I went up to Montgomery, Al on friday night with some friends.

I did four runs. The first was a warm-up and pretty slow. I couldn't get anything to hook up, until my final run.

I was shifting from 2nd to 3rd, so about 65-70 MPH. My left tires hit a slick patch. Back end kicked out to the right and as soon as the tires were off the slick they got enough grip to send me straight into the left wall.

I'm OK. I went to the hospital when we got back to home, around 3 in the morning. Discharged after tons of x-rays and quite a few meds.

At least I'm walking. But, everything hurts. A lot. I'm going to go back to sleep now. I'll post pics in a few days.

Wow, that sounds bad, also sounds expensive :sad: .

When you say "straight" into the wall - what kind of angle we talking? Did you smack up the left side or head-on? Airbags go off?

Jeez, I hope you're OK, bottom line is - it's just "stuff" your health is most important.....

S

good to hear that you're ok for the most...

Holy carp!! Glad you're okay.

I didn't know anyone ran the 8 in straight-line, from the line.....sorry about your misfortune.

Ouch glad you didn't end up any worse. Your very fortunate.
________
WASHINGTON MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY (http://washington.dispensaries.org/)

OMG! Sorry to here. I hope all works out for you. Now comes all of the issues about insurance. Please keep us posted.

geez. hope you're feeling better both physically/mentally!

Bummer indeed - keep us posted on your health - we are all pulling for you

I hit at about a 40 degree angle. Both bags went off. I've seen a few people on here take it from the line. I just wanted to do it once. To say I'd done it. I've always wanted to do a road course. But there's not much opportunity.

Mentally, will take some time. I should be physically ok in a week or so.

Insurance..., uhm, not so much. It's not going to cover it. There's an exclusion clause for racing. End of the day, it's just a car. Fortunately we're financially secure and can absorb the hit, though it will set us back. I've got a friend that is an amazing body guy, he's keeping it at his shop for free regardless if we are able to repair or have to part it out. Thankfully it was nearly paid off.

The worst part is if I'd been another 100 ft further, I'd have been in third and approaching 100. If it'd happened then... who knows. I just thought I was doing the right thing. I keep that sort of thing off the streets, don't rise to the challenge when some idiot in a str-4 is revving at a light. I was at a track which is a controlled event, safety people, away from mini-vans with family. Wrecking was the last thing on my mind. We were all more concerned about the three hour trip each way.

Thanks everyone for your support. I'll keep you posted.

One thing that surprised me was the 50 odd people (fans, racers, and track officials) who suggested I drag it off the track before calling the cops... and basically commit insurance fraud. I feel bad lying to my wife about her birthday gift. I could never do something like that.

BTW, I'd get another RX-8 again in a heart beat. If I'd been in any other car... I probably wouldn't be alive.

*I tried to edit my post to add this, but I guess there's a limit now. Ah well.

One thing that surprised me was the 50 odd people (fans, racers, and track officials) who suggested I drag it off the track before calling the cops... and basically commit insurance fraud. I feel bad lying to my wife about her birthday gift. I could never do something like that.

BTW, I'd get another RX-8 again in a heart beat. If I'd been in any other car... I probably wouldn't be alive.

*I tried to edit my post to add this, but I guess there's a limit now. Ah well.

It's good of you to keep things honest, not many people would. Happy to hear that you're going to be alright even though you sound shaken up. Goodluck with getting the car fixed or getting a new one, whichever ends up happening.

Glad your ok.
I wear my helmet when I visit the dragstrip. Always be safe.

Yeah, what is up with the EDIT feature? not showing up for me either.

Feel better dude. Glad you're doing alright.

This could have been a lot worse. Photos hosted by flickr.

http://static.flickr.com/32/102227386_43b11fb9e5_m.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wakazashi/sets/1595036/

I just thought I was doing the right thing. I keep that sort of thing off the streets, don't rise to the challenge when some idiot in a str-4 is revving at a light. I was at a track which is a controlled event, safety people, away from mini-vans with family. Wrecking was the last thing on my mind. We were all more concerned about the three hour trip each way.

Thanks everyone for your support. I'll keep you posted.

You did do the correct thing. Imagine if you lost control of the car on the street and plowed into an oncoming vehicle or a house or something. Innocent peeps could have died. Then you went and compounded being responsible for not steet racing by not stealing by way of insurance fraud. How dare you! Glad to hear you are not injured.

Labop, your damage looks very similar to mine when I totaled it. However, yours is worse! My air bag did not deploy, the structure underneath was not bent, the rear was not damaged and the driver doors were not damaged. It doesn't look like that much on the surface but structurally you smacked the crap out of it. You hit at the same angle I did which pushes the whole front end (engine bay) to the opposite side. It's the way it is designed to move. Everything forward of the firewall must be removed to start the rebuild.

I truly feel for you and if I can be of any assistance, please ask. PM me if you need a shoulder! I'm really sorry!

Ouch. Sorry to see that. You are not going to want to fix that yourself, with no insurance help.

isn't it crazy what it takes for us to realize that we aren't invincible?

Take it easy and cherish time you have now. Hope to see you in your new Rx-8 sometime soon!

I know you're reeling from the lack of insurance coverage of the wreck, but thank God you were doing this the right way and were on a proper race track rather than the street where you could have skidded out of control into the opposite lane, gone head on with a van full of kids, and killed folks. Then, instead of a relatively limited financial issue (how to pay for a wrecked car with no insurance coverage of the acciddent), instead you'd be dealing with millions in liability for wrongful death suits, potentially a felony charge and attendent prison sentence for felony vehicular homicide and all manner of other trouble.

You did the right and honorable thing all the way around here - you wanted to race so you went to a track. That was "right thing to do #1". Things did not go well, and you're shouldering the responsibility for it - that's "right thing to do #2".

You're a good man, Labop. I know that doesn't replace your RX-8, but I'm sure glad you're still around and acting like the example of the right way to do things.

Stew

Sorry about your accident and it's good to hear you're alright.

Does the dash really come off like that when the passenger side airbag deploys? Looks like it would really hurt.

those are parts from under the front end ... the caption says that.

I've seen deployed RX-8 bags at my dealership - on the passenger side, the bag comes out of the top of the dash.

sorry about what happen bro. Glad to see you still standing to take pictures of it.

isn't it crazy what it takes for us to realize that we aren't invincible?

Take it easy and cherish time you have now. Hope to see you in your new Rx-8 sometime soon!


:Wconfused

Thanks again to everyone for the support. It is nice to have the reassurance that I'd done the right thing. It's an easy thing to talk about, sometimes a hard thing to do (especially when the social norm down here is 180 out).

To peterlemonjello (funny screen name BTW :D), if you are looking at the passenger side airbag cover, the top part is hinged. The airbag tears the bottom and two sides out and it stays connected on the top.

I'll take another pic to show what the top of the dash looks like when the bags have popped. I have a couple more to take for the lawyer. I can't speak much to it, other than: my lawyer was SHOCKED that the track didn't have me sign a waiver. Actually, I was at the time as well.

Damn...that's a mess :( Kinda looking like a parts donor :D:

You are so lucky that it was a single vehicle accident and everyone walked away. I hope mine won't end up like that every time I drive it on the track...

Good Luck and heal quickly

Sorry to hear about the accident... the damage looks pretty bad. Granted, I don't know much about appraising the damage to a car, but my bet would be that it can't be fixed properly for a reasonable amount. An insurance company would total it.

Yup. my friend at the body shop estimated that it'd be "upwards" of 12k. And refreshing my mind on silverEIGHT's tragedy of a tale only confirmed it. It's a total. I just have to get around to parting it out or selling it for salvage. I'll do it in the next few weeks. Right now I can barely stand to be near it. It hurt taking those pics, and hurt more when uploading them.

I guess it's all part of the grieving process. Sounds stupid when it's a car, but I figure the people on here would understand that it's not "just a car" for most of us. My wife has already said, quite adamantly, that we will get another one. Only it won't be allowed within 50 miles of a track. I disagreed though. I think the distance should be 100 miles.

If I part it out myself, I might get more for it. But it's a lot more hassle. I'm really unsure what to do. Anyone have any experience parting a car out? Or is is a consensus that I should sell it in one chunk?

As hard as it is to look at the car in it's present shape, having to look at it all the time would be extremely hard to do. Personally, I'd get rid of it, accept my losses, learn my lesson and move on to a new car as soon as possible and get on with life.

Extricating a part once a month will leave a carcass of a lost love one on your property and to me, that just ain't right. The engine goes one month, a driver seat the next, two wheels the next leaving it on blocks, then the back bumper and trunk. Naaaa! My humble opinion!

Man I think your broke the TI curse!... But I'm glad you walked away with your life, in the end its just a machine and you can get a 05 Winning Blue. Best of luck to you and your car.

in the end its just a machine and you can get a 05 Winning Blue.

LOL

Thanks. I needed that.

Nothing against w blue. it's just a little to "light". maybe if they sold the dark blue mica... I'm thinking late 07, maybe they'll sell that then.

Silver, I think you're absolutely right on that one.

I've updated my flickr page with new pics. This time with the body off. It may sound sadistic to keep going back, but Mazmart needed some "better pics". Better meaning less "artsy". Paul and I actually laughed about that. I then cried after hanging up.

Here's the link again: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wakazashi/sets/1595036/

Mentally,
I'd probably sell it to someone that parts out cars.

Financially,
I'd be tempted to part it out myself.


Personally?
I'd be trying to shoehorn that renesis into a second-gen miata.

I'm impressed that you did the right thing.

Losing a car you're really in love with hurts. It's like losing a part of you, even though it's just a machine. I personally got a whole lot of self and ego wrapped up in the car I totaled, and it took a long damn time to get over the mental pain.

From someone whose been there, but not under the same circumstances. It's just a car. It's going to hurt like hell emotionally for a while, and you're not likely to get a lot of support on that front from outsiders. Wallow in it a bit, and then find a way to buy a new love.

I'm not sure if you've still got physical pain, but make sure you take care of that. Nip it in the bud now before it turns into half a decade of nagging stuff.

Good luck, man.

I've updated my flickr page with new pics. This time with the body off. It may sound sadistic to keep going back, but Mazmart needed some "better pics". Better meaning less "artsy". Paul and I actually laughed about that. I then cried after hanging up.

Here's the link again: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wakazashi/sets/1595036/ Doesn't sound sadistic at all, it's part of the grieving process and it will take some time. The day you start looking for a replacement is the day it will end. Keep us posted.

OH! I almost forgot. On my second trip to take pics, I checked out the REVi airbox. Much easier w/o the bumper on the car.

It's freaking intact!!!! There is absolutely no cracking or even a dent in the box. I have to pull it and look at the underside. But it looks as if the stock tray was pushed back in one piece!

The metal tube that passes through the large rubber grommet is angled due to the pressure. But it looks as if I can just pull it right out. This is another testament to not only the design of the car, but also the quality of Racing Beat products.

That's one of those things you'll be able to sell to recoup at least some of your loss. I'm sure there will be other items you can easily take off, even if you don't want to deal with parting out the car.

Yea, I'd pull the REVI intake and the RB Exhaust and take it back to OEM before getting rid of it. Actually you may want to install it on your next 8, right? ;)

Uh, I'd have to go down to the dump to get the OEM pieces. I'm living in such a small house right now I barely have room for the lawn mower. I don't even have a garage here. Damn military housing, I miss my 1800 sqft house in Washington. It'll be another year till I transfer back up there tho.

I can't wait to leave Florida and this command. And I'm never coming back. Pensacola sucks balls (and that's not depression talking, I've been saying this for months now). :(

From the pics it's hard to tell but was there significant frame damage?
Edit: I just saw the pic or the driver side interior, and think I answered my own questions.

Again sorry for your loss :(

Yeah, check out some of the newer pics. It's hard to see in one of the pics, but the subframe underneath the car is f-d. Paul should have my estimate today on what is left. I'm pretty hopeful that it will be enough to get a new one when combined with my lawsuit (assuming I win).

http://static.flickr.com/27/103185274_01b298e550.jpg?v=0
http://static.flickr.com/38/103185271_a4540836a7.jpg?v=0

Well, just got off the phone with Paul at mazmart. She's only worth $5,000 in the current condition. Now all I need is a repair estimate and a large mallet to bash my forehead in.

I'll give you a repair estimate, now don't laugh... over $30,000 from a reputable shop with all new OEM parts! But you will not get that from anyone to start with. No one will tell you that because it would scare you off. I know, it's more than the car is worth, that is why it is a total.

Now, if you find someone to do it in as a rebuild project, you could get a better price.

Here, let me give you a little preview of the future if you rebuild:

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=38195

http://www.rx8club.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=38192

Who are you sueing? The track?

Silver, yeah... I know... I'm f-d. :(

BlueEyes

Yes, the track. There was no safety presence and no liability waiver.

We went back this weekend (to take photos for my lawyer), let's just say that things were a little bit different this time around. Obviously, I'm seriously understating the difference.

Another salvage company said, "Wow, they offered you that much?"

holy flying monkey crap

Oh mannnn, you are actually going to collect from the track! That's awesome! I would never in a million years have expected that. Guess it always pays to talk to an attorney. Good luck and I can't wait till you've signed on the dotted line and brought this to a close.

Sorry, I'd be pretty devistated having wanted my sports car since I was 3.

The worst part is if I'd been another 100 ft further, I'd have been in third and approaching 100. If it'd happened then... who knows.Yah, if you went over 100 mazda probably would have voided your warentee too!

I dunno, but going after the track is kinda wrong.... I don't think I would do that.

If they had properly prepped the track, there wouldn't have been this problem. After walking back, we noticed there were problems with the surface.

And to see the track when we were walking back (which we didn't get a chance to do before hand), I never would have thought about getting on there.

I'm not going to go into full details. We're still waiting to hear back from the lawyer, he'll tell us if we have a case or not. But, at the end of the day... they didn't have us sign a liability waiver, there were no safety inspections, there was minimal care/cleaning/prep on track before or during the event.

I'm not saying that I didn't have a hand in it, but so did they.

Gosh, that sucks!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm scared...I don't have the funds to recover from such a thing.

I'm glad you are OK and I hope the best!

Oh damn... i just now noticed this thread. Sorry to hear about your wreck, this was very unfortunate and scary. Hope your feeling better now.

Let us know if there is anything we can do to hell. I'm sure some of us have extra parts (bumpers, etc..) laying around from modding. I have an extra bumper, but its blue.. it might end up costing you more to ship and paint it.

-hS

^^it doesn't look like repair is a worthwhile thing to consider.

Thanks for the sympathy guys, and thanks for the offer hS. I really appreciate it, and that's a great idea I hadn't thought about. We'll see what happens. Like silver said, the repair bills mount and mount, and the car is never the same again.

I'm talking with my mazda dealer (fortunatly they love me, and I'm friends with a couple of the people there). We'll see what happens on that front in the next few days.

If we do get into a legal battle it will either be very quick settlement, or an extremely long court case.

Like someone suggested earlier, strip some parts, ESPECIALLY the Renesis engine, junk the rest. Buy a new RX, then slap that Renesis into a miata or something..a little project..hopefully, the lawsuit will be in your favor and you can foot the bill with this, and get TWO renesis powered beauties!! :)

Now that would be cool, a Renesis in a Miata. Fun times on the AutoX track! Waaaahoooo! :D:

Labop, I told a friend about your car because he has a 90 Miata and I thought that was an awesome idea, putting your engine in one. He is interested in your Engine and Transmission. If you would like, I'll connect you two. PM me with details if you want to go this route.

Good luck with the lawsuit man. I can't imagine they'll be help wholly responsible, but I would think 50% isn't out of the question.

Damn sorry to hear about that shit. Guess Ill stick to more local tracks than MMP

Yeah. Engine swaps aren't out of the question. rx8wannahave is also suggesting using the engine in his/drivelikeajehu 's three rotor renesis experiment.

I know that similar engines go for $4500 alone, and a used tranny can go for $1000-$1400. So mazmart would make a good profit out of it. Not that I blame them, they are a business. The concern I have with parting it out myself is that I don't think I'd get the same value. I'm not a rotary expert like mazmart and thus can't gurantee the quality/integrity of parts.

I'd love to get that engine into something else tho. Just not a 20 year old RX-7. I have enough problems right now... ;)

Silver and rx8wannahave, PM's are on the way.

Whoa Labop, I just noticed your thread. I am SO sorry to hear about your car! I know how much you loved that thing and it literally almost brought tears to my eyes reading your posts and seeing those pictures.

I think at this point, it might just be easier (financially, physically, and emotionally) to just let Mazparts take it off your hands. I think it would kill me to see my car sitting in that state for very long as I strip her down piece by piece. Your car held up for you when you needed her most, I think it's time you repay the favor by letting a professional part her out and you can both move on.

Keep us posted on the lawsuit with the track. We're pulling for you...


-Jedi

I think the reason this thread has been missed is that I put it into the lounge by accident. I didn't really know (or at the time care) where it went. If one of the mods wants to move it, or not, that's fine by me.

I think selling it to mazmart is probably the best option, but I'm putting out feelers. I'm in sort of a holding pattern until the lawyer gives me a recommendation on what I should do.

Thanks all for your sympathy and support.

I want a few things....put me on the list :D:

I need a few things as well... let me know when the bidding begins.

-hS

Me too.....let the bidding start, lol.

Labop, remember they are looking for a complete car also so they might want your 8's body too. Since they are building a 3-rotor they need an 8 to stick it in and thought that maybe they could get a good price on a smashed 8.

If you told them...not only can you use your current Renesis to help build your 3-rotor but you can also use the body to stick it in once your done building the 3-rotor. Just an idea...of course you should do what's best for you.

I truly hope the best, I think I would be in tears over all of this...group hug :grouphug:

Oh, I thought they were just looking for the engine. We'll see what happens. SilverEIGHT's friend has first dibs right now on the engine/tranny if I end up parting it, just waiting to hear back from him. If they need the whole car..., I don't know what I'll do. Until I hear back fro the lawyer, everything is up in the air.

C'mon lawyer man, get back to me!

After him, feras has dibs on the tranny.

I'll let everyone know if I start parting it. And I'll also start posting in the F/S section to keep the mods happy. :)

Belay my last (navy term for "my bad")...

Silver's friend isn't interested in the engine and tranny after all.

rx8wannahave's 3-rotor crew has dibs on the whole car.

feras has first dibs on the tranny if I part it.

Me thinks Labop is gonna be fine! :D:

rx8wannahave's 3-rotor crew has dibs on the whole car.

Really, cool.....hey driveslikeajehu, if this works out for you I demand a discounted 3-rotor (lol) :p:

Keep us posted on the progress of all of this, glad that there are alot of people who are showing interest and you have alot of options.

Safety waivers generally are for personal injury only. I'm no lawyer but I've been to my share of races, including crashing a car at the dragstrip. I dont think you have a leg to stand on, but if your lawyer wants to go after them make sure his fee is contingent on whether or not he wins. Having been where you are, I empathize with your situation though.

Yeah, I'm not expecting anything. His fee will be contingent, if we even proceed. I'm thinking that there isn't a hope in hell. His exact comment was, "If we win, it would be a landmark case in the state of Alabama."

Labop...any other updates?

Not really, I'll be meeting with my lawyer tomorrow.

If he thinks all I have is an injury case, I've got nothing. I wasn't really injured. I mean, yes I technically was. But it's not anything major. If he thinks we have a negligence case... then who knows. It could run the gamut from still no case... to inviting all my RX-8 friends down to my new track.




But you're all signing waivers! ;)

As long as you keep the oil off the track. :p:

Goodluck, yo.

I feel your pain. I hit a patch of black ice about a week and a half ago going north on the interstate. My RX8 slid completely sideways and smashed into a guardrail on the southbound side. I was lucky enough to be able to slow down enough to minimize the damage. I have to have the entire front bumper, left fender, tire rod, and radiator replaced. I found out today that the repair bill is $6300. I just got the car about a month ago! Thank God I have full coverage. My baby will be whole again next week.

Labop, sorry to hear about your crash. Good thing you weren't too badly injured, sad that your 8 is a total loss, though.

If it will make you feel any better, I'll take your center dash panel off your hands, if you're still planning on parting out the car.

Good luck with the lawyer. Hopefully you get some good news out of all of this.

Glad to hear you're ok, sucks about the car. What's it like hitting the airbag ?

Cleared my sinus. Seriously..., I barely remember it. If you've ever had too much to drink and only remember flashes of the night before... it's like that.

I remember losing control.
Trying and failing to correct.
My field of view going white (airbag inflating)
Hearing the crunch of metal and plastic, with the pop of the airbags discharging...

and the next thing I knew the car was backwards, fully stopped and 100-200 feet further down the track. Ears ringing, sinus dripping, just thinking "oh my God". Got out of the car, heard a friend (kind of dimly) shout if I was OK... didn't respond until he asked the third time. The let out a big F!!!

Ouch! I have a visual of your description and it ain't pretty! Knowing the screeching of the tires, the crashing sound of the front of the car and the big "F" exclamation, it's too real for me.

How are things going? Anything from Mazmart or elsewhere?

Not yet. But, I am waiting for the decision of the very nice forum member who is considering selling me his 8... I keep leaping at the phone every time it rings. My wife is mandating that my next 8 have traction control and I don't take it to within 10 miles of a track.

I've conceded both points to her, I readily agree on the track thing (tho I may try to go to Birmingham to watch the Grand-Am). The TCS I'm not to picky on, it'd come in handy, but I've never driven any car with one installed. If we end up moving to Maine, she won't get driven much, and TCS will damn well come in handy.

If I can't get that 8, there's the possibility of another, without TCS, but a bit cheaper. We'll see... personally, my only search criteria was no silver or black. Silvers are cursed and I already did bad things to an eight, so the combo doesn't look pretty in my mind. And the black would be hard for me to get back into.

No more news from mazmart, I have to wait on what the lawyer says, and to get any info from him will require my repair shop (C'mon guys) to give me an estaminet. I may end up parting it after all. Just through the interest I've received in a half dozen parts, I'm almost doubled what Mazmart is offering. That will make affording a new (used, but new to me) 8 a lot easier.

I've conceded both points to her, I readily agree on the track thing (tho I may try to go to Birmingham to watch the Grand-Am).Awesome! The Ga gang will be heading over for this event with a fairly large contingency. We'd love to have you join us.

Hey Labop,

I was cruising my SVT forum and found this video. Just think it could have been alot worse, you could of had hit the wall in a $50K+ car like this guy. I probably has some haunting similarities to what happened to you.


ZO6 vs Wall at Strip (http://www.svtownersassociation.com/svtoaforums/showthread.php?p=90178#post90178)

Also the traction control on these 8's are way better than anything Ive driven. Even better than my A6 2.t7 quattro. The dynamic stability control keeps you very straight. even in the snow.

It could have been worse than that. My dad is a big eBay writer. He was friends with Internet Marketing Center owner Cory Rudl. Cory was draging his Porsche Carerra S and killed himself doing 150 MPH plus. I walked away, anything else is unimportant.

But yeah, the car could have been more expensive, or we could have owed more. We lucked out financially due to good planning. I can't wait to try out improved TCS/DSC. I'd test driven a WRX once a few years back, but can't count that as it was a short period of time, and I was really testing the turbo, not the traction control :D

---

Edit, watched the video, took me a while humming and hawing, but I watched. I'm amazed he was able to drive it out. My front left was jammed back into the firewall. We eventually got it, but I wasn't involved and I was told it was damn difficult to steer.

I'm going to hide this video from my wife. She doesn't even like it when I flip past the speed channel on the tivo guide feature... I can't watch anything like Pinks. Memories are still too strong.

One difference... that guy's rescue team showed up in a truck, mine showed up in a golf cart. heh

Labop, so, how are we doing? What's the latest update?

Yeah...any news?

That poor C6....well, I guess I aint ever going to the track...I'm scared straight.

Well, not sure if I mentioned it...

But the crash ended up tearing some of the muscles in my left pectoral. After two weeks they finally stopped hurting enough for me to stop taking meds. At that point, my neck started complaining and it turns out that it's not quite the right shape anymore. More to follow later.

Still searching for a replacement. There are a couple of likely candidates, but both are well over 400 miles away. So we're hoping a couple of local alternatives show up. No news on the disposition of my RX-8. I have two dealers checking it out and they will get back to me on the value. No word from the lawyer, he's off doing lawyerly stuff, I guess.

Funny story, I was curious about the price difference between buying used and leasing new... the dealer actually turned me down on the basis that they thought I'd end up back at the track. I have to agree with wannahave here..., there's no track time anywhere in my future.

...unless I go to a school and pick up a spec Miata or something. The closest a daily driver car will get is the parking lot. ;)

Dang, hope you get over that physical issue soon. Don't want that type injury lingering. Usually it will take care of itself within a few months. Mine took about two.

It could have been worse than that. My dad is a big eBay writer. He was friends with Internet Marketing Center owner Cory Rudl. Cory was draging his Porsche Carerra S and killed himself doing 150 MPH plus. I walked away, anything else is unimportant.


I knew that name sounded familiar. I read about that crash almost a year ago. I heard one of them had just gotten married a couple days earlier too.
I think it was on a Ferrari forum where someone who was there mentioned that it really wasn't the drivers fault, that someone came out of the pit without looking and the driver of the Porsche swerved to miss him.

Unfortunate.

Here is the news article.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/4562562/detail.html

Yeah, that's him. Dad never told me the details of his crash, just that it had happened. Guess my recollection of the numbers were off, but that wasn't the point really. I had no idea that he was with someone else at the time.

Regarding my car, two dealers have looked at it and said, "no thanks". Mazmart or eBay might be the best options at this point.

Found the freaking track on google. Pretty good imagery:

http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=2600+N.+Belt+Drive,+Montgomery,+AL&ll=32.431556,-86.248083&spn=0.006357,0.013325&t=h

If you zoom in you can see three sets of bleachers. The left two are white and the third is smaller and a grayish color. The spin started just after the last bleacher.

Hey guys, I found a sweet deal on an RX-8. I'll be buying it tomorrow!

here's a pic:

http://www.justmitsubishi.com/~affinityauto/40111090-19sm.jpg



















... JUST KIDDING!

I'm really buying an 8 tomorrow, but not ^that^ one. We found one in our price range and someone who is sympathetic... the only problem is the title issue. I've never bought private party before and it will be a week or two until I can get that sorted out. It all depends on how fast their bank is at processing stuff.

So it looks like I'll be rejoining the club as the proud owner of a SS RX-8 with Touring Package! It also has a few less miles than mine did, so it almost feels as if I'm upgrading.

I also won't be able to get it on base, and since I work on one base and live on another base... we're still stuck with one car during the week. Doh!

Anyone ever seen a tag or notice that says "tags applied for"? I've seen them a couple of times around here, but didn't know if it was just a stupid Pensacola thing (or rather, another stupid thing that Pensacola residents do).

Now to figure out what to do with my old one...

SUNLIGHT SILVER! I think I remember reading you would not get Silver or Black!!!

Oh well, personally, I think SS is the best looking car out there and there is NO SUCH THING as "the Curse"! (knocks on the wood desk)

Well, it came down to which is more important... price or color. I'm hoping the curse is just a nice little coincidence. Just like it's a coincidence that everyone who has owned the hope diamond has died tragically.

Just to make sure I'm going to take some incense and perform a cleansing ritual on the car. haha

Lissa was really pushing to get another black one. She just loved how it looked once I was done detailing it. Only problem was I had to detail every couple of days to keep it looking like that. I don't think there will be as much work with a silver.

I'm prone to go two weeks during the winter and it's really not that bad. I live about 450' off the main road with a gravel drive so I pick up a LOT of dust. It's just not that visible.

There is no such thing as the curse! Don't care what brothervoodoo said. Pay no attention!












(knocks on the wood desktop)

updates regarding my new car can be found here:

I'm back in the saddle again (http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?p=1298452#post1298452)

...yes I thought it was important enough to start a new thread... :P

I had to pay for it. Insurance denied my claim under multiple racing-exemption clauses. I really didn't want to tell them at first, but figured it wouldn't hurt. It didn't. Since the claim was exempt from coverage, it actually didn't hurt my credit.

The old 8 is on fire and theft (storage) insurance until I sell it which is $30. For some reason I was due a $20 discount, so our insurance only went up $10 over a six month period.

Update on the old black RX-8... its up on ebay and the vultures are circling. :(

I sat with it for over a year, humming and hawing about what to do with it. But my decision was made for me by PCS orders and a wife who is itching to try out her own ebay advice (my wife writes books and articles on the ebay).

I've still got my silver 8, and will probably be shipping it to my next station.

I'm going to miss that car, and it will probably just end up being parted out. Kinda sucks, but it will finally be someone else's problem.