Keep in mind though that many auto manufacturers are doing this with their cars. Ok, they could have made our dipstick a little more accessible, but at least the entire engine is viewable with the cover removed. For many cars now that's not the case...

 

1) the sunroof is too far back and when open is at an odd angle. The FD's looks cool when open, the FE's looks kinda lame.

2) you cant turn the stereo on and off from the steering wheel (sounds nitpick I guess)

3) no line input (this is my biggest gripe I think)
4) The fact that the you have to drive the car to understand it. On paper the car sucks, in reality its one of the most fun cars ever. People who never drove the rx8 dont get it.
5) Its not as easy to see cars in the lane next to you. Sort of a blind spot. The FD has no blind spots.

thats all, be back later when I find more.

 

To piggyback onto this - the Bose DOES play MP3, as long as you've bought the MP3 CD-head. [/QUOTE]

this is probably a dumb question, but just want to clarify. are the bose stereo and cd changer independently configurable options or are they one in the same? also how much is the mp3 cd=head upgrade (to purchase, not to install)? thanks.

 

You can eliminate the blind spot if you adjust the mirrors right. There are some threads on this, and I have done so.

 

At 600 miles, the only disappointing thing so far is the "clunk" the headlights make as they adjust. What were the engineers thinking?

 

That clunk is actually your ABS system testing itself. The headlights are almost completley silent (in a garage with the car not running you could hear them).

 

Ah. Well, either way, it takes some getting used to :D

 

Closing the boot using the recessed grip requires a hard downward slam.
The rear doors tend to slam shut with the slightest of push, while the front doors need a firm push to close; No consistency there. I always have to tell people not to push the rear doors when closing.

The climate control pilot lights do not show up well when the sun shines through the cabin.

The position of the front cup holders.

Soot on the tail-pipes and rust on the brake discs.

No major gripes though.

 

Hey, at least you get climate control!

 

nk, you should be posting this in "The Little Things" as a positive, not a negative. Plus those of you who got headlight washers, cool lights on your outside mirrors, etc. Be grateful for what you have!

 

A trunk ajar light would be nice. Left my trunk unlocked for about 3 days this winter...

 

The negative aspect is that we in the US don't have an option for automatic climate control for some unknown reason.
Has anybody heard from anyone at Mazda why this is not an option in the US?

 

I would guess to keep cost to a minimum.

 

I find my footwell gets warm and toasty from the close engine which is a good thing in winter but I wonder how it'd be in summer....

 

The only thing that gets my goat is the 'deleting' of features that are built-in,- the climate control is THERE, just disabled.
The computer is ready, the systems are in place, even the display is there....it's just not implemented.

Same goes for the tripcomputer.....most top-line cars use the Nav screen for trip computer functions.....all the hardware is there, it is just.......deleted.
.
.
.
doc

 

Precicely, Doc.
It saves no money at all not to allow buyers in some areas to select options that are already being manufactured for other markets. Same thing with not allowing the deletion of features that are not desired (moonroof on GT package, for instance).

In fact it would make MORE money for Mazda were they to do this.

 

Perhaps by the time I get re-employed and ready to buy another '8, they'll have released the '05 model with all those thing enabled. :p

 

We can hope for both of those things!

 

She probably just wanted a closer look at the awesome new 8! :D

 

Yeah I guess so. But the climate control does not work that great, Sometimes the air blows at your feet when you want it to blow in your face. And when you set it to blow in your face the climate control shuts down to manual mode. It is a bit quirky. I haven't quite worked out how it decides to blow through which vent.

It IS strange that you don't get climate control in North America. Has anyone got any explanantion from Mazda about this?

 

It's all a plot to get us to buy new 8s in 2006. :D

 

Nah. The car's built in Hiroshima & they're still mad at us. :o

 

Let me add one: the headliner padding material doesn't rebound quickly, if at all. I have a fingertip indentation just sitting there for a week after I moved the sunshade. Is this a problem in warm weather (cold NY here)? I would hate to have to go in with a warranty claim as minor as this, but it seems cheesy to me. Other than that, it's an awesome car. So what if I have to snake my hand around hoses to check the oil, warm the car up when I want to use it, and pay the occasional speeding ticket?

 

Ok, I could not decide whether to put this on the BAD little things thread or the GOOD little things thread. Drive down the interstate at 75 MPH in a rain storm and you will see two little water puddles that collect on each side of the groove in the hood. The wind is just enough to keep them up there but not enough to blow them completely off. It is really kinda cute to watch on a long boring drive. Pretty big puddles after a minute or two. That's the GOOD little thing. The BAD little thing is after the rain stops and they stay there for 30 minutes until they evaporate away leaving two distinctive dirty markes in the grooves a couple of inches from the windshield.

I told you it was a LITTLE thing.

Can anyone here relate to this?

 

Not only can I relate, I often get hypnotized by that diabolical dance........can not look away......ignore big truck coming right at me....