What's your favorite car you've owned and how does it apply to the RX-8?
 

I would have to say that my favorite car I've owned was a moderately modified 93' Nissan 240SX I drove for almost 4 years. The handling, power, balance, and driving experience were the best all around that I have experienced to date, (and that's saying a lot considering I've driven quite a few cars.) It wasn't a power / torque "monster" (sound familiar? ;) ), but was RWD, had just enough power and balance to be taken to the limit safely and controllably, and make it handle incredibly well.

List of mods: K&N intake, High Performance Plugs, HKS stainless steel exhaust, Jacobs Electronics Ultra Team Ignition and plug wires (custom spliced and installed by myself), and some sticky rubber!

I'm thinking the RX-8 will give me a very similar experience (even better handling) while also giving me some extra power to play with and an even better overall package!

P.S. Had I known then, what I know now, I probably would have still had my 240SX with a nice SR20DET swapped into it, even if it was a second car.... ;)

I've owned two 1st Gen RX-7s, an '82 and my current '79. Both those cars have addicted me to the rotary engine in a big way. I only hope the RX-8 does well so I can buy one in a couple years when I'm done university.

It would have to be a toss-up between my 13B bridgeported RX-3 (that's it on the left) and my 10AE Miata.

The RX-3 was noisy and uncomfortable, and there wasn't a whole lot you could do to make that strut and cartspring suspension work properly, so it was always a handful to drive rapidly.

But it was immensely fun, and fast in a straight line.

The Miata, on the other hand, had far more creature comforts and far less horsepower. But its suspension could be tweaked in every direction, and it never failed to put a smile on my face after tackling a set of curves.

It was immensely fun, and fast in a twisty line.

Anyone detect a theme here? ;)

Here is a list of my cars to date, in chronological order, from high school on in my 36 years (20 years of driving):

1975 VW Scirocco POS!
1981 RX-7 Great car!
1990 Plymouth Laser Turbo FWD-like Eclipse Great car!
1992 BMW 325i POS!
1983 Toyota Supra Performance model- BMW backup, more relliable than BMW depsite being much older. Great car!
1997 Mazda Miata- still have it, POS BMW unceremoniously dumped. Great car!
1988 Acura Legend- winter beater as I pay off Miata in 24 month. Great car!
2000 VW GTI 1.8T- replaced Legend as daily driver. Great car, but did have a few niggling things wrong with the interior. Sold to go back to grad school as I inherit 1995 Camry with low miles from grandmother.
1995 Camry mentioned above- totally reliable and pleasant to drive, if not exciting. Great car, because grandma owned it.
2003 Infiniti G35- still have it. Great car!

Why did I list all my past automobiles? Because other than the Miata, which I still own, the ONLY one I long for and have such fond memories of is the 1981 RX-7. Maybe part of it was because I owned it when I was in college, which was a wonderful time of my life, but mostly was because of the entire package- the styling, rotary power, interior, etc.

I was actually thinking about my old RX-7 today at lunchtime. I have the VIN here somewhere and I could have a policeman friend run a check and see if it is still out there bringing smiles to someone's place. I would like to think that it is, but I doubt it. It had 100,000 miles on it when I sold it to my cousin in 1989, and he sold it in 1994 with 135,000 miles and it was not running so well, he said. He was in Oklahoma at the time, so I could not buy it back and lovingly restore it, as I had planned. He did call me before he sold it but it was not well enough to make the trip back, it was far away, and I was low on funds at the time.

It's something... of all the cars I have owned, my favorites have been my current 1997 Miata and my 1981 RX-7. I guess Mazda really does have a way with sports cars...

Here she is...

1983, GX (Canadian) model, (same as GSL in the States for that year), carburetted 13B (from an RX-4, I think, dunno, was that way when I got it), free flow exhaust... I should never have sold it... except it would never pass emissions now...

Owned
96 civic ex
91 toyota camry v6

My fave the camry...
apply to rx-8. Very reliable, fast but not monster fast, roomy, good memories... and hopefully the rx-8 can give me good times.

1965 mustang. how does it relate? i wanted one for years, it was great fun to drive, i could take my freinds along to share the ride, there was a large community of people that were as obsessed about it as me and it was a car that changed the automotive industry- just like the rx-8 will:D

...Life with the Rotary...
 

Just wanted to go a tiny bit off topic here, for those of you who had owned Rotary engines for a while, aside from it being a blast to drive and all that good stuff, how is it on the maintainence side ? Was the car costly to maintain ? How would to rate it in terms of reliability ? what about other people you know who had own a rotary engine ?

Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks.

BMW 330ci
 

I've owned a BMW 330ci 01' and i love the handling of it. The persuit of the best handling car (RWD) is on my list right now.....I 330ci has everything that i've ever wanted....black car, with black and red interior, Sports package, everything loaded. It's the best handling car i've ever driven, although AWD wasn't in my consideration. For me DRIFT is FUN, from what i've heard RX8 would be the best handling RWD car around and for that i'm willing to give it a try. AWD can't really DRIFT unless if they're in RALLY ;)

Best car I ever owned and still do. Bought it in 1986 and has had allmost no problems. Biggest one was new clutch at 86000.

Re: ...Life with the Rotary...
 

I am not sure that this will be helpful, because I really had no trouble with my rotary whatsoever. I owned it for 6 years and put about 40,000 trouble free miles on it. The car was not costly to maintain, except that it was my hobby car, so I did alot of stuff to it that a normal user might not. Others that I knew had no trouble with theirs either, unless they were porting or modifying the engine to within an inch of its life; I did not know any 3rd generation owners, though. All in all the whole car was a 10 for reliability.

i haven't owned a whole lot of cars but i had an '84 F150...pretty much the antithesis of an rx8... it was a plain jane looking slow as molasses in the winter can't hold a turn gas guzzling torque monster that got 14mpg going downhill in neutral with a tailwind... yet it was lots of fun...truck bed full of cement or a boat on the hitch and it would accelerate pretty close to without (once again not that fast) just braking became a bit more difficult... oh and going backwards =)

1990 Ford Probe had it for almost 13 years with over 220,000 miles on it - I lost it last Feb in an accident ...

:(

I'd go on and on, but I can see that glazed look come over your eyes ... (but I'll let anyone who's interested about my impressions can do a search on me and my old car ...)

:D

1989 Honda CRXsi - The first car that I bought brand new. I had put 300k miles on it when I sold it (against my will). The engine was never touched. I let it go 50k miles twice between oil changes. Only had to replace the each of the CV joints once.

Honda should have never stopped making this one.

CRXsi: Quick, practical, blast to drive.

RX-8 GT: Fast, more practical, more fun.

1986 Nissan 200SX
 

It was RWD, with a tall 4 speed auto that made for great highway cruising at 85 MPH. 4 wheel disc brakes stopped me short. Hatchback was extremely flexible for large loads, and the rear seats folded completely flat for a terrific cargo area (or makeout spot).

The car handled very well, and was light weight. I abused it through two years of highschool, five years of college (and numerous roadtrips) and still put over 125K miles on it before I sold it. The engine still ran strong, the interior held up well; nothing ever went wrong with that car - even the pop-up headlights never failed. A few sets of tires, and one set of brake pads was all it needed.

Rotary engines in NA form are extremely reliable. The 12A motor in the 1st Gen RX-7 is known for going 200,000 miles without much trouble and a significant number have gone past the 300k mark. The two RX-7's I have owned had 170,000 miles and 103,000 miles on them, and both motors were in good shape.

I had a '91 Honda Civic Hatchback, fun car too drive, till it got stolen and total lossed:mad: I saved and saved for about 3 years (me and my mom shared her corolla), and found a good deal on a 91 NSX. This car is AWESOME to drive, handling, acceleration, I love this vehicle. Hehe, I love it so much that I dont want to drive it as a daily driver no more, and need to get a more practical car. Hence thats why I'm getting the RX-8:cool:
Sportyness and Practicality in the same car!!!

Favorite: '69 'Stang (first car)
The rest: '77 Nova, '76 El Camino ( I know :-), '82 Subaru, '82 4x4 Datsun, '84 Camaro, '80 Audi 100, '78 BMW 320 (Great car), '82 Jetta, '87 Iroc Z (149 MPH!), '85 Golf GTI, '80 Prelude POS, '82 Toyota Van, '84 Toyota 4-Runner, '85 Toyota Levin, '89 Vauxhaul GTS (cool little car), '84 Honda Integra, '94 Amigo, '95 Mazda MX3, '97 Eclipse Spyder, '97 Z-28 (second favorite), '93 S-10 Blazer, 2001 Eclipse...
And '82 Kawi KZ400, '86 Honda VFR400 (Favorite overall vehicle), '95 Honda Nighthawk 750, '97 Yamaha GP1200 Jet-Ski

2004 RX-8 !!!

1983 Mazda RX-7 4 seater 13B engine

I had a 83 bmw 320i which i absolutely loved. i bought it for 900$ over ebay in an impulse move that made my dad very upset. but about 1000$ it was running awesome and it was such a fun and characterful car(besides being excellent at sliding) it finally died last year and i was going to repair it this summer but my dad wanted to get it out of his driveway so we had it junkyarded. it was about to turn 250k miles........
anyways other than being rwd the only thing that the relates the two cars is i cannot get one now........

(^_^) My favorite: my two FD RX-7s. Handling supreme...speed to match...styling WAY ahead of its time, backed every time I surprise the average citizen by saying, "It's a '93!"

Ahh, but the consequences to such a driving experience. Just about every quirk and problem associated with those third gens, both inside and out, I have experienced at one point or another, and I've corrected or fixed almost every single one (the major ones, anyway)--at the expense of my poor wallet! (-_-)

I am purchasing an 8 for a few reasons:

First, for it's practicality, albeit a snug and compromised one. The lack of power and a turbo is one concern, but it's nothing a few dollars couldn't fix... (^_^)

Second, I've owned no cars newer than '94, and I'm wowed by all the nifty new features and gadgets that most newer-model owners' enjoy and almost take for granted today. It's silly, but I look forward to renting cars while I'm on vacation for this very reason. (My girlfriend lets me drive her '98 Civic all the time, but it's a base model with power-nothing.)

Last, is to keep the rotary alive. The more 8s Mazda sells, the closer the reality of seeing another 7 on US shores will be. I am not waiting for initial sales figures or holding out at the tempting prospect a higher-power version a year or two down the line, Mazdaspeed or otherwise. For the rotary's sake, if not the 7's, I feel I'm doing my part buying one now, not later.

Peugeot 309 1.9 GTi
 

Back in London in 1984 my parents gave me a 10+ year old Vauxhall Viva before I started university (college over here). These are the same folks that moved house whilst I was on a 3 month vacation the following year (without letting me know) - perhaps they were trying to tell me something...

To say it was basic would be an understatement (1.1 liter 4 banger, only one wing mirror - an upgrade from none I think). My only memory of it was in my first week running out of gas (broken gauge naturally) on a very busy but narrow one-way street in London's Chinatown during rush-hour (nowhere to push the car aside to). I think I made the traffic news that day. I literally gave it away and upgraded to a bicycle for my university years.

The first car I bought with my own money (about $6000) was a 2-year old Peugeot 309 GTi when I started working in 1989. This was the bigger brother of the legendary 205 GTi (i.e. 1.9 liter 130hp engine with 4 doors and better weight distribution but not very pretty). This was an incredible car in the UK by the standards of those times (vastly better than a Golf GTi in every respect except build quality) and was used by several race/rally driving schools. We lived just outside London in Essex and I drove everywhere at 90-120 (speeding was not a big deal in those days - now they have cameras everywhere). I put 300 miles on it every weekend going nowhere in particular. Sadly it got stolen a few years later. Many happy memories.

I've owned much better/faster cars since then (BMW 320i, Saab 900i, Audi A4, Honda Prelude, Integra, Lexus IS300 etc) but none that gave me happier memories - partly because I had the Peugeot GTi during my youth and partly because of the kinds of roads/trips that I got to drive. I doubt even the RX-8 will remove it from my favourite spot...


__________________

'97 Supra TT... best car I have ever owned and still do :) Shitload of power with handling to match. Awesome, awesome car :)

I've only personally owned 1 car.

1990 Mazda 626.

It relates to the RX-8 because they both have a Mazda badge on them. Otherwise they are completely unrelated ;)

Black '87 RX-7 TII, 152,000 and counting. I still love the car, even though the A/C quit working, the wipers only work on one speed, the air mix control is shot, the drivers side door handle is broken, yada yada... engine is going strong, though! I plan on keeping her even after I get the RX-8 - we've been through too much together to part company!

Hey are you still driving it? I only ask, because I still miss my 1990 Probe ...

Although I've only had my MP5 for 2+ months, it's just not the same ...

:(

To misquote pelucidor, I doubt even the RX-8 will remove it from my favorite spot...

My current ride, 97 Integra GS-R, is by far the best car I've owned. Of course, you could say the bar was not set especially high by my previous rides:
84 Hyundai Pony
86 Hyundai Pony (engine transplant from above)
84 Volks Rabbit
88 Isuzu I-mark (turbo, was actually fun)
then the 97 GS-R

I like it so much in fact that the RX8 is the first serious replacement candidate. I just can't find another car that is light, agile, fast, reasonnably practical and has more luxury features than my teg. The other one is the 330Ci, but that's just too expensive and I don' t like the image it projects.

87 accord (blah) (donated)
98 prelude (eh) (totalled)
90 RX-7 GXL (ok) (sold)
93 RX-7 R1 (good) (sold)
89 RX-7 TurboII (good) (sold)
90 RX-7 Convert (blah) (sold in 2 weeks)
89 RX-7 TurboII (MINT!)
95 RX-7 (MINT!)
XX RX-8 Mazdaspeed (white only)

Have had rotary cars since 99, driven them hard, and had only minor issues, nothing like the rumors you hear.. dead starter, broken door handle, switches died, but nothing mechanical.. only maintence really was fluid changes.

Of course, I was preemptive in replacing wear parts, belts, radiators, filters, hoses, etc..

Current 99 Miata. With suspension upgrades, it handles almost telepathically. Even though I have never driven the RX8 (like the rest of us except a lucky few), I have no doubt that the RX8 will have a similar feel. I trust Mazda for great handling cars!

Sorry, I needed to get this out of my system - I really miss my old 1990 Probe ...

I started going through some old photo albums - this was taken on Route 66 in Californa near the Nevada border ... and I needed to share

Miata. I've had a few and like them all equally. Nothing is as fun to drive. Nothing.

1991 Mazda RX-7 Coupe (non-turbo). I was absolutely head over heels for that car. I had first ridden in a 3rd Gen at an autoX in San Antonio in '93, and I was hooked. From that day forward I ogled EVERY 2nd Gen I saw around San Angelo, and wanted one so badly. When we moved back here from England in 1997, I KNEW that my car was going to be a 2nd gen. I found the 1991, and absolutely loved it. So, I guess I waited for 4 years to get my RX-7.

I had to sell it in 2000, due to a bad o-ring (and expecting chldren), and traded it for a Jeep Wrangler. As soon as the RX-Evolv debuted, I knew that was the car for me. So, I waited another 4 years to finally get my RX-8. I think I'm lucky in some respects, because obviously the 8 will be faster, and even more fun than my NA RX-7 was. Unlike folks coming from 3rd gen cars, who will possibly miss the neck snapping, brute acceleration.

1964 Red Corvette Stingray convertible, which I still have ! I've had her for 22 years.

However I'm sure the driving experience will be different - big time.

The vette is sheer, raw straight-line power, and gorgeous looks.
The RX-8 will handle better than anything I've owned, and have gorgeous looks.

Crucial..
 

I have had dozens of sundry cars, the pivotal ones were the Prelude and Legend.
Prelude was a blast, cornering was its best feature, it had the 4-wheel steering (awesome!) Just blast into a corner, nudge the wheel and hang on!
Totalled in an accident. Found the Legend in my price range, same year as the 'Lude - the steering wheel, dash, controls were identical, so sometimes I would forget, blast into a corner, nudge the wheel and ooooh! shiiiiit! That V6 up front just did not like to be thrown around - massive understeer - loosy goosy brakes - not the same car at all!
Looking forward to getting back to 'low polar moment', if its as much fun as I remember, my V6 days are over!
S

1988 5.0. When it was actually running it was pretty quick. But I think I put more miles on my shoes pushing the damn thing than I did driving it.

5.0 what???? Mustang???

yup, the ole' 5 liter mustang. For awhile it was great, but then as vh1's behind the music would say "it all just fell apart."

I've had quite a few cars over the past few years but the one I currently drive (CL Type S) has been my favorite so far. It's classy, comfortable and has enough power for the price.

My Jack Rousch 5.0 L H.O. MK7, cars 17 yrs. old still runs like a dream, no leaks, 140 k, always get stares! Can't wait to get in a great car that weighs 2000lbs. less than my MK7!!:D

(1995) Bought my `86 RX-7, and I still have it.
(1999) Bought an `85 RX-7 GS for $450
(2 months later) Bought a wrecked `85 GSL-SE to swap parts into my GS
(2001) Sold the 85's

I only got around to swapping the GSL-SE suspension, brakes, and LSD into the GS, not the motor or transmission. Other mods include Hawk brake pads, Tokico 5-ways, Eibach springs, and a set of BFG R1's for auto-x and blasts around town after the auto-x. Only power mod was a high-flow cat. It'd stop on a dime, relay all of the road to you, and give you oversteer on demand :) You felt like you were one with the car. I miss that car so much. Sure it had faded paint, a loose steering box, no A/C, seat covers, and was underpowered. But this car was the most fun to drive out of the cars I've owned.

But emotional attachment makes me say that my `86 is my favorite car. It was my first car. It's a big car (2600lbs whoo!) when compared to my `85 but it's got it beat in the power department. It was a nice compromise for fun to drive, handling, responsiveness, and straight line prowness. I've done a lot to it.

Mods: Street-ported 89 Motor (TII rotor housings ... ported and built by me :) ), race headers, HKS catback, no emissions :o , 89 intake manifolds, K&N, Crane HI6, S/T springs, Tokico 5-ways, S/T sway bars, Hawk brake pads. 170rwhp. Respectable for a non-Renesis, non-turbo 13B.

The relation between these cars and the RX-8 is obvious. Rotaries! 12A and 13B.