Mike06

eh so this is how it worked for me:
i was 16, almost 17, when my parents first bought my car.
i admit that i was a reckless bastard back in those early days. how i only managed to get 2 tickets during this time period still amazes me after looking back at it and seeing that by driving even around town not to mention the freeways, i was a threat to myself and others. however, the mountains is where i really let loose. my friends and i all saw this as the perfect opportunity and place to race...and show off our non-existant skills. i saw a lot of my friends with their sports cars (rsx-s, eclipses, m3's) get into accidents in those mountain roads right before my very eyes. my rx-8 ends up getting taken away from me after i am caught spinning doughnuts in the parking lot of an open space reserve up in the mountains. my parents took it away from me after i was charged with reckless driving. for 6 months, i had to drive a mini van. however, only about 3 months passed since i had my 8 taken away and was still driving the mini van when i was riding as a passenger in my friends eclipse over that same mountain road one fateful night. the night ended with the both of us crashed into the side of a tree, with the passenger side door collapsed over me. after being airlifted to the hospital, suffering head trauma, lacerating my liver, and breaking my hip and collar bone, i finally had my rude awakening. i spent the next couple months having to transfer into an adult education program to finish school because my injuries would not allow me to go back to my normal high school. Post-traumatic stress was another thing that would really get to me over that time. i finish school in the adult ed. program, and summer comes around. i'm finally able to walk around (not run let alone walk fast mind you). I work with my dad and towards the end of summer, i get my rx-8 back.
Now, even though it had literally been only mere months since i had been driving my rx-8 as if i were in the Fast and Furious, i had completely changed. It took a near-death experience to show me how wrong i was in my ways, and i'm sure my story isnt the only story like this with young sports car owners. except that they might not end up being as lucky as i was and leave their accident with their life in hand. the officers at the scene and some paramedics would later tell my parents and the parents of my friends at the scene that they had thought that i would not make it, and if luck hadn't been on my side, i might'be died right then and there.
moral of the story, i'm not saying that all young sports car owners are like me or my friends, but the temptation of power in these machines is still there (after all, we are immortal) and the consequences can be more than we could have imagined possiblel to us. don't throw your life away...

carnut

My 15 year-old daughter has her school license and has been driving to school in an older car almost daily for over a year. She would love to drive my red RX-8 to school -- she's very good with a stickshift, but I would worry about what would happen to my car near a high school. Once I had to pick her up after school to take her somewhere, then drop her off at school again so she could drive her car home. Since I was going to be following her, I let her drive my 8 by herself and I drove her car. She got some looks, because she looks a little young (and a lot cute) driving that car. I was pleased she didn't burn rubber or race anybody on the way home! I would have loved to have something like my 8 when I was her age. . . .

Mike06

yeah, a lot of heads would always turn whenever i pulled into my school parking lot
you'd be amazed at how much having a car like the rx-8 does to your reputation in high school. between driving the mini van and the rx-8, theres a big, big, BIG, difference in how you are seen and approached at school. with an average car you can just be an average joe at school...then you have a sports car like an rx-8 and suddenly everyone nods their head at you, wants to be around you, talks about you.
RX-8 FTW!

Like Whoa

I think the RX8 is a really safe car considering the handling, i'll tell u if i wasnt in the RX8 i would've been in a couple accidents myself if i was in any other car.

tajabaho1

please lick the exhaust after 2-3 minutes of hard driving, it will help you connect with your car

Swashbuckler

eh rx-8's are slow enough for 16 year olds




jk..jk...don't kill me

Shini

It was blah blah blee blah actually!

I read that someone in the manual if you repeat that while in the backseat of the 8, you get more leg room?

Shini

diaf plzkthxbai! ^_^, is WAY better than lick the exhaust!

Whose bright idea was it to bump this abomination anyway, I thought I had already won the war

sleeperx8

+1;

but really, an rx-8 isn't even that bad... my high school lot had an e55, a clk430, some m3s, and a billion bmw 3s. there was even one guy who traded up his current corvette for a new one every year.

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

+1

I get tons of people checking out my car at school. The car really does boost your reputation, especially with mods. If you are afraid about her taking it to school, then follow your instincts and don't let her. Our school parking lot is crazy when school lets out. We have an exit lane and no one has the decency to let you in. I witnessed one day 4 cars try and squeeze into the one tiny exit lane. Because I car about my car unlike most of them, I back away and wait till it is safe to go. Another thing that could be bad is that because it is such a nice car, jealous kids could damage it. I live in a rich area where kids mostly drive nice cars around $18000-$30000. In our town these kids are brought up well, so most will respect the car. My friend though owns a new Lexus IS250, and one day during class, someone attempted to rip off his front bumper with a crowbar (at least we are pretty sure that is what was used). he discovered this during lunch. We don't know if it was because he pissed off someone, or if someone was jealous of his car. Other kids have BMW's and Mercedes', so I don't know why they weren't targeted. I hope this helps. If you do let her drive it, then tell her to be aware of her surroundings, and to park far away, like I do. Then you won't get any damage done.

Mike06

+1 to that.
Back in the day when i'd be driving my car around the school campus (going to and leaving from school, going to lunch), i would be what you could call an "aggressive driver". cutting other kids off, tailing them and being right on their ***, losing traction around turns on the way to school, and occasionally running a stop sign or two, i got many kids pissed off at me. my school could be considered an average sized school with economically average white kids. this being said, even though they were pissed at me and decided to "vandalize my car", it was nothing more than about a very light, 2.5 mm long, "scratch" on my hood. if i had gone to a different kind of school however that was more "thug life", my car probably would've been owned while i was sitting in class.
like i said, ive had a really lucky history with cars and my rx-8

Mike06

lol.
thats assuming that the driver is no amateur and has the skill and experience to take full advantage of the handling capabilities of the rx-8.
boy that sure does sound like me and my friends in our high school racing days