Glyphon

couldn't have said it better myself. it does have a great sound, but holy cow is that thing a boat. the seats are pretty comfortable, but damn is it heavy. its got a good 700 lbs on the rx8. and really, for having as much power as it does, it doesn't feel like it. if i had fallen asleep on my test drive, it wouldn't have surprised me (the seats were comfy). i was extremely disappointed by the GTO. before driving it, i was considering it as a car to buy. after driving it, there isn't a chance i would spend the money on it. for the money, there are definately better cars out there.

did i mention its heavy?

Steiner

An auto RX-8 is like fat-free ice cream. It's almost like the real thing, but not quite. On the other hand the straighline performance difference between an auto GTO and manual GTO is very small.

Are you looking at an '04 or '05 GTO? There is a huge difference between the two model years.

guy321

Ahaha, yeah, the auto 8 is like ice milk and the mt is ben and jerrys.

beef2000

Mileage is what did it for me. Same if not better mileage in the GTO for almost 2x the HP and about 2.7x the torque. Can't argue with that efficency!

rx8wannahave

Help me understand, I'm not trying to be insensitive here...

Why do people say: "My wife can't drive stick, so MY car has to be auto" ???????

I thought the car was for you...not your wife? If you wife has a car why would she need to drive your car? Sorry...I just never get that statement????

I rather teach my wife to drive stick (my wife actually knows but just does not have alot of practice) then get an auto because my wife can't drive it? Again, not attacking or anything but I just don't get the above reason for getting an auto.

The GTO is a fine car and since you are getting an AUTO it will give you more performance in a straight line than the 8. OR....OR...you can get an auto 8 and once they make a Turbo/SC for it you can stick in there and you can have the best of both worlds.

khtm

^ you tell 'em, brotha! :D

I don't have a wife but I feel ya

DreRX8

Well the marriage is more important--as you get older its harder to learn--apparently when my mom and dad got married before I was born my dad had a 911--he tried to teach my mom to drive stick but it was a tremendous hassle--so he conceded and got her an XJ6 and him an XJS. What if something happens in an emergency and your wife can't drive stick? If you can get a beater auto for such an occasion--but only so many people are oh so lucky.

rx8wannahave

lol...my wife understands I'm a car guy and stick is the only way to go for me. Heck I've seen her drive my Probe GT (my ex car) and she did a FINE job...I was surprised since she herself told me she did not have alot of experiance.

Besides, she has her 6 and she loves it!

rx8wannahave

Yes, the emergency situation is possible...but again that's why my wife knows how to drive stick. Teach her...she is not dumb, she can learn stick. She only needs to be good enough with stick to drive it in emergency situations...that's not a major task. Again...my wife drives her car, I think family does come first but I dont' see it as such a big issue that you are FORCED to drive auto for the "could a, would a, should a" times in life.

How often do we have REAL emergencies?

rx8wannahave

Again, don't get me wrong, do as you wish...but me personally if it's MY car I pick what it is and what type of tranny. I rather spend the time teaching my wife than spend the MUCH LONGER time complaining that I have an auto because my wife can't drive stick.

I personally love stickshift and unless they have a car with a auto/stick feature, I wont change tranny's. No...not a auto that works "like" a stick, but a stickshift tranny that can be changed into auto mode. I think BMW built one...

dmp

as my dad used to say "They ain't gonna learn any younger".

DreRX8

At the same time though--not everybody wants to learn to drive stick--some people just view cars as transportation. While I would try and teach my wife (if I was married) to drive stick--sometimes you have to make compromises.

khtm

Not sure if you saw this, rx8wannahave:

rx8wannahave

Yeah...I understand, but that would be one sad compromise for me. I love cars and I don't see them as "just transportation" like most people do, but I understand what you are saying.

BUT, is it worth the risk? What I'm saying is...she can have an auto, you have a stick and when you go some place together you use the auto...for those "just in case" situations.

How is that compromise?

rx8wannahave

Ah, I will shut up about it now...lol, THANKS!

GotZoom

Blah blah blah blah blah. MT is better than AT. Blah blah blah.

Get what you want. If you need to qualify for the reimbursement, I say the 8. I drive an AT - by CHOICE. My wrangler is an MT. We play on the weekends sometimes with the jeep and I'm not able to keep my hand free of other things a lot of the time.

Is it as fun - probably not for most. For me - absolutely. If I need the "fix" for a MT, I go to the paddles or drive my jeep.

Buy what YOU want - for the reasons YOU want.

khtm

To sum up GotZoom's post, in his own words:

rx8wannahave

ZING! lol

Aratinga

I have both cars... an '04 GTO and an '04 RX-8... but both are manual trannies. However, I can give you a first-hand comparison of both cars, and even from the female point of view since your wife will be driving it.

RX-8: Lightweight, high-revving corner-carver with a distinctive eyecatching appearance. The major pluses to this car are:

• the price (I'm sure you can pick up an new '05 RX8 for thousands less than a new '05 GTO, although there are some dealers who still have leftover '04s of both makes and will make excellent deals on both in automatic trim);
• looks (if you like them);
• the freestyle doors for back-seat access;
• the handling (razor-sharp)
• the braking (awesome!) and
• the Renesis rotary engine (if you're a fan of the rotary, which is why many of us bought the car).

Minuses are

• lousy gas mileage (No better than the V8! Both take premium gas.)
• weak air conditioning (even after the "fix" Mazda came up with)
• lack of torque (you'll notice this even more in the automatic)
• a feeling of being somewhat underpowered when compared to other sports coupes (especially for the automatic), and
• the Renesis rotary engine (if you're not willing to give a rotary the special attention it needs in terms of checking your oil frequently and letting it warm up before shutting it down to prevent flooding).

GTO: Your basic modern musclecar -- a midsize coupe with a massively powerful motor. A Holden Monaro in Pontiac drag, the GTO's exterior styling harks back to the late '90s coupes like the Volvo C70, which makes it perfectly anonymous on the road. NO one notices this car for how it looks. What made me fall in love with this car was, first, the exhaust note. Sweet LS1 music! Then -- the massive gobs of torque and horsepower lurking under your right foot, available with the merest blip of the throttle. We've had more fun luridly powersliding this car around corners than should be legal.

The interior of the GTO is also first-rate -- beautiful high quality leather and seats that are amazingly comfortable. The biggest annoyance about the GTO is rear seat access (or should I say, LACK thereof). The extra doors on the RX8 have really spoiled me, and having to clamber into the back seats of the GTO gets old really quick. For some reason, Holden makes the front seats power-only, and they move forward and back reallllly slowwwwly... so getting in the back seat in a pouring rainstorm would not be a quick process. Once you're back there the rear-seat legroom seems about the same for both cars... which means that if the front-seat passengers are long-legged types with the seats way back, your rear passengers will be cramped.

Another weak spot is the braking, but only in the '04 (Pontiac put a much nicer, bigger brake kit on the '05, along with the nonfunctional hood scoops that were missing in the '04). But hey... it's a muscle car! GO is the operative word here, not STOP.

The LS1/LS2 motor is truly the heart of this car. It's perfectly mannerly for around town driving, but when you get on the thing it's a head rush. I laugh out loud when I drive this car. Thank God for the traction control! Of course, the real fun starts when you turn TC off.

So... I'm guessing that you wife ain't exactly a car fanatic, and just wants a nice comfy car for her shopping trips. I'd vote for the GTO for her. And since you're forced to do the automatic thing, you'll sacrifice a lot more in the RX8 by going auto than you will with the GTO. In fact, the only drawback to the auto in the GTO is you'll have to pay a gas guzzler tax on it (the stick escapes this by having a skip-shift mechanism).

Hope this helps!

guy321

Why does his company require his car be an automatic for the riembursement? Just wondering

GotZoom

No, no, no. You misunderstand my signature. The "I know, I know" was a bored reference to the AT bashers...you should have bought an MT, blah blah blah. That was there strictly for the AT bashers. Believe me, when it comes to the benefits of "my free hand", there is no way I would trade my AT for a MT!

khtm

I knew what ya meant, GotZoom Just givin' ya a hard time :D

rx8wannahave

That just does not sound right...lol, just messing with you GotZoom...khtm started it...lol, have a great day!!!

jaguargod

So what will the Greddy exhaust do exactly? I would really like my 8 to sound a little tougher, but I don't want it to sound like a ricer.

rx8wannahave

I suggest Borla...my fav, but check around there is a thread with a bunch of sound clips of different exhaust setups.