Racer X-8

Tonight, I made a statement. My RX-8 said it all.

I wore my 15-year John Deere ring to the reunion tonight. (Worked there 16 years.) It was the first reunion that I was able to attend. Nearly 3 years ago, my John Deere plant closed its doors and we were all either changing jobs, still looking, or decided to live off the severence pay for a while.

It's funny how so many people who at that time were close to me suddenly disappeared from my life for almost 3 whole years! Dozens of them. Tonight, just as suddenly, we were all back together again, if just for a couple hours at a local wings joint. What a night!

Of course, everybody asked, one at a time, "how's it going with you?", to which, I answered "Good. Real good. Better than ever!". Then, the usual "Oh, that's good to hear. Me, I'm ....."

I wore my black Polak shirt with the red RX-8 logo, and black 501's. Inevitably, I got the questions like "So, what's an RX-8?" or similar. Turns out, not a soul knew squat about our beloved cars. Notta one.

I drew a crowd when the mass exodus finally occured. Everyone circled around my car, with the freshly washed red mica glittering under the parking lot lights. All four doors were opened, the trunk, the engine compartment.

I pulled the cover to let them see the alternator. Hehe. "Where's the engine?!?" "Oh, it's under the alternator alrighty. You see, it's very compact, and they tucked it way-down and back for a low cg and polar moment of inertia." "Oh, yeah, right, I see..."

I barely scratched the surface of it all. Stuff like "It red-lines at 9000 rpms, but really, since it's a rotary, it could rev a lot higher than that."

"A rotary? It's got a rotary engine?!? Get out!!"

"Yeah.

"Five speed?"

"No, six."

"Get out!!! Man!"

"Yeah. You see how that paint glitters? That's mica in the paint. You know, mica?"

"Yeah, that's an element, isn't it?"

"Well, no. Actually, it's a rock. A lot like slate, except, it's pretty much see-through when it's slit real thin. Anyway, they crushed-up mica and mixed it in the paint, and thats what makes it glitter like that. And when it's overcast, that sparkle totally disappears. Pretty neat, huh?"

About 50 other little things were brought-up. It was cool. My car was sitting there looking just so absolutely astonishingly pretty. I fired it up to let them hear what a rotary sounds like. First time any of them ever heard a rotary engine.

I never did tell any of them that I regularly post on this forum... That the car has a forum where people just talk and talk and talk about nothing but these RX-8 cars. That would have been a mind blower. Hmmm. Maybe next year, I'll be sure to tell them...

So, if they weren't sure if I was telling them the truth that I'm doing real good, better than ever, I think the statement that my RX-8 made said it all.

Rupes

Nice read, sounds like you had an awesome time. I need to get me one of those RX-8 shirts!


-Rupes

cgrx

LOL ! I pictured the night while I was reading. You're a dork ! Just kidding. Great story !

irish8

Awesome story. Glad to hear you had a good time. I tell ya, you drive an 8, you're the centre of attention. Funny thing is....your friends are still trying to get their heads around the "no pistons" thing. :D

- Irish

Racer X-8

'Round here, we're all dorks. Hahahahaha!!!!

Thanks, and yeah, those shirts are very nice.

I got one of those keychain rotary thingies from the 7 forum. It has a rotor in a chamber, and it actually spins in the itty bitty chamber. A very valuable tool for showing people who haven't a clue. :D

Ike

Yeah, because then they would have to find out about the mystical thing called the internet and you may have hysteria on your hands.

Racer X-8

ROFL!!! Yeah, one major technological marvel at a time. A stomach-full of terriaki & Samuel Adams does not go well with massive info-overload.

911SC

Anybody that is amazed at the no pistons/rotary thing is not a car person. Plain and simple. It's been around for decades. And the RX7 of the '70s was a major wake up call to sports car fans and car makers. It was a big deal when out of nowhere this little Mazda company came out with a car that could beat anything in it's price range (and some more expensive ones like the 924). All of a sudden those Triumphs, Datsuns, Fiats, MG's, etc. looked dated.
I hope whoever stole our '83 has constant diarrhea for the rest of his life.

Racer X-8

Yeah, I remember in '73, Mazda had a car show right about at 5th & Hamilton in Allentown PA. They blocked-off Hamilton and had a show. Now, 5th & Hamilton in Allentown is like Sachs & 5th Avenue in NY city. Huge. Even before then, I knew of good old Felix and his whirling wonder from college. I opted for a bit more normalty back then though and bought a Fiat 124 Sport Spider right off the showroom floor for a whopping $4,000. Don't seem like a lot, but back then, I was making $3/hr ($6,240/yr) as an engineering trainee. I had to buy something though, my '61 Olds F85 up and died on me and I was riding a bike to get around. Sheez! Was a nice Raleigh though... (still got it!)

Anyway, yeah, but you must excuse the female types, right?

And the guys - a few knew about rotaries, they just didn't know about the reincarnation that took place. One guy even asked if a rotary was anything like a Wankle.

Gotta love it!

quack_p

Must have taken a long time to wipe all the drool off the pavement!

This reminds me of a Calvin and Hobbes strip in which Hobbes says: "We tigers try to stay humble, but lord knows it's difficult!"

Racer X-8

Hehe, good one. Yeah, that's pretty much how it went, you got it right...