Japan8

^^ yeah. DIY then... might be cheaper, but this comes fully fabbed/tested, suspension mods, AND a two year warranty. About $40k for the whole thing... not a bad deal. It'll toast just about anything you put up against it. Handling wise... dunno, but this setup does have 50/50 according to the article.

Mazdaspeed RX8 ver2

Personal preference, mx5 for me. Those cars are really really nice though but my loyalty is with those little japanses cars and mainly mazda... But i have to admit, the saturn and pontiac are really really nice..

j-apex rx

the opel roaster is also the same car .

rx8wannahave

My thoughts...

First, I personally think that's backwards in my opinion...^

I think the Solstice looks pretty sexy and GM did a fine job on it, it didn't beat the MX-5 because it's a bit slower and has less fun to drive factor. (well, a bit less fit and finish and daily driver capability also)

The Saturn looks even nicer and has a better interior than the Pontiac so it should sell pretty good also.

With the GXP version (260HP) the Solstice should be faster than our 8's considering it weighs less and makes more power. So the MX-5, unless Mazda has something up and coming, is going to have a serious threat to it's kingship.

Personally, I'm happy for GM (they need this)...and maybe Mazda will get a kick in their butt to make them realize that HP...is not a bad thing (lol).

Sadly...our 8's keep getting slower and slower, even within Mazda, compared to similar cars in it's price range (while I'm one of the customers that need back seats) and Mazda seems to be asleep at the wheel with the future of our 8.

Maybe Ford want's them to kill the idea of a better 8 considering they fought it to begin with. Hmmm...where is Bascho...should I consider Ford the evil selfish monster that does not want any competition for it's Mustang. Help me Bascho...I don't want to be a Ford hater...lol

rx8wannahave

Can someone explain what this guy said here...

If he is claiming the Mallett Solstice weighs 500 pounds less than the Vette he is WAY OFF. The Mallett Solstice comes in at 3010 and the Vette comes in at 310something or 3200 tops so that's just 190 pound of difference.

I actually think the power to weight ratio should make this Mallett Solstice faster, but this car and the Mustang have me scratching my head on all this power to weight ratio in estimating what a car can run. I know there is more to it than p/w ratio...but still, I would think the Mallett Solstice could do better considering we have a Turbo RX8 here making 300whp and it get's a 13.1 in the 1/4 mile.

That's only .3 sec off the Mallett Solstice and it weighs a bit less and has significantly more power??????

Anyone care to reflect on this...???

snizzle

Like someone mentioned before when I was comparing the Solstice and Vette, part of the reason is the difficulty in actually putting down that power to the pavement in such a light car.

DreRX8

I like Sky alot--for me its between the MX5 and Sky. Id expect the mazdaspeed mx5 to be about 200-220 boosted HP max.

rx8wannahave

^If I were you, I'd get the Sky with the 260HP...it looks better and is bigger. But...either way you will have a fine car!

rx8wannahave

snizzle...true, I forget about that...

bascho

Here to help

Don't be a Ford hater!!! Ford has nothing to do with the demise of the RX8.....the rotary engine does. Anything RX has to have a rotary......and the rotary has some serious limitations in the eyes of manufacturers who would like their cars to last at least 100,000 miles. This is not a problem if the Renesis remains N/A......but Mazda has already reached the limits of a 2-rotor engine N/A. Hell, 232 hp from 1.3L is unbelievable.......no production piston engine can touch that. But 232 hp is not very much anymore. The only way for Mazda to get more power out of a N/A rotary engine is more displacement. From what I've heard, there is no way to make the rotary economical. Adding rotors just makes the fuel economy worse. Sure the Renesis engines can be powerful with FI....but at the cost of fuel economy and durability......not to mention a higher price. This is a fuel conscience world and the rotary may not be able to compete in it.......at least not for a competitive price vs the competitions piston engine offerings. I don't think its much of a surprise that the Mazda 3, 6 and most likely the new MX5 were offered in MazdaSpeed form and not the RX8. Piston engines are easy to mod to achieve reliable, economical power.

bascho

In a comparo between the MX5, Sky and Solstice......I would take the Sky without a doubt. Even that new Aura looks good. I am impressed with Saturn's new offerings....at least looks wise.

Red Devil

The "demise of the RX-8" is a bit harsh.

bascho

A little. Sorry.....but I really don't think the rotary engine has a viable future. Gas prices are going to continue to inflate. In two years we'll be begging for gas at $2.75 per gallon. In five years we'll be begging for gas at $3.10 per gallon or more. A car getting 15mpg mixed driving will have no place in the next decade. Mazda would be smart to develop the next sports coupe with a piston engine. If Honda can bring 200hp Civics with 35/40 mpg city/hwy in 2006......what do you think they will have in 2010.....2015?

rx8wannahave

That is impressive and I don't know if the "demise of the RX8" is a done deal, but I can't argue that at the power levels we have and fuel economy...as gas prices continue to go higher...the rotary might be dead in the water.

It did servive the last fuel problems in the 70's....we will see.

Bascho, while I know you don't think they hit this, the Chevy's V8 hitting 30mpg in the highway with their big V8 is even more impressive than what Honda did in my opinion.

If I own one...one day, I'll let you know if the EPA numbers are true or not. lol

Red Devil

Everything as far as gas prices go is somewhat speculation. And there is still a lot of oil left in the world. Most abandoned oil wells are still above 80% capacity, they simply have not been further tapped because it was cheaper to move to the next well instead. With concerns to economic viability, there is more oil available today than there was 30 or 50 years ago.

Personally, I think the price of oil will eventually fall. To what it was before, no. But it will be substantially less than it is now.

I think the rotary will survive, but it will never be main stream. One option for Mazda may be to offer a sports car that is piston based, but has a rotary option for high performance applications.

LiveToRev

Although the interior fit and finish of Pontiac has improved over their previous products, the quality of the materials used in the Solstice still doesn't compare to MX-5's.

9291150

For those of you that haven't, I suggest that you sit in a Solstace, I'd guess the Sky should be the same. Both are “sitting in a plastic bathtub” cars, which completely ruin the roadster experience. The 350Z ragtop has the same door sills at your ear feel. Add in other nuisance features, like a top you can't operate from within the car, no trunk, etc., and why would you pick it over a new MX5?

Also, I'm guessing the GXP turbo will come in at nearly 3000 pounds, nearly at new Vette levels. Plain stupid! And a turbo? Always a makeshift solution.

GM, Ford, etc. certainly have good designers, but good engineers? Forgetaboudit!

PoorCollegeKid

The Ecotec was actually designed to be a turbo engine from the start, which is part of the reason why it's block is so strong. It's not like they're just slapping a low pressure turbo on an engine designed for NA application to get a few more ponies out of it. Besides, with nothing stopping Mazda from dropping their DI I4 turbo engine in the Miata, GM'd have to be absolutely clueless to not respond in kind. Personally, I'd rather see an aluminum pushrod V6 (or V8) in there because displacement and a good power:weight ratio is always nice to have (but then you'd have people saying "Well why didn't they use a 4 cylinder like the Miata to get that kind of power? Stupid GM and their lack of technology"), but if they make a Sky Redline Coupe I just might have to pick one up after I graduate.

rx8wannahave

^yeah...you can't please everyone...

rodrigo67

What mazda needs to do is "displacement on demand". Chrysler is currently putting out 8 cy. engines that work on 4 cy. under normal acceleration and highway, giving them great gas mileage, but when you step on the pedal, all 8 cy. come alive and give you your full 300+ hp for quick accelerations.

Now if mazda can give us a larger eng that would use one rotor for every day driving and kick in 2 under hard accelerations, that just might take care of the MPG issues...

Pretty smart of chrysler...

captain mercury

that Saturn and the Solstice are looking pretty good.
but then i scrolled down a couple more posts, and i think the Mazda might be prettier. It might just be the intrigue of a little heritage behind a car. or maybe i'm just biased.

BunnyGirl

I sat in them both at the auto show and they way everything is positioned in the Solstice it is pretty awkward for me. The Miata was better. I was reading somewhere how Mazda used all these high-tech sensors and stuff to make the car ergonomically desiged for the driver. I don't know what size of person they used since it would vary person to person for where stuff should be optimally positioned but it was a much better fit for me.

BunnyGirl

Years ago when my stepdad was buying a new GMC truck there was a truck on the showroom floor that said GMC on three sides of it and had a Chevy logo on the other side.

Japan8

I agree. And there was recently a drop in wholesale food and enegery prices last month. The future of energy prices is pretty much a crap shoot though... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060321/...NqBHNlYwM3NDk-

People are also forgetting about things like shale oil and tar sands... something that there is plenty of in Canada and a supply in the US as well. When oil was cheap (and old technology), it wasn't cost-effective to extract the oil, but now... between the rising oil prices and improvements in technology it's starting to reach the sweet spot. We've still got oil to go...

Japan8

I thought that the Miata's interior was very nice. Sat in a MS outfitted one at the past Tokyo Motorshow. Only problem... at 6' and not skinny... the damn car is a bit cramped and honestly a bit too low for me.

Haven't seen the Solstice or Sky in person, but from the pics... the Sky's interior looks good... real good. If I was into two seater convertibles... I'd definitely check one out... especially the GXP/Redline model (or get the V8 engine swap ).