I called a Mazda dealership here in California and they told me that they are ordering their RX8's in Dec. and that they will have them by Feb. or Mar.. This is contradictory to what I've heard on these boards. Are they incorrect or just bsing me, it sounds nice, but can I trust them? They told me I was only the second person that had called them about pre-ordering...hmmm. The guy also told me that they had to de-tune the enigine in the automatic becuase the transmission couldn't handle high RPM launches, which is why they would be starting production behind schedule...is any of this true? Glad to get any fedback.

don't know about the de-tuning part, but according to the latest car and driver, it is scheduled for release in may

Almost forgot...
He quoted me a base price of around 24K and a fully loaded price of 28K. Now that is definitely reasonable, but again I digress, can this indeed be the truth?

It fits with in the realm of probality on this board, although some have sugested dates as far as fall '03. My heart leans more towards your dealer from California's information.

i read something from mazda where they mention detuning the engine for autos because they were blowing up torque converters. that part is true. and as far as ship dates that is what i hope is true.

The de-tuned automatic will NOT be in the initial production, and you won't see any road-test mag comparos with that set-up initially. Mazda is going for the jugular on roll-out.

I think that whole torque converter problem is a given in any engine that revs about 8K or higher.

Examples:

No Automatic S2000 (8900 RPM)
No Automatic RSX Type S (7900 RPM 200hp), auto only on 160hp versions with a 6700 RPM redline if I'm not mistaken.
Automatic NSX redlines at 7500 and makes only 252hp while manual is 8000 RPM and makes 290 hp.
Integra GSR (170 hp 8000 RPM) and Type R (195hp, 8400 RPM), no automatic available, while it was available on GS and RS versions, with lower redlines and less horsepower (140hp). Celica GT-S is the same way.

Thus, the RX-8, with rumored 9000 RPM redline would take the cake, and I'm sure a conventional automatic can't handle that. That's why on cars like the M3 SMT or the 360 Modena F1, the cars are automatically shifted manuals rather than true automatics. I just don't think an auto can handle that many revs and be reliable. Right now 7500 RPM seems to be about the cut off. Lower the redline allows for an automatic, but obviously thats why the engines don't make as much hp.

Personally, the RX-8 is one of those cars that should never have an auto. But I can understand Mazda wants to make the car as appealing as possible to as many people as possible. I imagine it will end up much like the Miata, where an automatic is a rare find, and the resale value is MUCH lower than a manual car ;)

An auto is important for mazda as they need to start making money. I'm all for it if it makes the car more appealing to a larger market. The pros from that far outweighs the cons.

Of course, I sure as hell wouldn't get the auto on this car. SMG, I might consider. ;)

As for ordering the cars, it sure seems like a correct timeline. There is nothing from the scant info here to really make any concrete statements.

Automatic on an RX 8 is tantamount to sacriledge. Give me my 6 speed manual now please. Couldnt care less if the automatic doesn't handle the power of the wankle. If you want an auto tranny, get a lesser car.