auzoom

I said this before in the Vale thread. If you look at the NA->NB MX-5 it was mainly cosmetic and enough to spark new interest in the car. This sort of change is what I believe is the "facelift" that the 8 is getting. I also agree with what Gomez said about Mazda integrating small but simple "Special Edition" features such as Bilstein dampers, maybe keyless start etc .

ASH8

How old are you Michael, I will happily pass on DD's email address to you (its not that hard to work out) if you want to attempt to solicit information, other than that your sarcasm is noted.

I was not told about the new model because I did not ask, as I have posted before, (from my perspective) I was concerned about the production stop and Gomez original thread title "Vale RX-8"...

It may take another week to get a reply, but yes I have emailed DD again, what information (if any) he offers on the new model and specs is up to him, but, seeing no one else knows the actual truth..and there are still old stocks for Mazda to move I do not think he will offer much..but you never know.

Do you really think he is going to pass on pics on a new model to a retail customer, before even dealers or media have seen them...

ASH8

MX-5 NA-NB Engine went from 1600 to 1800cc too!, change in dash and trim, every outer body panel. Wheels and brakes....A little more than just cosmetic but, yes on the same platform.

erx8s

Ash8

I have e-mailed MazdaJapans CEO with a few questions about the restyled/revised RX8 .

Hopefully i will be hearing from the Horses head and not its tail , when and if i do hear from them i will inform Forum members .

Cheers
Michael

labrat

I have to agree with just about everything you say, but it was a long post to quote all of it. I would say that I can recall seeing one of the RX-EVOLV concepts at a Brisbane motor show some years before the RX-8 came out, and I thought then that that it was way too avant garde. A delicate balance isn't it; you've got to be out in front but not too much so you don't scare the punters. Mazda tried the other route in the '90's and it nearly killed them. They tried not to lead the pack, but to go along with it. Honda and Nissan are still doing it today, and it's a case of the bland leading the bland. Sure, the public was polarized by the new look BMW's, but they're buying them in ever increasing numbers. I was reading the report of the BMW AGM in the Neue Zurcher Zeitung the other day, and from what the chairman was saying, reverse isn't a gear that they'll be using. Expect to see some very interesting models from them in the years to come.

I know how hard it can be marketing something different. My little company makes instrumentation which works on a slightly different principle. You'd think in selling to the scientific community, something new and different would cause a bit of excitement. Unfortunately not. It's hard slog all the way. I learned a little marketing theory when my younger daughter did a degree in advertising & marketing, but doing it for real brings it all back home.

enforcer

Getting anything back from the Mazda CEO is about the same odds of this horse getting past this tail....

Revolver

I really hope Mazda learnt something from the NA-NB MX5 progression. Yes, it got a bigger motor but there's plenty of people who thought the NB was a less pure car than the NA original. As for the styling - yuck! Talk about too soft! And it put on weight, thus pretty much nullifying the power increase. At least they've gotten back on track with the excellent NC.

The Japanese have an unfortunate track record of letting a great initial sports model go to pot with subsequent models (Z cars anyone?). Hopefully, Mazda will make the face-lifted RX8 better in all departments...and keep it's weight down!!

Revolver

It's a black art alright. Everybody panned the AU Falcon's rear-end styling when it launched but check out some current Merc's!

I've been a trenchant critic of Bangle's flame-surfacing but y'know, it's gradually growing on me. I hated the 5 when it came out but I'm starting to warm to it. And the Z4 coupe is quite a good looking little car. Maybe it's a bit like repetition of a song on the radio - at first you think it's ordinary but after a while you begin to enjoy it. Mind you, that little theory can work in reverse too, hahaha...

ASH8

Dear Ashley,

My apologies but we are not in a position to share information on forthcoming product changes that we have not already shared with our Mazda Dealer network.

We anticipate releasing Information on RX-8 for April 2008 production to our Dealer network early in the new year. At that time the best source of information on availability and specifications is going to be through the Mazda dealer of your choice and I am sure that they would be only to happy to keep you informed

Kind regards
Doug Dickson

I tried....but exactly what I thought.

erx8s

Rotary news and Jerub present

http://www.rotarynews.com/?q=node/view/949

Next rotary to be A ...........16 X

https://www.rx8club.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3914

Cheers
Michael

enforcer

In a word....

auzoom

Ash, I agree they increased capacity of the NB, but as we know thats not as simple in a rotary.

Anyway, only just realised they were updating the 6 but I think its yet another example http://www.motorauthority.com/news/s...ed-2008-mazda6

Very little except for a cosmetic upgrade.

Cheers

Andrew

auzoom

I dont believe the x will be anything other than a concept name. I am pretty sure they will fall in line.

DrewMan

Is that thing for real?



youre a bit limited to choices on the rear wheel unless you get the (fenders?) removed!





Where on earth do the shocks sit?

d j

is that thing supposed to fly?

Revolver

what the?

Check out pp18-19 of the current Wheels.

New dimensions, new body, new engines, upgrades to suspension, new interior, more safety items. If that's just cosmetics in your eyes you must have a high opinion of your wife's beautician, hahaha...

auzoom

OK well not having read the Wheels article (as I mentioned I have only just read there is going to be a new model), from the article I posted it seems to me to be just a cosmetic upgrade. Rip out and replace suspention...cosmetic, replace a few fairings (which alter dimensions)...cosmetic, pimp out the interior...cosmetic. And as I also mentioned, uping the capacity of a piston engine is no where near the effort of doing the same to a rotary engine.

Non cosmetic to me entails new chasis design, new suspension design, change in engine (not just a change in capacity), etc.

I also mention "Very little except for a cosmetic upgrade." I never said it was ONLY a cosmetic upgrade.

As for beauticians, my wife doesnt use one nor does she need one

Cheers

Andrew

robrecht

Great line, BTW.

takahashi

I am merging michael's thread with ASH's thread ... make a lot of sense then.

Revolver

Hahaha, good comeback on Mrs Auzoom. Obviously no offence meant or implied.

But I have to continue to disagree with your stretched interpretation of 'cosmetic' and suggest you are on your own with that understanding of what cosmetic means when applied to changes to existing models. Cosmetic as I understand it usually means changes to looks but not mechanicals or dynamics.

The new 6 does have chassis changes - it is wider and has a longer wheelbase. The 2.5 litre engine is all new - the 2.3 litre MZR is to be discontinued. Every exterior panel is new. The interior is all new. The suspension has been altered. These changes, except perhaps the interior, will bring dynamic improvements, which is hardly just cosmetic as that term is usually understood.

Your hair splitting argument about 'very little' v 'only' does not wash at all. If that list of changes to significant parts of the car is very little to you, your requirements for a new model would imply that Holden did not introduce a new Commodore more than 2 or 3 times (I haven't kept up with their major new model releases as opposed to 'series II' facelifts). Ditto Ford with the Falcon.

What would you require from Mazda for the next RX8 to be regarded as a new model??? I accept the point that altering the rotary further involves more effort than adding cubes to a piston engine but I wonder what extent of change to the engine and other parts of the car you would see as designating a new model as distinct from an improved version of the existing model.

takahashi

As far as I am concerned if they have changed the diamension of the car... it is a different car all together, since the chassis and suspension will be different.

Every series of commonwhore drives differently (.... sound weird when I say it this way )

I am not going to spectulate... just want to be invited on the race track when it lands on Ozzieland

timbo

cough...cough....As I understand it, the engineers are still waiting to hear back from the designers on that question

ASH8

Not so certain about that TAKA....

Wishful thinking if we will see the 16X or a 16 B, C, or anything in the "revised/new" RX-8 mid 2008.

I think the same RENESIS I (13B) will remain.

Will "revision" to the RX-8 help lift much needed sales, particularly in the US, as we are talking at least another 3 years or so of production.

takahashi

If there is a 16B it will take longer as I know the japanese emission standard have been toughened recently.

RXtheGREAT

anybody heard any info on the city-speed rx8 turbo kit problem lately i just bought the kit just wondering new to the club and to the 04rx8 i got it 2 days ago and spanked my brother rsx type s .......so happy with the car