justbrent

It seems to me that low RX-8 sales might not really be the fault of low horsepower (it has enough for me) or whatever. It doesn't seem like Mazda has really done any marketing of the RX-8. I don't think that one product placement in X-Men 2 and putting the RX-8 at the lead of all of the Mazda models in the "Zoom Zoom" commercial is really an effective marketing campaign.

It just bugs me. I think its a great car and would like it to be around for a while, but Mazda just isn't trying to sell it.

What does everybody else think?

captain mercury

true that. i dont understand it.

Ike

I think Mazda could advertise the RX-8 til they're blue in the face and it would help sales. However, it probably wouldn't help enough to make up for the advertising costs.

The RX-8 has too many things going going against it. Things hurting it include; common misconceptions about the rotary (some of those exist because of Mazda), the horsepower debacle, poor fuel economy, the love it or hate it styling, it's higher maintenance, it's not very tuner friendly nor respected in the tuner crowd, and it didn't come to market with any wow factor other than its looks.

Take a look at the two biggest sales success stories for performance cars and it seems clear to me why they made such an impact. The Z came into the market as a good looking sportscar with RWD and nearly 300hp, it really had no competition in its pricerange and it had plenty of history behind the Z name. It also had a proven and well received engine.

The WRX came to market with AWD, a well developed turbo engine, and an entire generation of Gran Turismo players pining for it. It also hit the market during a big tuner craze in the US and it was well known that is was easy to make bigger power. It certainly didn't hurt that the aftermarket was already in place. It was instantly a hit with many current or wannabe autox/rallyx drivers as well as the tuner street racer crowd. Throw in a bunch more sales for the snowbelt crowd that wanted something fast and fun to drive all year round and you've got a sale success.

The RX-8 hit the market and it was down on power and acelleration times compared to other cars the same price or cheaper. It guzzled gas. The lack of torque made for some lackluster testdrives. The excellent handling certainly swayed some "power is everything" American drivers, but not enough for Mazda to get close to their original sales projections. The fact that a large portion of this country is grids or long straight roads doesn't help the RX-8's case. Nor does the fact that it requires a little more maintenance and care than your average piston engine.

presequel

i saw a print ad in last months espn magazine and was shocked.

but yeah theres no advertising at all. im not sure who the rx-8 is supposed to cater to. what age group? what type of person? i got no idea.

mazda probably has the worst advertising of all the car companies.

Stavesacre21

yea, i noticed that they had an ad in both car&driver as well as road&track last month. Aside from that, i've also noticed that they don't really do much at all with the media. Kinda makes me mad, because if they started exploring the rotary itself a little more publicly, i have a feeling that it would likely turn some heads and spark some serious interest.

Would it turn things around and make it the best selling car of all time? Of course not. But I know that a lil advertising sure would go a long way...especially if they discussed the uniqiuness a lil more in depth!

Moumtz

Most people don't like cars that are different. Different = more money to maintain. Old farts that know nothing about cars drive the 350z. Why? Because its a fast sporty car that's reliable. People can't say the same for the RX8.

Stavesacre21

enthusiasts beg to differ...

especially those that were fimiliar with the RX-7, during it's run.

Half the reason I liked the 8 so much is because it's NOT a run-of-the-mill car, and when you see it on the road, yur not like...oh look, another mustang. Plus, i love how much interest it sparks when try and explain how it's possable to have an engine without pistons. I've only had it a month, and already have had at least a 1/2 dozen conversations about the engine alone!

SSJ 909

I see 0 commercials about it here in NYC.
I keep up to date through you peeps

Ike

The commercial was run fairly often and it was tough to pickup a car mag that didn't have an RX-8 AD leading up to and shortly after release. It's pretty normal for a car company to scale back advertising after the first model year of a car, especially when they release new models in that time.

presequel

im pretty sure the 350z doesn't need any advertisements, but i see that commercial on a daily basis.

New Yorker

I agree. If sales are low, I think the infrequency of the advertising is, by far, the main reason why. I mean lets get real here—for every idiot who sees an 8 and thinks "slow car" or "gas guzzler," ten see it and think "what is that?!?"

xrider01

i saw one like 2 months ago .

daisuke

I don't think it'd do much better with a lot of publicity, main reasons being the wankel engine with it's bad rep and the gas mileage.

I have seen more than a few ads for the 8 in motoring magazines, but TV seems to be off the line for them.

popular or not tough, I'm sure that mazda will continue to make rotary engined cars for a long time to come, and I have to love them for it. they're the only ones with the ***** to keep developing it. the rotary will never replace or seriously challenge the piston engine's dominance, but they keep the faith anyway! Mazda should really focus on making aircraft engines though...

and just as the 350Z doesn't need ads, the 8 doesn't either because there are enough rotor heads out there to justify making more cars.

Raptor2k

I enjoy people not knowing what my car is, and I enjoy having fun with the car everyday. Thank you Mazda. Just give me some torque sooner or later.

Japan8

I have to agree with some of what Ike said. "well you'll take 'em in the twisties"... sure... how many twisties are there on your daily commute? Even worse... how many are there in your area, much less state? Florida is as flat as a board... no twisties there. Take a guess why muscle cars and drag racing are popular. How about Georgia? Texas? Not much in NC until you get out west. Mazda really needs to address this. Either make the RX-8 cheaper or put more horsepower in it... for the current price.

Speaking of which... the Mazdaspeed3... I hope that Mazda isn't stupid enough to try and sell that car for $24k. No leather in any of the pics I've seen... dunno if it'll even be an option. The Caliber SRT-4 will roll in $22-24k. The Civic Si is $22k. Cobalt SS.. same. The VW GTI with pkg2 is like MSRP $26k, but easily had at $24k, and it can be argued that it has the more upscale German quality interior... Performance wise... Mazda's published numbers for the Mazdaspeed 3 thus far match those of the GTI even though it has more horsepower... not looking good for Mazda.

daisuke

the rotary engine is inherently low on torque, and after what happened with the FD's I don't think we'll see another turbo rotary for a while. so the only option is to get an extra rotor, and given gas prices and the rotary's ability to suck gas I don't think we'll see that either...

Raptor2k

It's been pointed out that another rotor wouldn't kill gas mileage because of the extra torque given. The only thing stopping a three rotor would be emissions, and maybe hidden costs.

I'll be going FI once the market gets settled, anyway.

Japan8

That's what a supercharger is for.... skip the turbo. Plus combined with modern engine management and the specifics of the FD issues... I doubt there'll be any problems with this kind of setup.

Raptor2k

Yeah, I've been leaning towards a SC (axial, pettit, hymee, whatever proves to be worthy) to help the torque curve rather than replacing so many parts of the car for a turbo kit. I'm guessing an SC won't hurt engine life as much, either.

justbrent

I can't argue with the people pointing out that the RX-8 is more of a niche car than the 350Z (I wasn't going to mention that particular car because, the last time I did, it incited a fire fight). But I have to disagree with the idea that more marketing wouldn't make a difference to sales.

Advertising works. Nissan markets the 350Z like crazy, and you can see it everywhere. There are at least 5 or 6 in my parking garage at work. Not marketing has a definite impact on sales.

For those who think that the 8 wouldn't benefit from marketing because its not fast enough or doesn't have enough torque, I think that you are taking an unnecessarily narrow view of the sports car market. Here in Dallas, the land of the ubiquitous 350Zs, I don't see a lot of kids driving Zs. I see a lot of women in their 30s and 40s. While its possible that some of those drivers are speed freaks, I think that they are the exception rather than the rule.

I firmly believe that Mazda could sell a lot more 8s if they started advertising and emphasizing some of its unique selling points:

• A real back seat (take the kids to school or clients to lunch in your sports car)
• More cargo space (you and your buddy can both take your clubs in the car)
• Better styling
• Better price point
• SMOOTHER RIDE!

That last one is huge. Those of us who aren't 21 anymore don't want to ride around in a bone shaking car that slams you around everytime you take a corner.

Bottom line, its not just about speed, as those of us who already drive and love the RX-8 already know. I just wish Mazda would do a better job of getting the word out to everyone else.

Paul_in_DC

I rarely see TV ads for the RX-8. I'm not sure of the impact of all the whiners on this site, going on about their hp and mileage expectations, especially when they expect both at the same time.

Raptor75

I agree completely with Ike here. When the car was first released and down graded in hp there was all this talk about the retuning that would occur to restore the lost hp, never happened. There was talk of FI coming out for 06 and then late 06 as a 07, not going to happen. There was talk about tuning to help the mileage problems, never happened. They need to make this car more competitive to vehicles it is compared against. I love the car as well all do but to attract new customers these short comings must be over come.

As a final not I was paging through Road & Track and came upon a ad for the RX-8 and thought great but then I came to the car test summary and saw R&T rated the RX-8's tested gas mileage at 13.6 mpg. The 350Z was around 17 or 18 mpg. Plus the summary showed the Z as about .5 seconds faster to 60. These numbers pretty much negated any good the advertising did.

Dinhx8

there are many factors involved in low sales, lack of ads-im sure, but to me none more than the fact that i just think the car appeals to a select few.

even if they made more ads, i doubt it'd sell as much of some of its competitors. Just cause of the rotary-ness of it.

Sure, one can say there are "too many things going against it" but thats opinion. Those who like the RX name and understand rotary sport feel that there is "plenty going for it".

In the awards its won, it seems true enthusiasts understand the cars balance. Your average dude may not and hence the low sales.

reaper1

Let me ask you guys ? Is'nt good not to have the same that everyone else has. I have had my car now for 3 weeks and I like the fact that you dont see many around. That's the reason people come and ask what the hell is that. I never looked at the Mustang because they are played out and I started to feel the same on the 350Z . Maybe is me but I like being different. Here in Chicago you dont see many and I dont have a problem.

puch96

I found this thread sort of funny...... Actually not the actual topic, but when I went to buy my 8, along all the fees for docking, etc... I had to pay some sort of advertising fee or something like that....
Now that I read this thread, I actually came to realize that I haven't seen any 8s on tv ads or magazines much.... but hey... supposelly I paid for advertising....