Sleepy-z

I work for the Richmond, VA Mazda Remanufacturing facility that is now taking over operations for Rotary rebuilds as some of you know and I was given permission from the boss's to bring out our trainer and his boss(the master). As some of you know from my other posts they have been building rotary motors for a long time, Yoshii has for 15 years and the master...well is the master at building them, he has done them since the beginning. Our trainer works under the master and trained all of us on how they build the motor in japan so we do it right, well this week the master flew out for a week to see how the operations are running and I decided I would see if I could steal them away for a day and let the owners meet who builds there motor before it gets in there car.

If your in the area or willing to come down and meet/thank or whatever your welcome to say hi to them. Like I said the master is here in the US for 1 week and being a sports car enthusiast I figured I would reach out to the customers. I cannot change the time or make this happen another day so dont ask, this is sort of a once in a lifetime chance to meet your builder since this is there first and possibly last visit to the US.

Anyways here is the info....

Friday June 6th
645pm
Starbucks
5001 Huguenot Road
Richmond, VA 23226

Its the weekly spot, if you can arrive on time/early and try to park together becuase the visit will be short. Yoshii barely speaks english and the master pretty much doesn't speak any but there both very nice and surpisingly goofy. They will be coming there after work so they may be tired also. We have dinner planned at 745pm so we cant stay too long. Also a small chance my boss will bring the 09 RX8 with them in it, all depends if headquarters comes and gets it before friday. Either way so far there will be me another worker from the plant our production line boss and the 2 japanese workers.


BTW I am sorta a dork so I had them both sign a brochure for me today...



Please email RX7/8's / post this on other rotary sites, I am not familiar with other websites for your cars and I want them to have a decent turnout.


Thanks and feel free to start a signup list.
Sleepy-z(BTW I will probably end up showing up in my Z, cant miss me I am 6'5")

Hanzo

Haha, hey sleepyZ, my friend Brandon M. emailed me about it and I told him I was going to post it here if you are fine with it. I guess I don't have to anymore lol.

kersh4w

iTrader: (3)

i'd totally go, but my rx8 is in the shop!

this is such a blower.

any rx8s in the d.c. area going that i could hitch a ride with?

Sleepy-z

Ha yeah, I know him from the datsun/nissan Z show, he told me about your rx7 so I figured I would tell him to tell you. Funny how it circled like that.

Hanzo

Actually I don't own a rotary anymore, I had a RX7 FC turbo II but that was a long time ago, now I drive a red NC miata. But I'll be there to say hi, Brandon said he couldn't make it.

Where are you guys going to eat? If you want to take them to a good sushi place I suggest Umi sushi bistro www.umisushibistro.com, they are probably the best Sushi in VA. IMO they are on par with Morimoto (iron chef) sushi I had up at NY. I would say take them to a good old American style restaurant like kitchen 64.

BTW do you come to the regular Friday night meet? I'm aways there and I might have met you. I started that meet around 6 years ago.

Sleepy-z

I came out one time in January to the starbucks, I have a white z32 with bronze volks, I just moved here from california and haven't had much time to meet people. As for the food, they one of them actually hates japanese food and wants american so we are just going to a chain up in colonial heights with the rest of the employees, he has been living off of wendys burgers for lunch and it drives me crazy so I am buying him dinner that is hopefully cooked :p

9-K Rever

I will be there if you need a translator, I speak fluent Japanese, and I had the opportunity to meet one of the project leads for the Hydrogen RE while I was in Japan.

So maybe it would be cool for them to talk about it.

9-K Rever

7andan8

Hell, I might have to take a drive to Richmond Friday!

Sleepy-z

That would be awesome if you dont mind, people keep asking me to bring someone but the only person that could is our plant manager and doubt he wants to go, he is pretty high up in terms of management for mazdausa now previously with mazda japan.

G-ReX

Aaaargh! I can't make it this week. Very cool of you to arrange this, though. I hope you get a good turn out. Get some good pics everyone.

To be named later

Sounds very cool. Too bad I am in Texas.

Just as a precaustion.......ummmm.........anyone familair with Japanese customs and ettiquette in such a situation?

Seriously.

I mean there are some things that you or I would be fine with, but to a Japanese national it is an insult.

I do know that giving a gift to a Japanese guest (nothing cheap, a high quality gift) is a way of showing respect.

I mean, the guy is responsible for building and remanufacturing the engines in our cars, let's make sure he is treated right.

Im_DANomite

iTrader: (1)

dammit...my sister is in town from San Fran, so no can do. take plenty of pics please!!

Sleepy-z

Nah, they are very laid back and joke all the time at work. Just shake there hands and treat them like you would to any guest guys. Someone PM'ed me the same question, I have been working along side Yoshii since he got here in March to train us all. When he arrived he did bring us all a japanese fan, whatever there called, I still have it and chances are I may need it tomorrow its gonna be hot.

Small note, everyone check in around Noon tomorrow, there is a small chance this may blow up on me now. Turns out the very high ups are coming in from Mazda Japan to tour the plant with a days notice, I reminded my plant boss from japan about the plans with them and he gave a look I didn't like. Small chance they want the guys that evenning but I will fight em for it.

If I do NOT post anything before noon tomorrow then everything is fine.

rx8convert22

Hope it works out. I am not leaving until 2:00 so I will make sure I check before I leave. Thanks again!

Sleepy-z

Everything worked out, boss says they will be coming tonight, no 2009 RX8 though but the engine builders will be coming out tonight for sure.

9-K Rever

Good times tonight, everyone was very cool, wish we had more 8's and 7's there though.

And the 09 RX8 was awesome.

9-K Rever

Sleepy-z

Yeah I wished more came out but a nice group of people anyways, wished it was cooler out and we had more time, I looked at the watch and had to push them out since I had coworkers waiting on us. 9k rever thanks a bunch for coming out and translating, I was wondering how much you knew but you were great, they had fun. Yoshii actually said he would want to come out there again, maybe the evenning when all the cars arrive, I was trying to keep it strictly mazda since the boss was coming with the 09 so I planned it early before the crowds arrived. "Mazda" or master, whatever people choose to call him is a bit more on the relaxed side and older so he wasn't so much into it but he enjoyed it since someone finally spoke his language. Anyways it was nice meeting all of you, I totally forgot to take pics but a few of you did and I am sure Yoshii will email me a few. See you all around, sorry we have to be secretive about things there, we were warned that everything we say reflex the company even when it comes to an opinion on something by our boss since we are Mazda employees rather then dealership employees. I will try to get Yoshii out another night for sure if he still wants to, my boss actually wants to come out to some meets but not until he gets his next company car.

rx8convert22

Made it back home. What a thrill. Thank you again for arranging this Sleepy-Z And thank you to 9k for the translating as well. Everyone was really cool. Wish I lived closer.

I was in rotary heaven meeting them. I too wish more rotaries had made it out! It was well worth the trip. I can't wait to see the pictures. Thank you so much for making this rotary geek's year!

G-ReX

Very cool, Sleepy-z. Hopefully I'll have another shot at this.

9-K Rever

Ozaki-San getting into the 09 RX8.

rx8convert22

Also coolest thing I learned about Yoshii ... He loves 5 Guys Burgers and Fries!!!

Sleepy-z

Yeah Yoshii loves burgers, I think he would move here just for them, we went out to eat and our disassebler (almost 400lb guy for that front locknut) ordered the biggest burger and he was trying to take it from him it was too funny.

Sleepy-z

BTW thanks for coming out guys, I have always had the thought that the more the car company cares about its owners and reaches out to them the better the will be especially in the sports car business. I always had the thought that the sports car makes or breaks a companies image, being a Z fan in the past the day they ended the Z here in the US in 1996 was when nissan slowly went down hill, they brought back the 350z and they starting doing well again. I used to right letters to various nissan higher ups to get them involved with club activities and never heard from them, honestly you want to sell a sports car then get involved with the owners and make it look fun to be apart of that world and that will draw in new owners also. Just my thoughts, sorta why I brought the guys out to a meet, gave you guys a chance to meet them and honestly its a moral booster for them imo also, lets them know why they do what they do everyday, for people who like there cars. Sorry I rambled there.

9-K Rever

No...you hit it on the head.

When you understand and love the rotary engine, not even just the rotary but any sports car..you love the emotions that it evokes when you think about it and drive it and the company that built it.

With Mazda and the rotary engine, its been a fight for one company to maintain and produce the one product that sets them apart from every other car company in the world.

It's their pride and image as a company that has kept and will keep them producing and refining the rotary engine.

It's that determination despite the challenges that the rotary engine and Mazda, has and will face that keeps me interested and fascinated by this company and that technology.

9-K Rever

rx8convert22

^

I second that!