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Ahhh! I does look that way. That picture shows the passenger side. Other pictures of the driver side show the belt going into the seat back. Like this.
I found another pic of the driver side where the belt is not in the seat. Click Here. (It's a big picture!)
Man that is an awsome picture! I hope the final version looks like that. (Beautiful!). I noticed for the first time also that it looks like there is a pass though to the trunk in the link picture.
This must be a newer version of the interior. I think Bimmer is correct.
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If it ain't a rotor, it ain't a motor!
styjan, you can see what looks like a pass thru in the picture in your post, it has rotor motif button that probably opens it, although the actual opening looks rather small. in your link, that photo looks like the seatbelts in the front were removed. you can see the belts in the back and you can see the red release buttons on the buckles in front and back. maybe they removed them for the photo?
Good eye! I didn't know what you were talking about until Styjan showed the zoomed pic.
I would think that anchoring the belt to the pillar is far sturdier than a seat-mounted belt.
Looking at the 2 pics of the interior, you can tell that they're quite different. I wonder which one is the newer one? I recall the Road and Track article showing pictures of the interior with the shinier chrome pieces (the other pic looks more like a duller aluminum trim).
i just saw the larger pic in a link somewhere else in this forum but thanks styjan for posting it. aguy here at work says that his freinds dodge pickup has a third door and the front belts on that are mounted the same way
Thanks for posting the pics. of the interior. That eliminates a lot of uncertainty. Mounting the belts into the rear doors make more sense that anchoring them to the seat. They will be a lot more sturdy this way.
I'd say that the bigger picture from rotary news is the newer version of the interior. It looks much smoother and more finished. The belts looked tacked on on the earlier version and the aluminum rail on the top corners on the transmission tunnel looks too industrial. The side view from the bigger picture has the updated belts, you just can't see them through the seats. The panel that we are assuming is a pass-through to the trunk looks much larger on the newer picture, but it looks like the cool rotary shaped button is gone.
It doesn't seem like the rear seat passengers will have a very good view. The big thick C-pillar will be right next to their heads. Oh well, I won't be sitting back there anyway.
What's with that thing that looks like a flip down LCD screen right behind the top of the windshield. It seems to be right where the rear-view mirror should be. Is that where an optional navigation system might be? Is it a control center, DVD player, or is it just eye-candy for an upgraded stereo?
Originally posted by KayakDaddy What's with that thing that looks like a flip down LCD screen right behind the top of the windshield. It seems to be right where the rear-view mirror should be. Is that where an optional navigation system might be? Is it a control center, DVD player, or is it just eye-candy for an upgraded stereo?
It looks like it's just the passenger side visor. The backside does look a little strange, almost like an LCD screen like you described. That probably wouldn't be the ideal place for it (better to have it dash mounted IMO). Anyhow, it's probably just a preproduction showcar gadget.
It appears however that the seatbelts if mounted on the door would be too far forward. If you look at the interior picks the back seats are much farther back than the suicide doors, if the seat belts were mounted on the doors i dont think that the belts could strap around your chest unless there is a way to pull it back more...thats just my observation.
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Put the pedal THROUGH the metal.
The seatbelts seem to be about even with the driver seat. I can see this by the rotory resemblance in RX8 Interior . It looks like that rotory thing is where the back door will lock into the frame when closed
It looks like it's just the passenger side visor. The backside does look a little strange, almost like an LCD screen like you described. That probably wouldn't be the ideal place for it (better to have it dash mounted IMO). Anyhow, it's probably just a preproduction showcar gadget
Curtain air bag module. Deploys across the front from the headliner.
I'v seen 2 yellow RX-8 concept cars by now. I guess the one with the polished wheels is the newest one. It has the front seatbelts integrated in the front seats (see Styjan's picture) (and also the nice rotary motif between the backseats...). Mounting them in the front seats is better than mounting them onto the back doors because:
When the driver or passenger wants to stay in the car, but someone in the back seats wants to get out, the one in front has to release his seatbelt when it's mounted to the rear doors...
So I guess mazda has seen this convenience problem so they made a second yellow RX-8 with a few improvements...
I really regret they will remove the rotory scaped start button...
Should they optionally have park distance control on it? I hope so, 'cause I hate scratches
the larger pic that the link goes to is older than the pictures from the North American auto show. If memory serves, it goes back to October 2001 (go to www.rotarynews.com and scroll down to "New Mazda RX-8 Design", Oct. 16, 2001), and the newer pictures above are from at least January and later.
In addition, many of the the older pics have been photoshopped by Mazda itself, which accounts for a seemingly better fit and finish than the new pictures.
Last week I raised the idea to have a race style seatbelt in the RX8.
Today, in the Toronto star there is a stroy from Ford that they are actually testing these belts since they are saving lives by avoiding chest compression injuries. I hope that Mazda engineers also have the same concerns.
That's a no-brainer, especially when it would eliminate 700-degree 250mph airbag deployments in your face, but who would be willing to buckle on a restrictive harness? God forbid someone's dress or shirt/pants will get wrinkled, let alone child-seat issues. So we're stuck with being surrounded by explosive bags as mandated by the DOT. Driver, passenger, curtain, side rollover, and seat-belt pretensioners to tighten the belt upon imminent inertia before bag deployment.
Even a 4-point belt has some safety issues with the person sliding underneath the lap belt upon impact. That's why 5-point harnesses are superior. But, who really wants the inconvenience of being strapped down really tight, especially with that 5th belt between your legs?
Even if they did make it to production, I doubt you'd ever see it on a car that's as mainstream as an RX-8. The only car that I know of that had a factory installed racing harness was the Viper ACR (I don't recall if it was a 4 or 5 point).
Front seatbelts
Linear Mode
