I joined this forum in early September looking for an S2000 alternative with 4 seats. Today I placed a pre-order on a car I'd barely heard of 4 months ago from a company that I'd never considered purchasing from in my life.

Thanks and blame ;) must go to the following:

Boowana and Sputnik for the great show coverage.

Hercules, Wakeech, Buger, Toadman, PatrickB, BlueAdept, TallGuyLehigh, Zoom44, ZoomZoom, ZoomThis, ZoomThat and others for informative and entertaining threads.

Windahdah for keeping the wagon flame alive

Many others for incredibly detailed background on rotaries, Mazda history, insanely technical discussions etc.


I finally picked a 6MT + Grand Touring + Nav in red, with black/red leather (must have two-tone - hate tan) at MSRP. Hopefully I will like the red/red car better than others who have seen it in real life - the thousands of photos of this colour combination car have hypnotized me I think...

At least I managed to persuade the dealership to make my $1000 deposit refundable so if I hate the car (very unlikely I think) when I see one in 3 weeks time and finally drive one in June I can switch to my 'safe' backup of a G35c. In a few days I will get to see and hear a rotary for the first time in my life (the owner of my dealership has a pristine RX7) so I might finally experience the smoothness and sound that everyone has been raving about - I just love an engine that revs high matched to a sweet gearbox anyway.

Thanks again to all

:)

Congrats! I placed my order too, got it in black with the black/red interior, grand touring and NO nav :) (I don't think I'll ever use it aside to show it off hehe), at MSRP. I put a $500 deposit down a while ago so the dealer just credited it onto the paperwork and I was good to go.

And as for the help -- don't mention it. We are all (for the most part) enthusiastic about the car, its capabilities, and how it meets our needs and discussion about every aspect in it comes from sheer pleasure. Glad you got informed with the little information I can impart :)

1200+ posts is probably more than a little information (one would hope)!

You obviously haven't read any of the said 1200+ j/k Herc, happy rotoring!!

Herc, pelecidor congrats on the cars guys, I know that both of you will enjoy the ride!!!

Originally posted by pelucidor
In a few days I will get to see and hear a rotary for the first time in my life (the owner of my dealership has a pristine RX7)

you will love it, I ga-run-tee it :)

once you hear the rotary whine as the tach flys up to stratospheric level you'll never want to drive a piston engine car again!

Thanks Pelucidor,

I've enjoyed reading your posts too. My next car will be an rx-8 but I am trying to have enough self control until I can convince a dealer to sell me one on my S-plan.

Until then, I'll be jealous of you guys. :)

Brian

Pelucidor-

Congrats on the purchase! This weekend I will be trekking to my local dealership to talk deposit, ordering it, and $500 college refund. As for me, I am getting the titanium grey with the sport package, exactly what I want. Plus the cloth seats are the closest thing to a silver/black seat combo that I wanted from the get go.

As for barely hearing of it 4 months ago- join the club. I was considering the RSX, WRX, and G35c as car choices, but then I went back through old NY auto show pics and there she was in all her glory- the RX-8, I've been hooked ever since. :D
Plus there were too many unique elements to this car (rotary, four door) for me, a technical junkie, to avoid.

Happy Motoring!

Originally posted by tallguylehigh
As for barely hearing of it 4 months ago- join the club. I was considering the RSX, WRX, and G35c as car choices, but then I went back through old NY auto show pics and there she was in all her glory- the RX-8, I've been hooked ever since. :D
Plus there were too many unique elements to this car (rotary, four door) for me, a technical junkie, to avoid.
I considered those cars too but the WRX was odd-looking and not 'luxury' enough and the RSX was FWD and too much like the Integra I once had (damn good car but I want something different). The G35 Coupe is a great car (and looks fantastic to me, unlike the sedan) but it is still a 'normal' car in that many companies could have built something like it (perhaps not as affordably). If I really hate the RX-8 *blasphemy* then this is what I will get instead.

I too am drawn to the RX-8 for those unique 'technical' reasons - the elegant concept of a rotary engine, the rear swing doors, the internal packaging, the Miata-like gearshift, the high-tech and expensive hidden features such as the carbon-fibre reinforced one piece propshaft, LSD, electric steering assist, various safety features (traction, DSC, EBD, 6 airbags) etc.

I have printed out and begun reading the 160 page press release kit and there is some amazing stuff in this car - the 6MT SPORT is a STEAL at $27780. Even at $33100 fully loaded it is very good value for money.

I was floored at the pricing, especially when I compared it to cars that might be in competition. LSD standard? Not with the 350Z. All in all Mazda has made my day, heck after the introduction on the 7th I made a toast to them with my family before dinner. :D

By the by, thanks for the mention, I just post what's on my mind, I hope other people have the same thing on their mind, or better yet, an answer. :cool:

I'm just a poor student with a '79 RX-7, but I wouldn't trade it for all the RSX's in the world. The Wankel Rotary is a cult motor, once you own one, you will be permamently inducted into our secret society. There is nothing like having a buzzer as the only reminder that you are revving your engine at 7k plus. Even in a car that is a quarter century old, the legendary rotary smoothness is still there. Even though I will not be buying a RX-8, I am hoping it does well, because an all-new RX-7 will be the result, hopefully in something similar to the affordable RX-01 mold. Mazda has historically been known for cars that are fun to drive and affordable. The original RX-7 was $6,995 and blew the doors off the competition. It warms my heart to see the new RX-8 do the same.

thanks to you pelucidor for the mention and congrats on the car. i still need to finalize wiht my dealer but that should be fri. i hope we can be as entertaining and informative in the future as we have in the past. :D :cool: i'm going with the cloth seats and the touring package and i cant' believe what i am getting for the price, it is simply amazing, which is how i have felt about this car for three years.

Congrats on the purchases to all of you that ordered. I can't wait to here the real life reviews from actual non-magazine people. And I thank all of you for being my guinea pigs, since I am one of those people who refuse to buy any car until after the first year (regardless of the 'celebrity' factor)!:D Hopefully your cars are all perfect and problem free 'cause then it bodes well for my 2nd production year car!

I wish I could wait to the second year of production too for the same reasons (plus below MSRP pricing). My IS300 was the first one sold on the East Coast (got it a week before it was officially availble from Lexus on June 23rd 2000) - I was 3rd on the waiting list but my specific build came in first. I had fun parking it in front of BMW dealerships and emptying the building etc.

I was very happy until the 2002 model IS300 came out - major improvements to dash materials (biggest criticism), introduction of a 5MT and nav and full leather etc, and also 1 bug-fix (ECU update which everyone could get). I swore I would never buy a first year car again, but sadly I can't wait as my IS300 lease runs out in September.

i am going to hold off the ordering for at least a month, since I am planning to wait til sept/oct for delivery. I am going to turn 25 in August, so hopefully by then my insurance rate will be down to reasonable levels :)

Congrats on your downpayment. Until I graduate I'll be living my rotory dreams throughout each of you with rotorys.

Strider-

Originally posted by pelucidor
hidden features such as the carbon-fibre reinforced one piece propshaft,

keep reading pelucidor! thats not just reinforced, the whole thing is made of the stuff! if you get the 6mt that is;)