...and I live in Manhattan, ground zero for the metropolitan tri-state New York area, arguably one of the most congested traffic regions in the country. Spotted a silver RX-8 on the Saw Mill River Parkeay last Sunday and that was the first RX-8 I’ve seen in months. How odd.

 

 

I made 3 2000 mile road trips in 3 months and didn't see any.

 

New Yorkers motto,

 

I have people asking me what it is

 

So what's the complaint here? I am actually glad that I don't see them like I see Civics and Mustangs everyday.

I see a couple of RX-8 sometimes, but it's not a guarantee I am gonna see them everyday. Most of them are S1s, if I am lucky then I might see an S2, most likely an R3.

 

There is no complaint, dude drives his car 2000 miles a year and lives in Gotham and wonders why he never sees any RX-8's,

 

Well actually, if we're gonna deal in facts here (and yeah, I know… facts today are optional), that's untrue. I drive, on average, about 3,800 miles/year.

And yes, there's no complaint; it's merely an observation. And for the record, the fact that I rarely see RX-8s has nothing to do with my time spent behind the wheel; like any New Yorker, I see a great deal of traffic every day. I bike throughout the city regularly and walk 2-4 miles a day, almost all on streets and avenues where traffic is pretty dense most of the time - sometimes at a complete standstill. As a car guy, I notice what people are driving, and hardly ever see 8s. On regular bike rides along the Hudson, and weekend rides in and out of the city, I'm right alongside crowded parkways. No RX-8s. The fact that I actually saw one last weekend was quite the surprise, as I can't remember the last time I spotted one.

And I, too, enjoy the fact that our cars are rare and, to most people, rather exotic. Can't tell you how many times someone will approach me after I park or while gassing up, wondering what kind of car this is. When I tell 'em I got it new for about $27K, they seem quite amazed. (They're also amazed when I tell 'em it's coming up on its thirteenth birthday, but that's another story.)

 

Wow, a whole 3800 miles a year. Exotic? I see RX-8's every single day, they are hardly rare. And no one is wondering what kind of car it is, stop lying Craig.

 

I guess it would be more interesting to see how many S2s people see as S2s are actually quite rare. There are, at most, 17000 of them ever made.

I don't even see any S2s for sale rn around me. There is only one that's a barebone Sport with an AT, LOL. Good luck to the dealer selling it.

 

I've honestly only seen two in austin in the last 8 months or so. Someone legitimately asked me what kind of miata that was a couple months ago.

 

s2 here in Brooklyn

 

I just assume most have been crushed and recycled by now.

 

I would imagine in NYC it would have to do with MPG also, city mileage would be horrendous.

 

Most people who want an RX-8 don't have (or won't commit) the resources to daily-drive and maintain it.

Most people who are willing and able to commit those resources... don't want an RX-8.

So, the cars either fall to pieces or end up as track/weekend toys or garage queens. Not a lot are going to be on the road regularly, and that number is only going to shrink as time goes on.

 

You nailed it. I did my homework and was willing to take on the additional "British" weekly maintenance to drive it on the weekends (trust me I never owned a Triumph TR-x but I do have friends who do/did and worked all week to enjoy the car on Sunday then it broke down and required weekly maintenance again to run on Sunday).

 

But like what actual maintenance is there?
I've been putting oil, other oil, gas and rustproofing and while it's not a daily in the sense that I don't drive to work, it's hardly a garage queen. BHR coils are a (so far) one time investment. + mods and track day prep, which would be needed on any car.

 

Just the act of checking oil is too much for half the population, so...

You'd be surprised how many people have dry dipsticks...

 

There's a lot of stuff we probably don't even think about that most people can't or won't deal with on a consistent basis. Keeping the oil topped off BEFORE the oil light comes on, maintaining the ignition, avoiding cold shutoffs, not driving on bad cooling or sensors, keeping an eye out for catalytic converter issues, etc. No-brainers for us maybe, but more work than most people can/will put up with.

Then you add in the fact that so many RX-8 owners are trying to do things on a tight budget, cutting corners everywhere....

 

I guess, but that sort of describes any car sportier than an Accord. WRX's, S2Ks, BMWs, Porsches all have the same needs and cost a hell of a lot more. Maybe I have Stockholm syndrome after 8 years of ownership, but aside from the risk of needing to change the engine at some point, the amount of actual maintenance just isn't different from any other sporty+ car for me.

 

Sure. And how many of those other cars do you see on the road regularly, as a percentage of the number originally sold?

Also, to be fair, an engine replacement is a pretty big maintenance item!

 

IMO, heart surgery is a big thing, but it's not maintenance. Maintenance is what you do to avoid heart surgery, like eating better. Said another way, small things can help keep a well-built engine going. Just like small things keep Subaru's from blowing ringlands.

I'd argue S2Ks and IMS-prone Porsches are worse, because there is nothing you can do to take care of chain tensioners and IMSs, aside from replacing them. Or to keep Ford Focus RSs from blowing head gaskets. They're just like that.

Anyway, this could be an endless argument without an outcome,but if someone is actually doing "British" maintenance on their 8, I'd lvoe to know what it includes.

 

Here I agree. It's nowhere near that bad.

What I was pointing out is simply that an RX-8 needs a certain budget of time, effort, and money to keep on the road as a DD -- not much more than average, but more nonetheless -- and that's a factor in how many are left on the road. It's not British car level, though, at least IME (and apparently IYE as well).

Though, thinking about it now... A lot of older RX-8s tend to wander from owner to owner, bought by people who have no idea what they're in for, and sold when reality hits. I can see those cars needing a lot of maintenance whack-a-mole...

 

Just a few related observations.
I've made quite a few 2k mile road trips since I bought mine in '12, I've seen 1 maybe once or twice.
Second owner, only 18.5k when I bought it, nearing 80k now, engine is failing, which I blame myself for by driving it with a bad cat the first few months I had it.
I do DD mine except for snow days.
Maintenance is not too much different than a typical car.

 

I don't see many RX-8s around my area either, northwest of Boston, and while I garage it during the salt and sand season (aka now), I drive it everywhere the rest of the year, whether that's to church, Home Depot, or the office. It's really not that bad on maintenance, but it does require actually checking the oil periodically, which indeed is too difficult to comprehend for some drivers.