another little thing i absolutely love is the choice of the colors for the instrument panel!
one little roll of the thumb changes it from the heavenly white on black to the stylish red on blue....ooooo i love ittttttttt

 

What about all the james bond like compartments in the car, people (when I actually drive around with other people in the car)
Wait... there it is, my first problem with the car... It sometimes pulls away too fast for anyone other than myself to get in!)

But anyway, someone is always asking me, where did you put your cd case, or your lighter, or your sunglasses, or your change, or that car that was racing us :D ! JK

 

For me, 2 sets of golf clubs, and two duffel bags in the trunk. try that in a 350Z or an S2K. No chance, an no instructions needed.

 

Isn't it amazing that people can still add great little things after this thread has been open for a year?

- The fact that you can fully close the round vents if it's too cold.
- The way this car feels like it's thought-controlled: just think the line you want in a curve and you get it.
- The way you can drive tame by shifting at 4k, aggressive by shifting at 6k, or... still breaking in, haven't gotten there yet. But I'm sure looking forward to it.

In the morning, I go out to the garage and it's completely dark. I hit the unlock button on the remote and the car flashes and lights up inside to greet me. I play this little game every morning and it hasn't gotten old yet.

 

And for the most part, those of us that are around, seem to be a nice little community sharing the same passion for our cars. I almost always get a wave, or a flash of the lights from other 8 drivers. That is pretty cool, how many other cars owners do that.

 

Wow... I actually read through the whole list, learned a few new tricks and almost shed a tear or two *sniff* So I'll try to list a few myself. I'll try to put it in the perspective of a young single professional:

The little things I love are:

1. Parking my car in the garage at work, getting out and looking at an S2K with a baby chair in the passenger seat and laughing.

1a. Parking it in one of the three "corner" spots in the whole garage so that no car can park next to it AND I can see it from my desk all day long.

2. The way it feels soooo good to leave for work early or leave for home late just so I know that I can really open it up on the freeway.

3. The way I can leave it in VIP parking out in front of an LA nightclub right next to a Bentley GT, BMW 745i, and '04 Range Rover and it doesn't look out of place in the least. (This thing looks and feels sooooo luxury when you have the GT package and keep it clean... i.e. no spoiler or body kit).

4. The fact that it can be as schizo as I am. By that, I mean that when I'm just cruising along at 65 and I decide to spontaneously drop the hammer, drop 3 gears, switch 4 lanes and tack an extra 50 mph on the speedo, this baby is right with me, letting me do anything I envision.

4a. The fact that it must just be a beautiful black blur in the night when behaving as described in #4.

5. The women. Particularly the smoking hot one in my building that stopped me last week to discuss her adoration for my vehicle. "Can I... can I look at it?.... Ohhh my god... it's sooooo nice!"

5a. The way it absolutely KILLS them when you hit the button in the dash and the Nav screen pops up. If any of you guys ever do this, don't you DARE look at the screen as you hit the button. Look at her face. It's priceless. Yes, you will want to see that same face later on...

6. The aerodynamics. Someone has mentioned this a little but I wanted to relay a quick story: One Saturday, right after getting a fresh wax job on the 8 the day before, I took it to the dealer to get the '05 Key. As I was waiting for them to take care of it, it started to rain a little. It wasn't the heavy rain that washes everything away. It was the light rain that stays on the paint and leaves spots and collects dirt and just screws up your beautiful brilliant black exterior. It was still raining but it was fading away as I started to head home on the freeway. Let me tell you, there was something so mesmerizing as I watched all the little drops just slip slide off of my hood and up my windshield and disappear. And a little pool of water collected in the rotor groove on the hood and just danced there as I sped along. Beautiful. Anyway, by the time I arrived home, the rain had stopped for a few minutes and I got out of the car and there was nary a spot. (And you KNOW I'll spot a spot!) Made me want to kiss it. I probably did, too.

7. That beautiful rear rotary accent, gleaming in the light, surrounded by black and flanked by two freshly-polished tailpipes. Classy. Sporty. Sexy. Just right, man.

8. The passive climate control that seems to give you air when you open the windows. On a crisp day, set that to full heat, zero fan, turn on your heated seat, crack your windows and turn up your stereo. Feels lovely.

9. The fact that there is something fundamentally different about my car: The flawless balance and handling. The fact that I can go to 90mph in 3rd gear. The fact that my 3 family members can visit me for the holidays and won't need a rental car. The fact that you have to sacrifice 40hp to get the automatic. The freakin' ROTARY, man!

And yeah, I'm cool with the lack of low end torque. I'm not some need for speed, fast & furious quartermiler. I get up, work, and go out. Oh yeah, and in between, I drive my car like it's stolen. All I want is a sports car with class and practicality. Not a "sporty" car, not a "luxury sport coupe", not a "sport edition", not a turbocharged shoebox on wheels. A sports car.

Actually, I LIKE the lack of low end torque. Let those who can't deal drive something else. Let the kids run their tricked out Evo's and Sti's into light poles. Let the horsepower ****** spin their tires and drool over car magazine numbers. Let the nameplate snobs spend 20 minutes in the parking lot trying to figure out which of the 330 silver 330i's is theirs. In the meantime, I'll be driving my 8, weaving through traffic and hugging canyon curves. Leave the RX-8 for the drivers. Not the racers, not the posers, the drivers.

You know what? I REALLY like the lack of low end torque. I like knowing that my baby requires some finesse. I like knowing that you need to treat it a little different. It's like having a beautiful girlfriend that's hard to please but YOU know how to do it juuuuust right

*sigh*

I could go on... I just looked at it again. It's still there. And it's still calling me. Anyway, 10 is a nice round number so I'll finish it off:

10. The fact that there are so many of you who know EXACTLY what I'm talking about and the fact that there are so many more who never will.

Zoom Zoom

 

Damn Apophis, that was WELL put! Almost brought a tear to my eye... :D

 

Really like number 9 apophis

 

Apophis must do some type of writing as his profession!

If not, he should!

 

Talk about stirring the emotions, now I want to leave work and head for the mountains. I feel a windy road calling to me and my car. :D

 

That captures it. Thanks for sharing.

 

Yeah! Man, he sure put it in words, didn't he? Yessir! Super write-up. Mazda could make a commercial over that post. Excellent!

 

Not sure if someone posted this already but I agree with ya'... I noticed that when the lights are on, if you look at the side of the tail lights, there will be two "light bars" illuminated on each side of the tail lights. they're pretty cool.

 

The funnest car I ever owned was a Triumph Spitfire - until now. The Rex has all the power I need. Apophis had it right - it's all about the handling, the driving, the stares, the total experience of it.

I finally found a way to describe the handling - it corners like a cat.

You can't ride this car. You have to *drive* it.

 

This car is just soooo fun to drive. Rain doesn't even deter me (it just gives me an excuse to wash it again). I actually read this whole thread and learned a bunch of cool things. I think I actually do have something that wasn't yet mentioned: I like the way the gap between the spokes on the wheels is rotor shaped. Its neat to find that shape everywhere.

 

Dare I say it, but after reading this thread it provoked me to think long and hard about the 8 again (after nearly settling for a second hand G35 coupe, a beautiful car in its own right). Once I gave the 8 another go, I was sold.

The main things I love about this car (amongst the numerous things I have experienced in this thread):

- the wonderfully exotic chattering and murmuring of the rotary at idle
- if you let off the gas at high rpm in low gear and don't clutch, listening to the complex symphony as the engine winds down (particularly enjoyable in the parking garage at work while my coworkers tell me it sounds like a fighter plane)
- my initial disdain at the lack of lowend torque is nicely tempered by the car's willingness to rev and produce power
- god damn the tach is so #*^#%@& SICK!!!

 

I forgot to add one...

I love how this car has completely taken over my life, possessing my thoughts, rendering me a zombie. All I think about now is exhaust, flywheel, autoexe kit, black volk rims, exhaust, flywheel, autoexe kit, black volk rims, exhaust, flywheel, autoexe kit, black volk rims, exhaust, flywheel, autoexe kit, black volk rims, exhaust, flywheel, autoexe kit, black volk rims.

 

I practiced using the Nav system on the way home last night. It has that female voice that announces, "In a half mile, right turn..." I had the radio on, and when it was time for the announcement, the radio volume dropped, the voice spoke, then the radio returned to normal. Dang, these people have thought of everything!

Speaking for a moment of silly warning labels, when the system powers up it says something along the lines of "Don't look at the map while driving." That's pretty silly, given that it's the first thing people will do with it!

 

Beautifully stated Apophis, I could not have said it better myself! I have not read this entire thread, but I would just like to add that you can buy this piece of enthusiasts perfection for under 30 grand! It just seems too good to be true!

She does take some coaxing but once you understand her soul, she never fails to respond, and give more than she ever takes!!!

 

This isn't exactly a little thing -- but I was amazed at the peripheral coverage of the HID lights. Driving after dark tonight, I saw three deer grazing in the drainage ditch beside the road. Never would have known they were there with the halogen lights on my Cutlass.

 

How the ignition lock is located, so you can fit the key with hardly, or no, look around the steering wheel.

How the electric seat can adjust you up or down depending on how upright you happen to be sitting at the time.

How the car's shadow looks when the rising/setting sun casts it on a freeway divider.

How the finish on the cruise control retains its original luster, even after 38k miles on a car driven using mostly the cc instead of the throttle pedal whenever in 6th gear. (Something to hit for those of us who don't have 41 detents to fiddle with, like on an F-1 wheel!)

How you are never tired, when arriving at your destination.

How your temples bulge when doing a .83g freeway onramp after the JGTC/D-1 event at Fontana! (Didn't really notice it, until my 15yo asked me if I felt a tingling sensation in my head after making that long onramp!!)

How people feel comfortable commenting how "really nice" a car yours is.

How the engine's docile zoom turns into an angry RrriiIIPPP!!!, when reved properly.

How the rotary has power potential from conventional methods, like porting, tuning and FI, plus promise in future tech, like hybrid (anyone want an added 100 ft/lbs of torque from zero rpm?) or hydrogen.

 

Lots of good stuff posted. Here is one aspect I particularly like:

When I just leave the garage, parking lot or someplace similar, I love how if you adjust the clutch, gas-pedal and gearing just right, you can start moving the 8 without you (or the passenger) feeling, or maybe even hearing, anything. The car just starts to move...quietly, effortlessly and with lots of style. Then, maybe you slowly accelerate but if you set the sound box with some volume, not much, you can't even hear the engine rpms. It seems to so smooth, so elegant...

 

Not sure if this was covered:

I think it's cool how when you enable the passenger window with the driver side window lock button, the lights come on the passenger window control and go off when you disable their window.

I don't have a garage, but the garage door opener in the rearview mirror would be way convenient with 3 doors optionally programmable.

After getting the front air dam installed, the dealer put the factory black one through the trunk between my 2 back seats, spacious... this is a SPORTS CAR with storage like that??

That Bose 9 speaker stereo I never listen to cause I love the hum of the engine...

The fact it takes a novice sports car driver (me) and allows me to drive it like I've always owned high end sports cars.

The way the engine responds in third gear winding through curvey roads...
The deep finish on top of that beautiful red.

And definitely the way it looks reflected in windows passing by.

 

i didn't even know it did that! I do like how the lighting on the buttons of the doors are overhead instead of backlit like most other cars. The fact that all the lighting in the car has a nice red glow (even the freakin ashtray!)

 

For me, I find the RX-8 to be the most beautiful car on the road. The fact that it's fast and handles great makes it the perfect package.

There's a bunch of very nice looking cars out there these days, but the 8 has that combination of unique styling (inside and out), performance and practicality (4 seats) that can't be beat.

I particularly like the fact that it's not a "kick you in the butt" muscle car. Give me smooth strong hi-revving acceleration combined with handling over brute power any day. (My wife has the Infiniti G35 brute force coupe - nice, but for me, no comparison to the 8). You actually have to use your brain to drive this car fast and think about gear choices instead of just mashing the accelerator. But if you want to drive relaxed and easy this car says "No problem - I can do it all!".

This is THE car - - - for me, at least !!! :D