I just got back from southern California. (Chino/Onterio area)
I was there for a week, (which sucked being away from my new "baby" for that length of time! ) OK, on to the point...

Even with a trip into Hollyweird with my sister to see the Hollywood sign and all that jazz, I didn't see ONE RX-8!!!!
I know these cars are kind of rare and exclusive, but it sucked to not be able to say, "Hey, that's my car..." to my family out there.

So, I must ask, Where were you all last week????

 

You can find my RX-8 tearing up the streets of H-Wood... you gotta be able to find it at night though...

 

Geez, RX-8s are as thick as ants at a picnic out here... I'm amazed you didn't see even one. We did have some wet weather at the beginning of the week, though, so maybe everyone had their babies in the garage.

 

Should be plenty of us out here although I typically see Grey and Silver ones, rarely any other colors.

 

One thing you gotta learn too, is that in LA, people drive cars for show. People will buy the base model of the flashiest car they can afford or will get the most souped-up auto-transmission car they can make payments on.

The 8 comes best in the manny and few people out here want to drive a real driver's car. That's why the 350Z/G35 is so popular out here; it looks fast, is affordable enough to posers and you can get the auto so all you have to do is gas & go. That adds up to the 8 being pretty rare, considering the popularity of ~$30K RWD cars. S2K's might be even more scarce.

I estimate the popularity of cars based on how many I see per time spent on the road and the 8s don't come around that often. I spend about 6 hours or so a week on the road and I probably see about 2 8's a week on average. On the other hand, I see about 3 or 4 Z's every day and the same with G35's.

I definitely enjoy having the 8 around here b/c they have the roads to use it, the weather to keep it clean, and I don't have to look over in the next lane and see some loser 45yr old sugar daddy trying to impress some dum dum 23 yr old golddigger (that's what the Porsche triptronics are for). Despite the fact that I see SL55s and 911s and Bentley GTs pretty often (not to mention the fact that I trip over Benzes and BMWs when I get up in the middle of the night to take a ****) it's pretty cool that I still get compliments on my $30K sports car that doesn't even have a luxury nameplate.

 

Hehehe... I should also say... when I'm talking about "LA", i'm talking about the wannabe-laden smoke & mirrors west side (Hollywood, Westwood, Brentwood, B. Hills, etc). I know there are some real drivers out here somewhere... just not my neck of the woods...

 

The other reason is because Mazda isn't the top brand name car manufacturer out here. So limited dealership, plus the fact that it's a high gas guzzling car in LA traffic driving, not many people would want to go for a car like this. S2Ks are pretty common. Go to Alhambra/Monterey Park. I see at least 5 to 10 per day driving through there. It all depends on the area you are driving through. Go to OC, you will see lots of 8s. Go to any "Asian" community area like Alhambra/San Gabriel/Arcadia, you will see lots of imports. Go to City of Industry, you will see fixed up imports. Hollywood/LA area isn't really known to be the Import capital around here. Neither is Ontario.

If you wanted to see Ferrari's/Porsches go to Newport Beach/Laguna.. you will see at least 4-6 of those pass you by a day at least.

 

Well, Hollywood is flooded with imports. They just tend to have a much higher German (and British) portion than those other areas. Seriously, dude... I trip over Benzes and Beemers... and I picked a Boxter out of my pubes this morning in the shower. :D Oh yeah... and the Gas Guzzler theory doesn't seem to hold for me considering the number of luxury sport sedans and SUVs and Pickups which are all rated with comparable gas mileage.

 

Thanks guys, I was just wondering... I didn't even see any on the 10 or the 60 on our way home, which REALLY surprised me the most.

I did see quite a few high end BM|Ws (a really sweet new 6 series just about ran us over, ha ha)
I joked to my Dad that we brought the cold, wet weather out to them. I was amused by them saying how cold it was, and I was walking around without a jacket most of the week. I was actually hot Saturday. I don't think I'll be visiting there in the Summer months.

 

Hey, I resemble that! :p

Actually, I'm seeing quite a few west of the 405 freeway these days, and actually ran into two other 8's at the same intersection on Santa Monica Blvd. a few days ago. We just nodded, all-knowing in our confidence and obviously high I.Q.'s.

 

It does hold up still because the RX-8 is only a 25k+ car that guzzles as much gas as a Euro Sports car. The people that you describe chose to get Porsches/M3s/etc over the RX-8. Personally I would too, if not for the fact that I already own a Benz and G35.

If you had the income to buy a Ferrari for instance, and you choose the RX-8 for the heck of it, great... but most people that CAN afford the Ferrari/Porsche/M3 already bought those over the 8. I would.

 

I have a ferrari and I bought an 8, what does that make me?

 

When I was in Hollywood/LA this summer, I seen a couple of 8's on the road and a ton at Sevenstock!

Tons of 350z and g35's. The rest of the cars were all Mercedes. I almost tripped over a few on the way back to the hotel!

 

i have a bentley continental, a GT2 oh **** wait a minute...i was still dreaming this morning..doh!!!

 

I see about 1 or 2 a day if I am lucky. I see about 5-10 350Z's. I'm glad, and that is one of the reasons I bought the 8. It's a little more exclusive.

 

Well I am always tearing up the streets of Los Angeles (and I am also a West L.A. girl).

One reason I got my 8 is because I was sick of seeing the same damn Beamer, the same dam 350Z, the same damn Mercedes. I love my 8 because its UNIQUE. Everyone thinks its a different car, everyone stares at it even in shallow L.A. where everyone drives cars worth 6 figures. Its nice to have a car that is rare on the road rather than the same boring crap. And mine's a winning blue, too.

Oh, and I HATE Hummers in L.A. I HATE them.

 

Hmmm... don't think I've seen you around... so far I've seen Black, Red, Gray, Yellow & Silver out here but never Blue. I'll keep an eye out though...

 

Whereabouts on the Westside are you? I've seen a blue one or two driven by women on Wilshire Boulevard around the border with Santa Monica--wonder if you were one of them.

By the way, I hate Hummers, too, especially when the try to park anywhere near my 8!

 

Cars in LA... yeah, BMW's are like the Buick of Beverly Hills. 3 series are everywhere, soccer mom's drive alone in giant SUV's while talking on the cel phones and nearly running me over in my 8.

8's are much less common than Z's, G35's, Audi's, Bimmers, etc.

By the way, I did get the Auto-8, because you never know when you're going to get stuck in traffic. I'm not that good with stick anyway but I have to say, I should've got the 6MT for the 8.

 

That might be me! I am always driving to SM (esp. for the beach). But my 8 is fairly new and plain, as I haven't had time or money to sex her up. So you won't be able to tell which is mine especially since I removed my only decoration (a forlon KERRY/EDWARDS bumper sticker on the rear window). I am saving for Fender Strakes. Those look cool.

Hummers are evil, as are the aforementioned soccer moms driving giant SUV's while yapping on their cell phones. Especially the Beverly Hills slow-*** drivers. I think every car in Beverly Hills insists on driving 15 miles an hour. And I always have to cut through BH (unless I take the freeway) to get to Hollywood. Road rage is not pretty.

 

I'm always in yorba linda
anaheim hills
huntington beach

 

hmm I see a yellow RX8 every time I look out my window :D and I see at least half a dozen different ones almost every day. mostly on weekdays, on weeekends not so many.

 

Yep and I saw you ast week in the Rain on the 55.

Sure was a bright yellow!

 

yeah my car sure does stick out, thats what i like about it. everybody who sees me knows it is me. I can't rememebr when I have spent so much time washing/waxing a car like this one. talk about pride in ownership.