Recieved a letter this morning from Mazda Warrington.

Inside was an invitation to collect my 192 page Mazda RX-8 hardback book which was waiting for mat at the dealers.

Also it mentions that there will be articles posted on the UK RX-8 site but the Japan trip winners and their impressions of the test drives they took. It also states the site has been updated with the whereabouts of the cars over the next few months, including some potential events that have not as yet been confirmed.

The last paragraph states that you will be contacted soon with an update on the delivery of your car.!

I dropped by my dealer this morning and picked my copy of the book up.

Very nicely put together it is too.

Something like this... ? (from the RX-8 website)

Here’s where you can see the RX-8 over the next few months. See you there!

HSBC Track Day 20 May CH&L event
SMMT Test Day 22 May Press event
Motordrive Live 24 - 27 May Retail event (Millbrook)
Docklands Motor Show 2 - 8 June Retail event (Canary Wharf)
Formula Woman Test Day 11 June
MX-5 Owner's Club Rally 14 - 15 June Retail event
Company Car in Action 24 - 27 June Fleet event (Millbrook)
Goodwood Festival of Speed 11 - 13 June Retail event - TBC



I'm already going to Motordrive Live and the Motor Show. Anyone else from here going?


-andy-

Going to MotorDrive Monday AM..

So out of the 3 'retail'events:

One is just N of london
One is in c.london.
One is right on the S coast.

Cool. Just what i wanted , a 200mile + drive to just look at one...

Anyone know if one of the others is open to the public and north of the M4?

Do all pre-orderers get a book ? Or is it something your dealer has sorted out for you ?

i.e. was the letter actually from your dealer of from MazdaUk centrally ?

Morgan.

My dealer said it was for the first 1000...one for me then:D

Do we know how many have been taken so far n the uk? Cant believe it is much more than 1000....?

Hoping I am in that for April order...

Originally posted by morganrogers
Do all pre-orderers get a book ? Or is it something your dealer has sorted out for you ?

i.e. was the letter actually from your dealer of from MazdaUk centrally ?

Morgan.

The letter is from mazda UK. My dealer only knew about it when I asked him for my book this morning, and he went and found two large boxes had been delivered.

He must have had 15-20 copies.

Each one is individually assigned to a pre-orderer (your name is on the outer cardboard sleeve), so they have no spares.

If you haven't had the letter by tomorrow, try ringing your dealer anyway.

jimbobjoe - get scanning!!

M1RX8 - I am Hertfordshire - Out of interest who is your dealer ?
Mine is Milcars st.Albans....

Will be calling them this afternoon !

Morgan.

I called my dealer and he knew nothing about it (even though he has an RX-8 on order for his wife allegedly) so it'll be interesting to see if I have a letter when I get home from work.

morganrogers - Hi, I ordered mine thru Beaconsfield Mazda, have used them for years. They have been told to expect a demo arriving -late june, early july.

I have booked the sat morning slot for Motordrivelive.

I will also be going to the Motorexpo at Canary Wharf.

Shahpor

Originally posted by shahpor
I have booked the sat morning slot for Motordrivelive.

I will also be going to the Motorexpo at Canary Wharf.

Shahpor

That should read Motordrivelive.

For some reason it won't let me edit my quote to change it :confused:

Shahpor

Great, now it changes! :)

Still at least this is helping my post count :)

Shahpor

Just asked Rob at TW Whites about the book, and he knows nothing about it.... He's going to check for me.

Let me know if you hear anything, Ed. Would like to go get my copy too!

Which T W Whites branch are you using? My local is Bookham...


-andy-

Just spoke to my dealer (thank you Brooklyn), who states my book is ready for pick up.:)

Weybridge... Rob is good, although he has to conceed I often know more than him!

Aha! I had indeed received the letter when I got home. I phoned my dealer and he is asking the parts department whether the book has been delivered to them as that might explain its absence. Looks like, against all known probability, Mazda UK are getting some kind of an act together. Also, I'm pleased because this confirms that my order is one of the first 1000 (ordered March 5th but changed my colour after that) and that I should be in with a chance of getting one of the early deliveries. Now if my dealership hasn't lost the book... ;-)

just picked up my book, looks great.....performance figures abit disapointing

Originally posted by ccrx-8
performance figures abit disapointing

Why?

Because it claims that the European high power will do

0-62mph - 6.8sec
Top speed - 148mph

That is a lot slower than I have read from some of the reviews.

However I would not be too disappointed as I have noticed that most manufacturers are conservative when it comes to quoting performance figures.

Shahpor

Originally posted by shahpor
Because it claims that the European high power will do

0-62mph - 6.8sec
Top speed - 148mph

That is a lot slower than I have read from some of the reviews.

However I would not be too disappointed as I have noticed that most manufacturers are conservative when it comes to quoting performance figures.

Shahpor

It's always been the case that our version will be slower than the US version because of the 10hp power drop. Whether that would make those figures valid is a good question. However, the US tests with the tertiary port stuck got better results than that and that stuck port would effectively drop a US car down to Euro spec.

Got my letter tonight, will go and pick up my book tomorrow.

Things are finally looking up from Mazda, got my welcome pack on Monday and now this letter on Thursday.

0-62mph - 6.8sec

Im not obsessed with 0-60 figures, but on paper this is a bit dissappointing after what we have seen so far. Even UK mags like Evo and Autocar have been quoting around 6.0.

At the end of the day it will depend how the car drives and feels, and in gear times are more important. Im just a bit concerned that it will feel a bit slow coming from a car that has a 0-60 quoted of 5.2.

Originally posted by MarkW
Even UK mags like Evo and Autocar have been quoting around 6.0.

They will all have tested the pre-production 250bhp cars. No one has tested a Euro car yet. It's pleasing that you've finally got your welcome pack. Not before time!

Cheers Lensman, much happier now :D

Im just surprised 10 bhp makes 0.8 sec difference, seems a hell of a lot to me.

Originally posted by MarkW
Im just surprised 10 bhp makes 0.8 sec difference, seems a hell of a lot to me.

Well there's my other point too. They were in the 250bhp car but allegedly it had a stuck port so it should be more Euro like. Either way the numbers don't seem to add up. We desperately need an independant review. I can't see why Mazda would artificially slow the car's performance figures: they'll sell more the faster it goes surely.

got my letter tonight...will be on the phone first thing in the morning to arange collection

Disappointed with 0-60 also....

Expected the RX to be quicker than my integraR - and this is (albeit maginally) slower !
Ah well - it is still quick and that rotary sweetness has been missing in my life for too long.

For those who care - I make the fuel consumption 24.3-25.0mpg worked out from their l/100km figs.

Been out swimming on the golf course all day and just arrived home to find my letter. Will contact dealer tomorrow.

0-60 = 6.8!!!

Think I'll have to cancel and order something more sporty!!!;)

Cheers
Oilman

Originally posted by oilman
Think I'll have to cancel and order something more sporty!!!;)

I can't tell how serious you are because of the emoticon. How serious are you? It's definately spoiled MY night and downright weird. I know that 1 second is hardly a major speed decrease but I always wanted a sub 6 second car and the RX-8 seemed to promise that (given the clutch drop of Doom). It always seems one step forward, two backwards with this project. Someone cheer me up if you can please.

Originally posted by oilman
0-60 = 6.8!!!

Think I'll have to cancel and order something more sporty!!!;)
I thought the 6.8 was for 0-62 mph.

CHEER UP ALREADY. The cars tested at Laguna were Euro Spec/Jspec. And you did not hear any reviewer complaining then.

Originally posted by Puppy1
I thought the 6.8 was for 0-62 mph.

CHEER UP ALREADY. The cars tested at Laguna were Euro Spec/Jspec. And you did not hear any reviewer complaining then.

Yes but surely that last 2 mph can't take a whole second ;-)

Don't mind me, I'm just freaking out. I'm hanging on the fence between a 350Z and an RX-8 and I need a clear winner. Every time that appears to be the case something happens to level the field and I'm left wondering again... Aaarggghhh!!!

Originally posted by Edo
Weybridge... Rob is good, although he has to conceed I often know more than him!

Edo when did you order and what's your EP number?
I ordered from T W Whites Weybridge in January and got EP719

Originally posted by Edo
Do we know how many have been taken so far n the uk? Cant believe it is much more than 1000....?

Hoping I am in that for April order...

Hi Ed,

l have one unconfirmed report a few days ago that there are orders in for 2400 of the 3500
due in Britain this year !

But yesterday l also had one of our members on the phone,
real unhappy saying Mazda had just rung him direct to say the first batch will not be in the country as soon as they expected
so he may not even receive his car now till October !!!!!! and l know he was one of the first because l went with him .

Which l am puzzled about because l thought this time these cars were going to be released
virtually simultaneously but as you can see on our site RE Amemiya already have a production version
and are playing with it !

clive@mazdarotaryclub.com
www.mazdarotaryclub.com

Clive -

Went to my dealer yesterday and had quite a good chat.
He feels a bit 'out-of-the-loop' and gets no updates from MazdaUK.
He did not know the books we all received were arriving , and has had no updates on delivery dates or anything from MazdaUK.

It does seem odd that Mazda are ignoring their dealers and phoning one of your members to give them news on delays !
I am not doubting it happened but it does seem odd behaviour.
That said , it does tie in with some posts on the main forum with concerned yanks talking about 2 month delays...

On the upside , the letter I had yesterday does say that next time Mazda contact me , it will be with delivery details. Guess we will just have to wait and see. Last I heard from Mazda helpline was the unnofficial date of launch was aimed at 31st July.

Morgan.

Dont have a number yet - or any correspondence from Mazda UK. 2400!! So they have a nice £2,400,000 in deposits - nice interest earning on that...

Re 0-60 times - I spotted the following in the recent US 'Car and Driver' test report:

'To get the most out of this car, you must be willing to use its 9000-rpm redline and maybe even the 500 additional rpm to the engine's rev limiter. As usual with rotaries, that's no hardship. The engine gains rpm so smoothly and freely that a tone sounds at 8500 rpm to warn you that the redline is approaching.

'With the help of an 8000-rpm clutch drop and the engine buzzing like a flock of angry hornets, the RX-8 scooted to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 96 mph.'

Accept it's not a Euro spec car but I don't think they're going to be dramatically different.

See here (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=4346&page_number=5).

So we got a book and a very nice book at that. But so what? Where is the car Mazda?

When in my dealership I asked about test drives etc. and was told that it was possible that their test cars wouldnt arrive until the same time as the first orders (July)although there was the possiblility of getting some mid-June. Go figure. Who would by a new car other than a BM, Merc, porsche without driving it.

So what are Mazda up to? Who knows? Tempted to write to them - their marketing dept needs a kick up the proverbial - a first year marketing student could do better.

Ahh... feel better now..off to drive a different RX - the 300 by Lexus so who knows may cancel depite my very low EP...

BK

I'm afraid Clive is right!!

My Dealer has a letter from Mazda Uk.

Quote:

"Expected delivery of Customers vehicles (1062 pre-orders) will be built JULY, 36 days shipping. Registration SEPTEMBER."

Sorry guys, SEPTEMBER it is so forget JULY!

Hope to see sight of this letter today which also mentions the dimensions etc of the car.

Cheers
Oilman

So only 1000 pre-ordered out of 3500?

Know when the letter was dated?

Originally posted by black knight
So we got a book and a very nice book at that. But so what? Where is the car Mazda?

When in my dealership I asked about test drives etc. and was told that it was possible that their test cars wouldnt arrive until the same time as the first orders (July)although there was the possiblility of getting some mid-June. Go figure. Who would by a new car other than a BM, Merc, porsche without driving it.
BK


I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't so much Mazda UKs problem as it is Mazda Corporate (or Mazda Japan.. whomever). The car has only just started reaching customers in Japan. The UK cars are on the way, but they cannot get them any quicker than the factory can produce them and/or will let them have them.

I believe the first batch of cars are all dealership demonstrators (or certainly the dealers will get their cars before any customers). This is the reason why initial customers are having their cars delayed, since the first delivery to the UK is in July and these cars are all going to the dealerships as demos.

Additionally I can understand why, this being the case, the Mazda PR machine is holding back. What is the point in pushing a car that Joe Public cannot see/drive/order (your everday customer isn't going to put money down on a car he's never seen) for another 2 months. By the time they get a chance to look at one properly they'll have bought something else. No one likes to wait (look at the state of us lot! :p) and if you hit the public with all sorts of advertising and promotion now, it'll lose it's impact if they cannot book a test drive tomorrow, and put a deposit down the same afternoon.

Anyway, that's enough rambling. You see where I'm coming from I expect... :)


-andy-

Originally posted by black knight
So we got a book and a very nice book at that. But so what? Where is the car Mazda?

When in my dealership I asked about test drives etc. and was told that it was possible that their test cars wouldnt arrive until the same time as the first orders (July)although there was the possiblility of getting some mid-June. Go figure. Who would by a new car other than a BM, Merc, porsche without driving it.

So what are Mazda up to? Who knows? Tempted to write to them - their marketing dept needs a kick up the proverbial - a first year marketing student could do better.

Ahh... feel better now..off to drive a different RX - the 300 by Lexus so who knows may cancel depite my very low EP...

BK

It was made very clear from the outset that this is such a new car that no UK driveable cars would be available prior to launch. All the first UK cars are allocated directly to customers. The first car my dealership gets is the one I drive away in.

Was that not made clear to you before ?

They could have delayed the first deliveries to customers, so that dealers get test cars first, but I don't want to wait for that. If you do, that's fine.

Sure the marketing department is often rubbish (but I do like the book), but even the best marketing department in the world cannot give you a test drive in a car that doesn't exist yet.

Oh, and welcome to the forums
:D

Originally posted by RobDickinson
So only 1000 pre-ordered out of 3500?

Know when the letter was dated?

First production batch is 1000. The next batch follows couple of months after.

Funny, my dealer had heard nothing of any delays. But they aren't exactly being kept in the loop.

Regarding the 0-60 times. First off, don't know why manufacturers provide slow times but some defintely do, so I wouldn't take what you read in the book for granted.

Secondly, the time is to 62 and not 60mph. It may not seem like much, but I have noticed that some cars are upto 4/10th's of a second slower to 62 than to 60.

I get the feeling that the car will be faster than it is quoted, otherwise the other stat's (like weight, power) would not add up.

Also, I don't think that 10hp will make the car almost a second slower, so I would think that the actual time will be much closer to the tested time then the one quoted in the book.

Shahpor

Getting back on subject, why are the books not being hand delivered to our homes, they have the information? Nice having a book but does little to reverse the tide of negativity.

rael

Originally posted by jimbobjoe


It was made very clear from the outset that this is such a new car that no UK driveable cars would be available prior to launch. All the first UK cars are allocated directly to customers. The first car my dealership gets is the one I drive away in.

Was that not made clear to you before ?




Interesting... I've been told exactly the *opposite*. The first batch (125 or so?) of cars are going to the dealers (who also have all been told to spec Velocity Red). This is why the first customer cars are being delayed (as per continuing reports on here).


-andy-

OK, been to my dealership (for the first time as I'm a web orderer) and got my book. It's quite nice but nothing amazing. I'm pleased that Mazda showed willing though. My dealer seems very personable and pleasant.
I saw the colour swatches for the first time too and there was a Tit grey Mazda-6 on the forecourt. Even in the rain it looked really good. The blue colour is MUCH darker than I expected and will look wonderful if the body shape suits it (and I'm doubtful). Velocity red is very nice too and also darker than I expected, it will look classy.
My dealer stated that they will acquire a red demo car in July (available for test drives) but there was no word on customer deliveries. They seem excited by the RX-8 and seem to think it's the first real Mazda sports car since the RX-7. They don't count the MX-5 for some reason.
Damn, just realised I forgot to check out 'Nordic Green'.

If you ever drove the MX5 you will know why. Whilst it looks quite sporty it does not really drive and feel that way. Engine has no real power. I appreciate that it is (so I have read) the best selling 2 seater thanks to the US sales but that is another discussion.......

rael

Suprised to hear you chaps are told to pick up your books from the dealers at least here in australia we got oursby the post ,i ceartanly dont think thats great customer service,.We have been informed that we are also getting a version of the european spec cars albeit we are not getting the rear lip spoiler or the rear fog lights and no option for the sunroof .Istrongly believe tha the car may dissapoint in the 0=62 categoryas 6.8 is more realistic with the 240hp unit,we also only have about 150 pre orders inaustralia.

Ok Here goes, letter is 6 pages long so cannot quote verbatum.
Dated 15/5/2003

Some bits of interest you should know are:

Launch events & Timings

European press launch preview
17,18,19 June
Rimini
Major European press

Uk Press Launch preview
18-25 July
North wales
Key journalists from Uk press

Uk fleet launch preview
25-31 July
North Wales
VIP fleet buyers

Dealer principal Uk drive
5-8 August
Manchester Airport
Uk principal dealers

Uk dealer RX8 specialists launch
8-12 September
Central England track location
Sales managers, RX8 specialists & aftermarket


Mazda Uk has aquired 20 RX8's for press, fleet & Dealer principal Uk events. To provide exclusive driving event ahead of Uk sale date.

The production acceleration of build is slower than anticipated and as a result the first significant volume of UK production to meet customer orders (1062 units) will now be built in JULY.
With shipping times of around 36 days from Japan, we are advising the 800 (so far) pre-order customers that delivery for registration will be during SEPTEMBER.

We are in the process of allocating our initial production to pre-order customers on a "first come first served" basis.
Production of satndard power (192ps) will begin AUGUST and the addition of the blue, yellow and green will begin SEPTEMBER along with the introduction of black and red leather option with the black paint. At present this cannot be guaranteed and would urge you not to promise a delivery date to customers. We are writing to customers at the end of this month to give them a firm delivery date for their actual vehicle.

We have a further 600 units in mid october, 800 units mid november and 600 mid december. If a customer chooses to wait to drive the car before ordering then we do not expect delivery in 2003.

Demonstrators will not be available until early september.

Given the level of interest and to support the pre-order process we are currently investigating the possibility of holding exclusive previews for your pre-ordered and prospective customers at a number of regional locations thru June, July & August.

Prodrive Live

With all high powered cars it is important to ensure that the power and handling are exploited safely and we will be offering every customer a free day's performance driver training.
The day will teach owners to get the most out of their new car.

Customers can choose to travel to Prodrive in Warwickshire or an instructor will travel to the customers home for extensive driver training on road.The day will also include cover care and maintenance of a rotary engine that a customer can carry out.

Technical Info (see seperate thread)

Well, I suppose they must be working quite hard behind the scenes!! Shame about the delays
:(

Cheers
Oilman

I find this amazing, given the proximity of the crossfire and 350Z launches not to mention the 3.0TT.

I can only imagine that Mazda have had techical problems with the car itself or the manufacturing process.

Depsite their waring that a delay in ordering could force an 04 delivery, I think I'll take my chances. I mean if they restict supply then they wont be able to capture market share - simple as that.

Realistically given the wankel engine and the novel design - the car, could as clarkson would put it, suffer from 'supersonic decpreciation'.

Dont believe me? - check out the W8.
:mad:

Cheers

BK

I do like the training day suggestion as many of us will need that not being rotary experts, but can just imagine the admin mess as they try to organise this as cars get issued (going by present experience).

rael

Originally posted by Lensman
I saw the colour swatches for the first time too and there was a Tit grey Mazda-6 on the forecourt. Even in the rain it looked really good. The blue colour is MUCH darker than I expected and will look wonderful if the body shape suits it (and I'm doubtful). Velocity red is very nice too and also darker than I expected, it will look classy.



Did you take the colour swatches outside to look at under the sun (not there's been much round here lately), or at least in natural light?

I must admit, it brought the colours out a lot better than looking at them on the dealership wall. You could see the gold flake in the Velocity Red, and the blue looked similar to that on the Nissan Skyline - although without a direct back-to-back comparison, it's hard to tell exactly.


-andy-

Hold on guys: in the book the 0-62 time for the UK car is indeed 6.8 seconds BUT the 0-60 time for the US car is stated as 6.6 seconds. We KNOW that the US car will see a sub 6 second time so that could be (mild) panic over!

Lensman

read my specification post, the power is down to 231ps!!

Cheers
Oilman

Rael, when my dealer (Brooklyn) rang yesterday about the book, they did offer to post it but, for fear of postal damage I'm opting to pick it up. My dealer seems fine, its Mazda thats dragging its heels.

Anil.

Picked up my book at lunchtime. Very Nice. Dealer told me they were expecting their demo car early-mid July, and first customer cars still end of July.

Oilmans letter seems to suggest otherwise.

Therefore some dealers either havent got the letter / havent read the letter / dont want to tell you about the letter (delete as appropriate).

Thanks for posting the details Oilman. Good news about Prodrive Live.

I called my dealer today about the letter about the book today. TWWhite and Sons in Weybridge didn't know about the book...so i'm waiting in eager anticipation to read it.

They'll get back to me! Still waiting!

Oh the service in this wonderful country we live in. In the US, somebody would have been sued by now.

Originally posted by ed hall
I called my dealer today about the letter about the book today. TWWhite and Sons in Weybridge didn't know about the book...so i'm waiting in eager anticipation to read it.



ed, I called TW Whites this evening - i was told they were waiting for the books to arrive and then they would POST them out to customers.

bugbear did you ask your dealer about the power rating

thanks Bugbear. I called early today, maybe Sarinda (the sales person who took my order) checked things out. Great stuff! Can't wait to get it and see what all the fuss is all about

sorry ccrx-8, i was so surprised at the positive response i forgot to ask about anything else!

Picked up my book today. Nice pics, especially of the RED!

Look forward to reading and commenting.

Cheers
Oilman