My First 4,000 miles
10-02-2003, 11:41 PM
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My First 4,000 miles
July 18, 2003
When I get home late Friday night there's a message on my answering machine from my local Mazda dealer: "We just got 2 RX-8's in tonight; come see me tomorrow morning".
July 19, 2003 - Blue Thunder
First thing in the morning I go down and there is a blue one and black one in the showroom. I had not pre-ordered but wanted to see one first before deciding. I ask for a test drive; the salesman pulls the blue one out into the morning sun and when the sunlight hit that blue metallic finish, I was hooked. Man what a beautiful car. We go for a drive and "hooked" transforms into lust; I have to have this car! I bought it on the spot; trading in my Miata. The doctor who had pre-ordered it had canceled his order; his loss my gain. It was the first one sold in the valley. Blue Thunder; 6-speed MT, Grand Tour Pkg; Spare Tire Kit; RX-8 Rotary emblem wheel centers.
It was like being a celebrity; people openly gawked at the car as I drove around. The "fast and furious" racer boy types would dart through traffic to pull up alongside and yell and give me a "thumbs up". I started seeing the "weaving-in-the-lane-driving-because-I'm-looking-at-it-in-the-rearview-mirror" driving phenomenon of cars ahead of me. I've driven a lot of nice cars and I'd never seen this kind of reaction before.
I love this car
It's fast; even after finding out about the horsepower discrepancy, I don't care; I love this car. It sounds wonderful; like a big can of angry hornets unleashed. The fun starts at 4,500 rpm. It handles magnificently; you can dance it on the line during a hard corner with complete confidence. A car with this kind of finesse is uncommon. The Miata was fun but this car adds an excitement factor that still gives me a kick.
The Bose sound system sounds great. The shifter and transmission are a pure pleasure to use; best combo I've ever used and I've owned many cars over the years. To those who complain about this car; give it back or sell it to someone who knows a good thing when they see it and will appreciate it for what it is.
Gas mileage is a bit less than I'd hoped but in all fairness I do put my foot in it. It's so much fun to do it's hard to resist. Don't try and 'save money' by using regular gas; use premium. Mileage is better and performance is definitely better.
I've only had 2 problems with it. First the dealer tightened the rear license plate screws too tight when they put on their plastic dealer frame and they stripped the screws so they can't come out. I can't put my plates on. They told me they'll have to remove the rear bumper to fix this. Second problem happened about 3 weeks after I'd had it when the oil light came on for about 12 seconds one night. The next morning I took it in and it turns out there's a problem with the baffles in the oil pan. Mazda knows about it and is sending a redesigned oil pan. It only affects the oil light and is not anything serious. When the pan comes in the dealer will fix both it and the license plate screws and give me a rental car for 2 days. That's fine but I will MISS this car! Even for 2 days.
During the blazing heat of a southern California summer, with temps in excess of 100 degress it never once came even close to overheating. And that was with the AC on all the time.
After my first 4,000 miles, I love this car. It's a well designed, well-engineered machine with style, comfort and performance of the sort you don't often see. Fit and finish is excellent; after 4,000 'enthusiastic' miles nothing rattles. The interior is comfortable and the controls are second-nature.
The thrill is still there; the gawking still happens, but even after that passes I cannot imagine getting bored with this. As I said, I've owned a lot of cars over the years starting with a 1964 Triumph Spitfire I bought in 1970 when I graduated from high school. Everybody back then knew certain cars were classics. 1956 & 57 Chevy; 1965 Mustang; 1967 and 70 Camaro. And this one has "classic" written all over it. Blue Thunder and I are going to be together for a long, long time. :D
Ole Spiff
When I get home late Friday night there's a message on my answering machine from my local Mazda dealer: "We just got 2 RX-8's in tonight; come see me tomorrow morning".
July 19, 2003 - Blue Thunder
First thing in the morning I go down and there is a blue one and black one in the showroom. I had not pre-ordered but wanted to see one first before deciding. I ask for a test drive; the salesman pulls the blue one out into the morning sun and when the sunlight hit that blue metallic finish, I was hooked. Man what a beautiful car. We go for a drive and "hooked" transforms into lust; I have to have this car! I bought it on the spot; trading in my Miata. The doctor who had pre-ordered it had canceled his order; his loss my gain. It was the first one sold in the valley. Blue Thunder; 6-speed MT, Grand Tour Pkg; Spare Tire Kit; RX-8 Rotary emblem wheel centers.
It was like being a celebrity; people openly gawked at the car as I drove around. The "fast and furious" racer boy types would dart through traffic to pull up alongside and yell and give me a "thumbs up". I started seeing the "weaving-in-the-lane-driving-because-I'm-looking-at-it-in-the-rearview-mirror" driving phenomenon of cars ahead of me. I've driven a lot of nice cars and I'd never seen this kind of reaction before.
I love this car
It's fast; even after finding out about the horsepower discrepancy, I don't care; I love this car. It sounds wonderful; like a big can of angry hornets unleashed. The fun starts at 4,500 rpm. It handles magnificently; you can dance it on the line during a hard corner with complete confidence. A car with this kind of finesse is uncommon. The Miata was fun but this car adds an excitement factor that still gives me a kick.
The Bose sound system sounds great. The shifter and transmission are a pure pleasure to use; best combo I've ever used and I've owned many cars over the years. To those who complain about this car; give it back or sell it to someone who knows a good thing when they see it and will appreciate it for what it is.
Gas mileage is a bit less than I'd hoped but in all fairness I do put my foot in it. It's so much fun to do it's hard to resist. Don't try and 'save money' by using regular gas; use premium. Mileage is better and performance is definitely better.
I've only had 2 problems with it. First the dealer tightened the rear license plate screws too tight when they put on their plastic dealer frame and they stripped the screws so they can't come out. I can't put my plates on. They told me they'll have to remove the rear bumper to fix this. Second problem happened about 3 weeks after I'd had it when the oil light came on for about 12 seconds one night. The next morning I took it in and it turns out there's a problem with the baffles in the oil pan. Mazda knows about it and is sending a redesigned oil pan. It only affects the oil light and is not anything serious. When the pan comes in the dealer will fix both it and the license plate screws and give me a rental car for 2 days. That's fine but I will MISS this car! Even for 2 days.
During the blazing heat of a southern California summer, with temps in excess of 100 degress it never once came even close to overheating. And that was with the AC on all the time.
After my first 4,000 miles, I love this car. It's a well designed, well-engineered machine with style, comfort and performance of the sort you don't often see. Fit and finish is excellent; after 4,000 'enthusiastic' miles nothing rattles. The interior is comfortable and the controls are second-nature.
The thrill is still there; the gawking still happens, but even after that passes I cannot imagine getting bored with this. As I said, I've owned a lot of cars over the years starting with a 1964 Triumph Spitfire I bought in 1970 when I graduated from high school. Everybody back then knew certain cars were classics. 1956 & 57 Chevy; 1965 Mustang; 1967 and 70 Camaro. And this one has "classic" written all over it. Blue Thunder and I are going to be together for a long, long time. :D
Ole Spiff
10-03-2003, 01:22 AM
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Nice post. Well I have 60 miles on mine so far (got it Tuesaday night) and tomorrow I get to take it on the first long drive.
Yipee!
I spend at least 10-15 minutes with people who want to know more about it. I love it
I think its a keeper! I'm still on my first tank, so no MPG yet.
BTW, I owner a 1stgen and 2nd gen Rx-7 and I still own a '96 Miata. The '82 RX-7 and the Miata are two of the finest and most fun cars I've owner. The others include: 1969 GTO, 1977 VW Sirocco, 1988 Audi 90, 1992 Audi 100, 1995 Porsche Carrera Cab, 1995 volvo 850T, 2001 Infinti QX-4. I've had a lot of nice cars and this one is right up there with the best.
And the rotary will only improve over time.
Yipee!
I spend at least 10-15 minutes with people who want to know more about it. I love it
I think its a keeper! I'm still on my first tank, so no MPG yet.
BTW, I owner a 1stgen and 2nd gen Rx-7 and I still own a '96 Miata. The '82 RX-7 and the Miata are two of the finest and most fun cars I've owner. The others include: 1969 GTO, 1977 VW Sirocco, 1988 Audi 90, 1992 Audi 100, 1995 Porsche Carrera Cab, 1995 volvo 850T, 2001 Infinti QX-4. I've had a lot of nice cars and this one is right up there with the best.
And the rotary will only improve over time.
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