Hey Everyone,

I recently bought my RX-8 (last week) and noticed a few minor (major to me) paint chips on the rear bumper. The dealership was great in admiting that they probably backed it into a fence or something and said they would fix it.

They put me in a 2005 Mazda6 S 5-door Hatchback. I must say that the interior controls are much like the RX-8 (read: exactly like the RX-8) with one exception. They have automatic climate control in the Mazda6. If they put this system (which is exactly like the RX8 except for the auto climate control) in the Mazda6 I do not see any reason as to why they did not do the same thing for a more expensive car.

 

A lot of stuff should have gone into the 8 see:
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/mazda-we-would-like-have-our-rx8-55016/

I have a feeling that mazda wanted to keep the price and weight down and get some kind of sporty performance out of the horsepower available while keeping the close to 50/50 weight distribution.

 

The North American market is the only one that didn't get the auto Climate Control in the RX8... which makes their decision to leave to it out of just one market of their flagship car even more puzzling...

 

ugh, you got a mazda 6 as a loaner. i got a.... ford taurus. life's not fair. i was hoping for a mazda3 as a loaner too but they went thru the local rental car company which only pretty much had american cars.

honestly i don't really care about auto climate control myself. be nice to have but i couldn't care less about it. i'd rather have them fix the air conditioner.

 

No one complain...I got a Nissan Quest minivan. I've never had more people laugh at me in my life. It's atrocious!

 

I had a Kia Spectra

 

Dodge Neon, Ford Focus, and a Saturn thing the last 3 times I got as loaner.

 

I got a Mazda 6 with 12,000 miles on it. It was a piece of crap. It felt like it driving an 1988 Ford Escort. I don't think being spoiled by my 8's handling ability has anything to do with it. My girlfriends Civic with 30,000 drove better.

 

I've had a Jetta, Grand Prix, and Trailblazer (it was snowing like hell that day)... all from Enterprise rentacar about a block from the dealer. They have all been brand new, but no matter what I drive they make me appreciate the RX8 so much more.

 

Since having my 8 for a little over a year, I have had the following rentals, ford taurus, chevy malibu, mazda 3, jeep liberity, ford f-150, dodge durango, jeep grand cherokee, chevy colorado, chevy cavalier, buick century. I've had a few problems with my 8.

 

Last week I rented a Hertz-mobile while vacationing in FL. I reserved a Mazda 6 but (SURPRISE!) they didn't have one when I arrived. So I got a free "upgrade" to a ........ Camry

Cough, hack, spit! Never drove one before. Hope I never drive one again.

Six way seat + tilt wheel, but no way to get a decent driving position. The brake pedal felt like shoving your foot into a bottomless vat of oatmeal. I almost rear-ended five people in three days, the pedal was providing "feedback" but NOTHING was happening at the wheels.

Bestselling car in the USA My 12 year old Cherokee has better brakes and a better driving position.

 

How many miles did that Camry have?

 

4-5k

 

My 8 is in the body shop and I have a Chrysler Sebring! Now I know what you are thinking and no it is NOT the convertable kind. Was supposed to get a 6 but the loser that was supposed to bring it back did not, he dropped it off in Atlanta instead. Sucks....

 

As far as climate control goes, I traded in a Mazda6s which had the auto-climate, and it didn't work very well. I'm happier with the manual.

 

The Mazda6 you had was a rental. Of course it was a piece of crap. I got a Mazda 3 with only 18K and it was a piece of crap. If you got a RX8 as a rental with 18K it would be a piece of crap also. You cannot judge a car by a rental. People drive them into the ground. I have never seen so many stains on a car's seats including the back. Car needed some serious attention but i have driven Mazda 3s that aren't rentals and they are nice cars. The Mazda6 my wife has is great and the auto climate works great. I do wish i had it in the 8.

 

The automatic climate control works just fine on my Mazda6 Sportwagon. The car rides and handles well. The cupholders are cool (temperature-wise). And the SIX-speed A/T is great!

 

Well I know the Sebring I have had only 153 miles on it when I picked it up and it is a POS. Smells good though...

 

Your 12 year old cherokee probably wasn't beat numerous different drivers and was most likely taken care of properly. My family has had camry's, I have a camry solara and they are great cars.

 

Same here!

 

there's something about rentals that i really like. no matter what kind of car it is, they always feel more powerful than i think they should. i also like the height of the seats. i think it's the novelty more than anything.

 

Auto-Climate control is CRAP...in fact there are many Euro RX-8 owners with Auto-Climate control and find it a real POS

 

I don't see the need for it. One more thing to go bad the week after the warranty goes.

 

I hate auto... I would much rather have manual:

* Climate Control: I like to just get as much hot or cold air as I want. My mood changes based on the air blowing on me rather than the overall temp of the cabin.

* Windshield Wipers: A lot of times during sunshowers, I like to drive through the rain with no wiper on. It makes it a lot easier for the water to just wisk away and leave very few spots.

* Transmission: For obvious reasons.