Went to the Rev It Up deal yesterday, but this year, no racing, just looked around mostly. There was a red MazdaSpeed 8 with gold spoked rims, and heavy use of "aero" parts.

I did get to drive a loaded auto 8 (the line was shorter) but unfortunately, the way the course was laid out really didn't give me a chance to appreciate the car.

You drive up to a brake test (the sign tells you to stop as hard as you can) and the braking was indeed impressive. There was a bit more nosedive than I would expect. The rest of the course was a meandering series of curves marked out by cones, which is kind of nice I guess, except I really don't drive around Long Island like that. However, the steering is quicker in my MP3. I found myself sawing at the wheel more than I normall do.

One thing I did notice is how small it seems on the inside. Believe it or not, thanks to it's boxiness, going back into the Protege was like stepping into a Bentley or something!! The view out the 8's rear window will take some adjustment. But the seats were comfortable, everything was laid out nicely, but I wish I could have done some broken field running with it.

One thing I noticed on all the test drive demos- all of them had tires worn almost completely bald from all those clown punchers driving them around the course perhaps over a hundred times a day city after city. Shoulda taken down the VIN numbers on those suckers!

 

I'd like to take the opportunity to give a big hearty congrats to KC on the NY win and being ranked 2nd nationally. Way to represent for the Subaru community! So do you think you can take Daddio this year?