revhappy
12-07-2002, 03:39 PM
One of my biggest concerns about this car has been the amount of energy focused on rear passenger leg and headroom, etc.
The most obvious effect is the extended wheel base and roofline (with the shortened, higher angle rear window). While I was reading other car forum boards during the server crash (which made me really appreciate the quality of the posts on this forum!), the opinions on the looks of the car seem very mixed. A common opinion was that "it just looks a little odd" which seems to be mostly due to the extended wheel base and roofline (with the shortened, higher angle rear window). This is not a good thing in the world of sports cars where image is almost as important as performance! However, I think mazda's new aggressive styling of the car, may be in part to shift the attention of a person to the lines of the car and away from the "odd" part of it. It does seem that people who have seen the car in person have a better opinion on its looks.
My other and bigger concern will be the affect of this emphasis on performance. In engineering there are always compromises in designs and my fear is that this design will compromise performance. I cringe when I hear "rear passenger comfort", "ride quality", etc. The car's length is about roughly midway between the sporty coupes/hatchbacks (celica/rsx)/old rx7 and an M3 which is about the maximum I can accept (I can't stand long cars...I love being able to manuever the car easily). I am not happy with the suicide doors, I think their benefit (rear passenger ease of entry and exit) is not great enough to justify the extra cost (i.e. additional weight, looks, extra R&D), however, I guess they would make a convertible option more doable? There are many cars out there that are far less "sporty" that have two door designs with four door options (i.e. BMW 3 series, Acura CL and TL, G35, etc).
I will admit the idea of a 4 passenger sports car is interesting (most people used to equate that with sports sedan), but I do not think THIS rotary engine is the right choice (though it is a phenomenal powerplant for a roadster, cramped 2X2 design, etc). I just can't see this car feeling that sporty when it weighs 3800 lbs.
A lot has been said about mazda's use of rotaries in the future will depend on the success on this car, which I only think is partially correct. If this rotary was unreliable, I would agree with that (which I don't beleive should be a problem). This powerplant is amazing....its power and torque curves are very similar to honda's i-vtec, which is extremely successful. It may also be comptetive in terms of fuel efficiency based on some of the fuel economy estimates flying around. There is no way mazda would throw all of that R&D $ away if the RX8 was not a success because it failed as a new niche vehicle.
As you could probobly guess, I would have much preferred a sporty hatchback (i.e. celica/rsx w/ rwd of course!) or a 1st and 2nd generation rx7/80's 300zx design (i.e. 2 seats w/o back seat, but trunk connecting to the cockpit). I do not intend to carry people in the backseat except for emergencies (so if they want to ride back there..they know its not supposed to be comfortable!). My need for something back there as opposed to a roadster or a 350zx/3rd generation design is that most of my enthusiastic driving occurs when I go hiking (w/ my dog) and its also easier to store things when i occasionally need to. Unfortunately, RWD sporty hatchbacks like these seem to be mostly a thing of the past. Perhaps, the future rx7 will have this design...at least as an option. I think i heard someone on here mention at an auto show a mazda rep floated around the idea of like 8 designs being used off this chassis or the renesis?
I guess what it comes down to is how effectively mazda can minimize these inherent compromises. The enthusiast (i.e. myself and i imagine a lot of the readers on here) will not buy this car if it is not at least competetive with sports cars in its price range (i.e. 350zx and s2000). The family guy/girl..or young couple will have to feel its comfortable enough AND cool enough (looking and driving) to justify the purchase. It should be interesting to see how it ends up working.
The most obvious effect is the extended wheel base and roofline (with the shortened, higher angle rear window). While I was reading other car forum boards during the server crash (which made me really appreciate the quality of the posts on this forum!), the opinions on the looks of the car seem very mixed. A common opinion was that "it just looks a little odd" which seems to be mostly due to the extended wheel base and roofline (with the shortened, higher angle rear window). This is not a good thing in the world of sports cars where image is almost as important as performance! However, I think mazda's new aggressive styling of the car, may be in part to shift the attention of a person to the lines of the car and away from the "odd" part of it. It does seem that people who have seen the car in person have a better opinion on its looks.
My other and bigger concern will be the affect of this emphasis on performance. In engineering there are always compromises in designs and my fear is that this design will compromise performance. I cringe when I hear "rear passenger comfort", "ride quality", etc. The car's length is about roughly midway between the sporty coupes/hatchbacks (celica/rsx)/old rx7 and an M3 which is about the maximum I can accept (I can't stand long cars...I love being able to manuever the car easily). I am not happy with the suicide doors, I think their benefit (rear passenger ease of entry and exit) is not great enough to justify the extra cost (i.e. additional weight, looks, extra R&D), however, I guess they would make a convertible option more doable? There are many cars out there that are far less "sporty" that have two door designs with four door options (i.e. BMW 3 series, Acura CL and TL, G35, etc).
I will admit the idea of a 4 passenger sports car is interesting (most people used to equate that with sports sedan), but I do not think THIS rotary engine is the right choice (though it is a phenomenal powerplant for a roadster, cramped 2X2 design, etc). I just can't see this car feeling that sporty when it weighs 3800 lbs.
A lot has been said about mazda's use of rotaries in the future will depend on the success on this car, which I only think is partially correct. If this rotary was unreliable, I would agree with that (which I don't beleive should be a problem). This powerplant is amazing....its power and torque curves are very similar to honda's i-vtec, which is extremely successful. It may also be comptetive in terms of fuel efficiency based on some of the fuel economy estimates flying around. There is no way mazda would throw all of that R&D $ away if the RX8 was not a success because it failed as a new niche vehicle.
As you could probobly guess, I would have much preferred a sporty hatchback (i.e. celica/rsx w/ rwd of course!) or a 1st and 2nd generation rx7/80's 300zx design (i.e. 2 seats w/o back seat, but trunk connecting to the cockpit). I do not intend to carry people in the backseat except for emergencies (so if they want to ride back there..they know its not supposed to be comfortable!). My need for something back there as opposed to a roadster or a 350zx/3rd generation design is that most of my enthusiastic driving occurs when I go hiking (w/ my dog) and its also easier to store things when i occasionally need to. Unfortunately, RWD sporty hatchbacks like these seem to be mostly a thing of the past. Perhaps, the future rx7 will have this design...at least as an option. I think i heard someone on here mention at an auto show a mazda rep floated around the idea of like 8 designs being used off this chassis or the renesis?
I guess what it comes down to is how effectively mazda can minimize these inherent compromises. The enthusiast (i.e. myself and i imagine a lot of the readers on here) will not buy this car if it is not at least competetive with sports cars in its price range (i.e. 350zx and s2000). The family guy/girl..or young couple will have to feel its comfortable enough AND cool enough (looking and driving) to justify the purchase. It should be interesting to see how it ends up working.