

The new friends who I had the absolute pleasure of meeting:

rotorocks: He's a tall Russian named Vlad. What's cooler than that?! Nice guy. Cool, calm, and collected. Vlad is up for anything. His camera has got a great zoom lense which is very important when the women are around. Hang close to this guy! He's got to be one of the few people I've seen that are even crazier than the native California drivers!

shaunv74: Nice guy. Always smiles. Shaun wants to be right in the middle of it all. He wants to be a part of the action. Great to meet you and I hope to see you next year.

Charles Hill: What can I say about Charles? Ray as some of us call him, is a guy who's got ambition. He's taken past life lessons and has learned from them. He's got his **** straight. He's one of those guys lucky enough to have the opportunity to pursue a dream. He's dedicated and willing to quite literally go out of the way to help someone. 6000 miles is pretty far out of the way! I couldn't get out of town on Sunday. I called Ray up since he was still at the hotel. he was about to start taking off for Denver shortly and when he found out I was stranded there for 1 more day, he instantly changed his plans. He stayed and was basically my transportation. We ended up heading up to L.A. and got a hotel room next to L.A.X. I had to wake up at 4 am to catch my plane and he happily agreed to take me to the airport. He dropped me off and proceeded to begin his Denver trip immediately afterwards early in the morning. Ray I owe you for that. You are a part of a rare breed. Anyone who has met you and gotten to know you has had a blessing given to them for the honor of your friendship. I thank you for it.

rootski: I'm not sure what to say about this remarkable young man. 19 years old and more adventuresome than most. Travis is a student at the Airforce Academy in Colorado Springs. It's not as easy for him to leave as it is other students at non military schools. He knew he wanted to go to SSX though. It required him to ask permission far in advance just to leave for the weekend. That may not sound that hard to some. If that's not bad enough, as a military student, he doesn't exactly make a fortune. He bought his ticket and arranged for his hotel knowing full well that he knew no one out there. He didn't even know where everything was or how to get around since he can't get a rental car. Keep in mind that this is a huge financial dent. That's a pretty big risk for not knowing what's going to happen once you get off of the plane. He's the perfect person for a military position isn't he! When he PM'd me and asked a couple of questions about the event, I felt compelled to pick him up and show him around and we did.

(Yes he gets a 2nd paragraph!) For a 19 year old guy, he's level headed. Enthusiastic is a great word to describe Travis. He wants to see all. At SSX he was like a kid in a candy store. He made many friends out there and appeared to have a great time. It was an absolute pleasure hanging out with him and everyone needs to go out of their way to take care of him if you get a chance. We need more people like him and need to guard him well! Travis you are one bad *** **** and I'd be honored to hang with you again anytime. You've got a friend here.

Hymee: Mark is really cool. The accent rocks! You just want to start talking like him just to fit in. He's a very dedicated and detail oriented person. His supercharger is proof of that. You had to be there to really appreciate how much personal time and effort not to mention financial investment he's gone through to offer a bunch of enthusiasts like us a fantastic product. He even gave an hour seminar about modding the RX-8 from an Aussie point of view where he documented his trek to where he is currently. I hope he returns and has more time next time. He was so busy he really didn't go hang out much but that goes back to his dedication in what he does. He supports a family and still has time to pursue a hobby halfway around the world. I suspect his wife and kids are in good hands. Hymee, you're an awesome guy.

There are many others that I met out there but didn't hang out with long enough to really comment on so if you are one of them, don't feel bad. This trip while from a show standpoint wasn't quite what past events have been, was so much more rewarding to attend due to the people. All of you make it fun. I can't imagine another group of car enthusiasts that would be this fun to hang out with. You don't really realize or appreciate how many friends you have here until you actually get them all together in once place. I thank all of you and my life is better for knowing you.

To be continued...


BTW: California still sucks!

 

He he, and I dove an economy car. Imagine what I do with my boosted 8

Bastards, wouldn't even let me switch lanes with that slow *** Ford Focus I was driving.
I was following Charles and Fred in as we had to quickly switch a bunch of lanes in order to merge into this ramp on the left hand side and this ******* suddenly decided to accelerate to close the gap between cars, which I was aiming at... I was forced to come to a near stop while trying to dodge the divider, and then had to reenter the highway lane with cars moving at full speed from a 10MPH roll with no curb to accelerate from. And Ford Focus is so slow!!!

Yeah, California definitely sucks!

Women in LA are kinda sexy though! Although most of them are probably liberal tree huggers anyway , But then who cares? A nice *** is a nice *** regardless of social, political, or personal views

It was a pleasure to hang out with you, RG. And and the "Cute *****!" remark was a coincidence, and was said with the reference to the coastal architecture and landscaping.

 

Thanks, Fred. You're a great guy, and I had a blast hanging out with you. I look forward to seeing you and everyone else in the coming years. Everyone I met was really nice; I was a total stranger to everyone there but you all treated me like an old friend.

I won't go in depth like Fred, but there are a few people I'd like to thank:

It goes without saying I can't thank rotarygod enough. He looked out for me and made sure I had a great time, and he's a fun guy to be around. At SS12, the drinks are on me!

It was also great to meet Brillo and Ajax (Alan and Jon). Both were really great guys. Mazdamaniac, thanks for the ride in your car, it was a blast. I hope my 8 is as fast someday. Ray, I agree with everything Fred said about you. You're generous to the extreme and one of the most sensible guys I've met. Hymee, you're a real character and it was a treat to see your handiwork and your presentation. Vlad, thanks for the ride on Sunday. I looked through your pictures and it looks like you guys had fun sightseeing. I wish I could have ridden along. Shaun, it was great to meet you and your perpetual huge grin.

I had a great time and it really was awesome to meet everybody. I'm definitely hooked and I'll be back whenever I can get the clearance.

 

It was great to meet all you guys as well. I have to admit I was going more to just meet everyone in person and get to know the guys that represent the bulk of the knowledge on this board. Everyone was very friendly and inviting.

Special thanks to Zoom44 for playing host to Kris and I. Every where we went he introduced us to everyone and included us in the shenanigans (oh yes there were shenanigans).

It's actually weird coming down from this weekend. I can't just geek out for hours on end and talk rotaries with a bunch of guys with the same passion. I tried to show my wife the video footage of Hymee's supercharger and she just kinda glazed over and said "how much longer is it?"

Speaking of that I have some video of the SC while Hymee was giving a guided tour of it. I'll try to edit it this week and put it up on youtube so others can appreciate it.

 

Oh yeah, I just remembered, everyone congratulate Razz1 for winning runner-up for Best RX8!