At the risk of being labeled a whiner by others, let me ask how other RX8 owners feel about a couple of "creature comfort" items.....

1) I'm a big guy and enjoy having the drivers seat almost all the way back, but I find the cup holder still feels like it's behind me. I know cup holders aren't the essence of a sports car, but none the less, why is it so far aft? My wife rides with me, and sometime one of the kids. When this happens my wife scoots her seat forward to give the rear passenger more space. She says the cup holder is really awkward for her. Do others find the same?

2) With regard to the fancy/smancy Bose audio system, I find the volume setting are not fine enough.... for me volume setting 3 is too low and setting 4 is too high. The Ford econobox I rented from Hertz last week on business had a better volume control with much more variability. What's up with this stereo? Am I the only one finding this little annoyance?

Again, I know stereo volume control and cup holders don't make a sports car, but are other people finding these little quirks annoying too?

I think the front cup holder position is pretty bad.

However, since all I drink in my car is cold bottled water (sport cap) it's a non-isue for me :D

In the RX8 Lemonaide thread you were selling your car back.

Lets see cup holders are tough to use and volume between 3 and 4 doesn't quite seem right.

With these kinds of extremely critical needs, why did you ever preorder a car you had never sat in or seen.

I hope you find what your looking for in a car before you buy it next time. How many months of disgruntled ownership post will we have to indure for your short-sightedness.

I think a thank you Mazda would be in order for having a very opportune buy back for such a picky yet impulsives buyers as yourself.

I didn't answer your pole. Like my opinion on the cup holders will change your point of view. Your giving your car back, this whole nightmare will soon be over for you.

you're right Chuck Clifford, I am selling it back, and I am appreciative of the "opportunity." Unfortunately now I'm driving a car worrying about damaging it or doing something that impacts my "right" to sell it back.... the process seems cumbersome and slow, but I'm sure Mazda is doing the best they know how....

Regarding my comments about cupholders and volume control, these are little things that do influence one's decision to buy a car, and if enough people complain the 2005 model will have them fixed.... then maybe I'll buy another one?
:)

Best of luck with your next purchase. You might not be as lucky next time. Let us know what eventually made you happy. I will truly be interested to know. Chuck

I gotta side with Chuck on this one. You're turning the car in for heaven's sake, so give the cupholders a break. If the interval between volume 3&4 troubles you, then I seriously doubt Mazda can ever get it "right" enough in 05 or any other year to make it "good enough" for you.

Like many others I had my litany of whines before the power issue emerged (interior mirror too large, cycling a/c, funny clicks and whirs, etc.) When they made the buyback offer, I had to do some serious soul-seaching... Did these things really matter or are they just fluff. The "missing" hp is a total non-issue to me, so I wouldn't return the car for that reason.

On balance, the only thing I decided I cared about was the poor gas mileage (I was getting 15.something back then) and decided on that basis I would decide whether to return the car. Since then mileage has crept up to 18 and I believe it will go higher. I now consider myself officially "pleased" with the RX-8 and whining no more. In fact, that's when I started the thread on The Little Things (http://www.rx8forum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9437) to document all the things we really like about this car.

Any car is a collection of trade-offs, and a sports car probably more so than any other. You trade off 8-way power passenger seat to keep cost and weight down. You slide back cup holders so you can put the nav controls at your fingertips. You trade gas mileage for performance. You trade off headroom for a moonroof. If you want a car with "everything" (except gas mileage) get a full-size SUV. If you want a sports car, accept its quirkiness as part of its character and charm, or just turn it in and stop griping.

Just like your post, this is entirely "my humble opinion." And I did not respond to the poll.

If cup holders are one of the "little things" that are the deciding factor about your purchasing a vehicle, than you are indeed insane.

Why don't you take a trip down to your local auto store and buy a cup holder that goes into your window for $3.00. Then your nightmare will be over, and we can avoid stupid useless polls like this one.

not answering your poll either but i do have a suggestion on the stereo volume. fade it to the back speakers a little and then 4 won't seem so loud to you.

If you were one of my employees I would say "Where else would you suggest we put the cupholders?" I can't see a better place to put them that wouldn't interfere with driving the car -- I am sure that was Mazda's primary focus.

To be honest with you the cupholder position doesn't really bother me -- in fact I usually use the rear seat cup holders because I don't want anything liquid close to my stick shift or console.

If you have ever owned a European car you would think the 8's cupholders were incredible :D I think we get a little spoiled with the American cars with 16 cupholders that can all hold a super big gulp cup.

Don't really care about the cupholders. Neither I nor any of my passengers drink, eat or smoke in my car. The only vice allowed is sex, but since I'm married that's a non-issue. :(

I agree with the volume control issue. Fortunately the only time it becomes an issue is when I have passengers. When I'm alone volume is a 9 to 10. I think the problem may be due to the linearity of the volume control. Old-style manual volume controls were not linear. I suspect the Bose unit may be. No empirical data, just a feeling.

Dave

I dont drink,eat or smoke in my rx8

My MX-6 has a slide-out cup holder for the driver. It's to the left of the steering wheel. When I first noticed it, I thought to myself, "man, what a useless cup holder, it's gotta be in the way of the steering wheel when you're using it."

Wrong. I use the car every workday, 76 miles round-trip, across Columbia, 38 miles one-way takes me 38 minutes. I use this cup holder for my coffee every time. I love it. My coffee never gets in the way, but it's right there when I want to grab it. When I am not using the holder, it slides in & locks, flush to the surrounding dashboard nicely. I wish Mazda would have taken it & put it into the RX-8. The cup holders for the passenger are in the same place as the RX-8 by the way, under the center console lid.

My point is:
Don't knock it until you give it a chance. It isn't automatically a poor design just because you've never had cup holders like this in any of your other cars. This point is otherwise known as "resistance to change".

About the volume thing, I didn't know mine had a radio. Is that a standard feature? :confused:

Oh yeah! Now I remember. I used it once, but the audiopilot kept changing the volume all up & down so I couldn't hear my rotary engine. Depends what kind of "music" you prefer listening to while driving I guess...

ps: I didn't vote. ---- None of the above---

My complaint is that the cup holder is in way of the shifter if you have a tall water bottle in it. I can't find a better spot for it so I guess it is better than nothing.

Try turning off the Audio Pilot on the Bose system. It seems to distort the sound and messes up the volume.