Does anyone else think the body-colored dash/gauge pod is unattractive?

Not only do I think it's unattractive, I wonder what kind of nasty reflections it would throw up onto the windshield in direct sunlight.

 

I think it can look good, depending on body color. Yellow looks pretty sharp, but I don't know how good blue or red will come out. I definitely wonder about reflections.

All in all, I'd say I'm not too keen on the two tone interior. Looks good sometimes, but I wouldimagine the yellow inserts in the seats could become easily dirty, as could the yellow on the steering wheel.

 

The reflections will suck. If you want to test the light colored dash reflections out in your current daily driver, take a white piece of paper and tape it to the top of your gauge cluster and go for a drive. I have a burgundy dash in my 7, and have still considered a black dash cover...

As far as I'm concerned, they can forget the whole color coded interior. I'm sure the yellow seats would look like crap after a year anyway. I hope the color coding is optional. It will be the one option box besides auto tranny and PS that will stay unchecked on my order form.

 

my concern is the coloring, it states a exterior color accent all through out, does that mean if i want a black car i have to have a totally black interior, that is worth looking into. I want a black one with the black and red interior accents.

look for an update

 

What if down the line you decide you want to paint the car?

 

I guess you paint the dash also. If done correctly the color coordinated dash is fine. My brother in law has a PT cruiser with body color matching dash trim and it looks fine to me.

 

Though on the PT, the top of the instrument cluster is your typical plastic, correct? I think that is what is drawing the most criticisim. The colored panels on the PT's are not in a position to have awful reflections, if I'm not mistaken.

However, now that I think about it, the side window sill on VW beetles are body colored and I believe are fairly shiny. I've driven quite a few of these cars and never had a problem with bright light in my eyes. However, I would guess that reflection into a windshield is a little different that what would be experienced from a window sill.

 

Yep, it's the Angle of the windshield glass to the dash that will cause the reflection.

 

i like th color dash... or should i say, i dont mind it at all. comon guys, u'd think mazda engineerers would design the dash to not reflect and distract wouldnt you?

 

I hope Mazda can design a colored dash that does not glare in the drivers eyes. I like the colored dash. It seems it would not be that hard to do to. Mazda just needs to pay attention to the small details.

 

I like the color-coded interior accents, although I am worried about the wear and tear. I think it shouldn't be too difficult for them to make the dash out of a non-reflective plastic that still looks good.

 

It's in the circular file.

p. 56 April 2002 Road & Track

"The interior of the RX-8 is filled with rotary cues, including a rotor shaped shift **** and openings on the front seatbacks. The rifle-handle parking brake lever will make it to production but the color keyed panel on top of the instrument panel and engine-start button will not."

 

WHAT!!!!!! NO ENGINE START BUTTON???!!!!!!???!!!!

Are they dumb? Sure the start button is a little reduntant, but it sure is one cool touch that I really like. Yeah, it is probably simpler to just turn your key, but there is nothing out there that makes you feel like a race car driving stud like a red "Engine Start" button. And the little rotor motif around the button was really cool too.

Please please please please please bring us the push button start. Get rid of the rifle e brake handle, and give us the button if necessary. It is just too cool to pass up.

 

Bummer about the start button. Maybe Mazda thought that the average buyer might not like it. Well I guess you could always wire up your own start button somehow.

I also wanted the colored dash trim pieces. Maybe the aftermarket will come out with this type of stuff. I hope the after market supports the RX8 as well as they support the Miata. You can get anything except a start button for that car.

 

you can get a start button off E-Bay for like 20 bucks

 

I bet the main reason they didn't include the start button was to avoid further comparisons to the S2000.

 

I'm concerned about a well conceived, planned and executed return of the rotary that won't leave us all with our rotary powered "undies" hanging out the window when the dealers quit supporting the engine, or the mechanics don't know what the rotary is any more.

I could really care less about a start button or a colored dash piece. This is kind of a ricey conversation, isn't it? I agree with MazdaNut. The colored dash probably shouldn't have been there in the first place, and a start button is really a pretty useless bell/whistle on a otherwise attractive and functional car.

I hope they change the color matched seats too. I want a light colored 8 (yellow or white) and can't stand the thought of the color matched seats turning brown in the first year...

Not the paddle shifters along with the standard 6 speed stick would be a very cool and useful bit of uniqueness.

 

A lot of the reviews of the S2000 I read said that at first the start button was cool, but after a while it got kind of annoying. Maybe Mazda took it out because it was a gee-whiz feature that later on people wouldn't like?

 

I'm also VERY glad to see the colored dash get pulled. Not just for the safety aspect, but because the RX-8 should not be associated with some high-school boy trend.

I still want my electronically shifted manual 6-speed transmission

 

If people want to, I'm sure the aftermarket will be willing to provide.