pengaru

I checked one out in north carolina this week while I was picking up some shifter bushings, it didnt seem very interesting... and they wouldnt let us test drive it, as if it's something special....



Is it just me or does it make absolutely no sense at all to not have a spare tire in a 'sporty grocery getter' ? Yeah, I didnt get it either, it has no spare tire, just a can of fix a flat. Last time I was in a car that got a flat, the sidewall shredded (on highway), what the hell is fixaflat going to do for you there? The dealer told me they were saving weight by not including a spare tire, then I go to look at the jack and it's steel (!?), so they ditch the tire to save weight, but use a steel jack, why not aluminum jack? Ah, yes, they werent saving weight, it was about counting beans. I think the car sucks.

94touring

Fix a flat for a spare huh? Does mazda think this thing is a Z06?

Joe Flo

Haha...yeah they wouldnt let me test drive it either. Im not even 19 though. However the other mazda dealer let me take home an MS protege.



I did look at the trunk but didnt realize it didnt have a spare. Although I thought it had a big trunk I dont think their is enough room to put the amount of groceries my mom buys and it is just her and I living in the house! It was just an improvement from previous Rotary cars.

ccarlisi

It looks (inside and out) like a japanese pontiac. To make matters worse I have yet to hear about anyone achieving Mazda's claimed output on a dyno. Someone on the RX8 list put down a whopping 173 rwhp at Pettit and another member posted a sheet with a max of 182rwhp. There is no indication that the ports were stuck on either car. That should equate to around 205fwhp. Where did the other 40 go???? That's 20% OFF the factory claim. What a joke. As if 250 with no torque wasn't bad enough already. Granted, the car putting down 173 only had 600 miles on it, but I doubt it will make up the gap as it ages.



It does not handle better than the RX7 by the numbers



The WRX STI and the EVO are both more practical; no gay little marketing driven rear doors, better gas mileage, and 4 wheel drive. The Evo and the STI are also a whole lot faster.



As is clear, it's not my bag. We all have different taste, I'm glad some people like it.

j9fd3s

yeah i really like it but i want to sawzall the rear doors out, they just look bad imo

Aeromotive Rotorhead

Hey Pengaru, did you ask a rep at the dealership for an RX-8 brochure? Cool reading, which included a "minor" detail: The spare tire is an "optional accessory." Yeah, I think that's cheapass. But Mazda wants to sell the car to 40-somethings who had SA22's and FC's back in the day. That kind of driver is almost definitely gonna get a spare. And if Mazda can get away with charging a few extra bucks for the privelige, well, more power to 'em I guess. Not like there's anything else I can do.



I don't like the idea of "optional" safety equipment, but it's not likely that I'm gonna let that deter me from getting one. Living in the rust belt, I can't just get an older car, even an FD, and expect it to last more than about 2-3 years, tops, when I can't afford a separate winter car. And all the Mazda reps I talked to have been saying that the possible new RX-7 is beyond their horizon--they want to sell 40 000 RX-8s a year, like Mike said. I guess the best we can hope for is a Mazdaspeed RX-8 in a couple of years. At least the current RX-8 is one of those fun-to-drive cornering machines. Won't replace speed+cornering, but if I gotta choose between the two, I'll take cornering any day.

Eric Happy Meal

either way you have to pay for it. they didnt have it standard to keep the price of it down to make it more appealing to young folk.

pengaru

and the steel jack is lame, and nobody has explained if the spare tire you do get is steel or aluminum, most people are going to want that option, how much weight is it going to add?

Cheers!

we can all thank FORD for this.

YellowT2

Why would the car even come with a jack of there is no spare?