Guys,
Here's the first round of information and all of the pics from today's test drive and laps around Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Enjoy!

http://rotarynews.com/view.php?id=150

-Berny H
http://rotarynews.com

 

AS I posted in the other thread:

"He sees the rear fog light (roto shaped) that is on the euro spec car. Please note that these cars do not appear to be u.s. spec only. This test drive must be for all countries. Note the japanese navi and the clear side marker lights in some of the other pictures."

 

US/Europe/Japan models... all different lenses.

 

Posted by toadman:

"They all will have had signed non-disclosure/publishing date agreements for a certain time-frame. Don't expect Rotarynews, Car & Driver, Road & Track, Automobile, or any other publication/media to "scoop" the other media any performance figures or impressions until they publish at the agreed upon time, or they will never be invited again and likely sued for breach of contract."

How can Berny do this so soon?????

 

Perhaps there was no non-disclosure, or at least nothing referencing the time period in which they can post things

 

No embargo baby!

We are inbetween dinner and after dinner drinking right now, rubbing elbows with Car and Driver, Motortrend, Mazda Engineers, (Sam Mitani, Csaba Csere, Charlie Hughes, Heather, Jay, Kamimura-san, Maeda-san, Katabuchi-san, etc)

It was cleared (and cheered) by mazda that we got the stuff up so fast...

Off to get drunk with the mazda folks and learn more about 16b's, superchargers, and mazdaspeed 8's, next gen 7's, miata's ! ! :D :D :D Oops, did I just write that?!

 

The part you quoted "How can Berny do this so soon?" was from me.

 

Ask them how I get a job reviewing for Car and Driver would ya

And what was the overall tone from the rest of the guys (C&D, R&T, etc?). I'm curious to know as we won't see their articles for another month at least.

 

Please, please tag team the Mazda people with booze and press them to spill all their beans. :D

 

And tell them that the MazdaSpeed RX-8 is hideous

 

first off, the MPS rx8 isn't hideous, YOU just think so. Second, you could never work for C&D b/c you're so cynical.

 

haha. good observation koolaid

 

Getting a job, not to mention making a career at C&D is nearly impossible. Or at least that is what Larry Webster told me when he visited Lehigh University (his alma mater) to talk to SAE. He said it is really tough to get your foot in the door and that he sent them articles he had written for a year before they even considered him. Oddly enough, Frank Markus went to Lehigh too. :D Must be something in the water.

 

1.6L RENESIS

 

Also, what do those signs say in that tent/garage? It starts out with "WHEN THE TACH IS SCREAMIN'... A FULL 9 GRAND..." (I can't read the rest...)

 

i think the next one is "thrash"...??

 

yes, what did those bigger mags' reviewers think about the RX-8 after test driving it?

 

yeah that's one of my questions! there is another pic where you can read that one word of the third banner and it says "tweak"

 

"WHEN THE TACH IS SCREAMIN'... A FULL 9 GRAND...YOU'LL FEEL LIKE A MONKEY...WITH HIS BANANNA IN HIS HAND":D

(See gif in m477's post)

 

"Off to get drunk with the mazda folks and learn more about 16b's, superchargers, and mazdaspeed 8's, next gen 7's, miata's ! ! Oops, did I just write that?! "

Is it me, or were we just hinted that a supercharger will be part of some Mazdaspeed program down the road? Considering the Millenia was belt-pressized, it may not be so impossible...

 

Did anyone get to cut a few laps with the 787b? :D

 

whoa... imagine trying to wrestle that thing away from the wall at the bottom of the corckscrew.... *sigh in euphoric bliss*

 

Did anyone notice the RX-01? which looks like a RX-7 concept