LionZoo

Road & Track is a magazine composed of people, so in the end their list is a the opinions of the group of people that make up the magazine, just like Car and Driver's 10Best is also the opinion of Car and Driver's editors. People are different and that includes magazine people, or else how come CD and RT comparos of the same cars yield different rankings?

By the way, 12 Best? Where did they get the 12 number?

CarAndDriver

RX-8 over Scion Tc for sure.

tmak26b

Alll Z has floormats, the cargo net package as an option. I have never seen one without it, it's such a ripoff.

Chasvhill

One flakey thing about the article is that it doesn't say much about their criteria. What do they mean by "12 Best"?

Thinking about that list also makes me wonder - considering the other cars taht are on there, how could they leave the Acura RSX off? That's under $30k, isn't it? (I don't know)

For my "less than $30k" I think I've got at least one of the 12 best cars available.

mkaresh

Exactly. My extended opinion on these lists is here:

http://www.truedelta.com/pieces/comparison_tests.php

I strongly agree with two of the other explanations people have provided:

1. The RX-8 isn't fresh. But neither is the 350Z...

2. Which leads us to #2: they have two fresher Mazdas they also like, and it would not have worked to have three Mazdas on the list. That they picked the Z says as much about the rest of Nissan's lineup as it does about the Z.

So #1 alone wouldn't keep the RX-8 off the list. But 1 and 2 together would, and apparently did.

I've driven about 450 cars over the past seven years. And I like the RX-8 as much as any of them, and more than all but a few of them. That's just my opinion, but I'm sticking to it.

playdoh43

stop trying to rationalize why the rx8 was not on the list. get over it,like many have said, its just someone else's oppinion.

mkaresh

But opinions are worth discussing, as long as one doesn't lose sight of the fact that they are opinions.

Every once in a while someone tells me that my reviews are just my opinions. Which is true. What I don't get is the implication that it's possible to write a review that isn't an opinion. Unless no overall conclusion is offered, and the review just describes test results, then a review is an opinion.

And that said, some opinions are arrived at after more thorough consideration than others.

Raptor75

I would agree with this and with the poster who pointed out the Mazda has not made any real upgrades since the RX was released and none are in sight. For a magazine which survives on bringing you the news on what is new the RX is boring to the general public, been there seen that mind set. Oh I forgot Mazda did make one change since release and that was a power rating decrease.

Place on top of that the fact that it has mileage and power compared to its competitors, has had a major engine recall and no sign from Mazda that a more powerful version is in the cards.

playdoh43

its one thing to analyze an oppinion, thats a bit different from trying to rationalize someone else's oppinion based on your own speculations. just my 2 cents. its a free country though, so do as you please

Ericok

Maybe Mazda didn't give R&T an RX8 to test. You think these guys actually go out and buy their test cars? The 12 best under $30k are the 12 cars they ended up with that manufacturers gave them to test. If they got 15 cars from manufacturers, then it would have been the 15 best test.

DrDiaboloco

Almost every professional review of the Civic Si says the same thing.

KeithL

Bah, "the RX-8 is slow and underpowered" - OK, show me another 1.3L _NA_ street legal vehicle that's faster.

Add another rotor (or two <g>) or FI, and we can talk some more.
Oh, but then people would bitch (even more) about the gas mileage! meh...

Tirminyl

Why does the 8 HAVE to be on everyone's best list? It's not the best. Most of the cars are new and have had updates that keep the car refreshed and on par with its competitors. Color changes doesn't exactly do that well.

Maybe, I am the only one who is not a fanboi and freak out because someone doesn't like my car or doesn't put it on their "favorites" list.

DrDiaboloco

I don't see many people freaking out, actually. Head-scratching is more like it.

NotAPreppie

evidently, opinions aren't universal.

And don't bash the tC, it's a great little econo-coupe. A factory performance version would be nice but that wouldn't match Scion's schtick.

Tirminyl

They actually freak out, and then start to put down other cars and call X magazine trash, then proceed to list reasons as to why they love their RX8. It's the circle of RX8 life.

DrDiaboloco

Perhaps some do, but I ain't one of them. I'm not going to cancel my R&T subscription over this, that's for sure.

RX26b

They should've had a cut-off of around $20K, and then devoted another issue to below $35K. Ain't no way Scions or Cavaliers or Civics are in the same category as the 8.

Chasvhill

[QUOTE=Ericok]Maybe Mazda didn't give R&T an RX8 to test. You think these guys actually go out and buy their test cars? .....QUOTE]

Actually, the article doesn't have test data - each car has a short blurb with some facts, opinions, and an occasional conclusion. And I have to agree with mkaresh's statement that opinions are worth talking about.

I guess what left me cold about this article is that there was no discussion or clarification about what constitutes a "best" car.

dos

True Dat. There is always a conspiracy therory anytime any magazine writes a article on sports cars and does not include the RX-8, or the RX-8 does not win. Take for example the last Car and Driver issue with the Lightning Lap and the RX-8 did not win, there must be 50 different theories as to why the RX-8 was not in the top 2 for its price class.

CarAndDriver

Well there wasn't much bewilderment about the C&D Lightning Lap as this R&T article. The 8 is a great handling car, but the C&D track had stretches where HP rules and the Z and the EVO and others just pulled away.

Ike

Find me a track that's not really a parking lot where that isn't the case. Best motoring and other mags have shown it's not just long big HP tracks where the RX-8 will lose due to lack of hp. The biggest reason the RX-8 didn't make the list IMO is because it's the same car it was in 2003 when it was released. Mazda hasn't done anything to improve the car and for that reason maybe it doesn't deserve to make the list <shrugs>

CarAndDriver

I guess we'll see if C&D chooses it again for the 10 Best List in Jan then.

With 100% certainty, the 3 Series will be there.

Raptor75

Bingo!!! The only new news that has come out about this car since it's release has been negative. De-rating of HP, engine recall, well below average mpg, flooding issues, ect...

We have heard nothing of a power increase, FI, MS version, retuning to restore original HP or at least that they are working on anything.

dos

Not to be a stickler, but didn't the litte Lous Elise win its class over the Ford Shelby GT 500, Porsche Cayman S, Chevy Corvette, and Dodge Charger SR-T 8. Once again, here come the excuses. Plain and simple the RX-8 is a great car, but is not the end all be all of automobiles.