G8rboy

Here's the original link from last year:
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-media-news-11/rx-8-video-reviews-top-gear-fifth-gear-15325/

beachdog

Jaisin, maybe you were intimidated by the putz, maybe you were even taught to respect older people. When you know that someone is being a jerk, all bets are off. For future reference, if you ever go back to that dealer or any other dealer and they don't show you any respect, ask to speak to the manager (politely). All you have to tell the manager is that you already own a car which is a direct competitor to their product and you are interested in their car. If they have any business sense they will treat you as a prospective customer. If they don't, let them know that neither you nor your parents will be doing business with them.

This doesn't just happen to young people. Many car dealers won't speak to adult women because they assume that only men buy cars.

Jaisin

Good advice. The saleslady I talked to told me not to worry about him and she went and asked the manager. He said he had never heard of such a thing. Everyone was nice except that one guy and I wasn't even dealing with him in the first place! He just interrupted the conversation I was having and then even told another salesperson that he was wrong also. Shame.

Audioslave8

funny, me and a friend went to a nissan dealership because my friend is interested in the altima SE-R (im 16, hes 17). They bring out the keys, we start it up, and a salesman comes running out telling us its illegal for us to testdrive, be driven, or even sit in the car!!! Then the guys asks us if we would be coming back to purchase the car...

dragula53

And the rx-8 doesn't beat the fairlady around the track.... watch the best motoring video..
the only thing the rx-8 beat around the track was the miata.

(which I know is kinda harsh, but this thread sucks)

Everybody is tripping! Tripping I say.

I'm not sure how to categorize the RX-8 except for as an aesthetically pleasing and extremely fun car to toss around.

Audioslave8

^ according to top gear, which uses the same driver to test every car... the RX8 was dead even with the 350Z and the M3... how can you say the RX8 isnt a performance car now?

dragula53

dead even in which respect?

I just watched the video from beginning to end... again... the rx-8 starts in first, and ends second to last.

getting passed by such esteemed competitors as... the skyline (japanese equivalent to Infinity G35), the s2000, the rs-x, the wrx.

It might be a fine car, but it doesn't "beat" the... well.. anything (except the miata) around the track.

I'm not saying the rx-8 sucks. I am still thinking about getting one. But I am not going to make wild (and unfounded) claims about how it whomps up on other cars.

The same people who test the car and have it get beaten around the track, also pick it over all of the other cars in the category, because it is a great car.

like.. the motortrend article, versus the 350z(?) and the mustang cobra. rx-8 was last around the track, but was the editor's choice as best vehicle.

dragula53

<.02>
Oh.
saying the rx-8 is high performance, and the 350z isn't is a load of crap.
Last I checked, the 350z pulled .88g on the skidpad, and the rx-8 pulled .89.
The Z has 50+ (more in 2005) horsepower, pulls nearly the same skidpad, pulls faster 1/4 times, and is faster around the track.
I don't know if the rx-8 can be called high performance or not, but the comparisons here are crap.

</.02>

truemagellen

if you focuse on once source of information and one ideology of what performance is your not doing anyone any help by posting Black and White statements

Old Navy sells High-Performance fleece vests...must be really fast around the track eh

dragula53

1) skidpad
2) 1/4 mile
3) track.

Perhaps I am missing some quantifications of performance...

But I can think of multiple "comparison tests" where the RX-8 was not the top performer, but was still the editor's pick of the bunch because they loved the car.

I would LOVE to see a comparison where the RX-8 outperforms every competitor in every aspect. I just haven't seen one yet.

dmp

skid pad ratings mean nothing, frankly.


Lets look at it -

the rx8 is nearly as quick as a 350Z on some tracks, as fast as on others. Let's call it a draw - MAYBE even slight edge to the Z.

the rx8 is more comfortable, seats four comfortably, looks better, costs less and is more nimble.

(shrug).

truemagellen

PLUS 8 owners have much bigger manhoods

and more chicks to... ****censored by me :p *****

Rxdriftingaction

damn... car is drive by ppl.!!! just go to get a test drive of Z. then u would get ur answer for all those craps.!!

mysql101

You forgot that the rx-8 can fit two golf club bags in the trunk.

dragula53

skidpads do mean something.... they are a good indicator of cornering ability.

And giving the slight edge to the Z.. in performance! Great!

I was responding to the comments about the Z not being a performance car, and the 8 being one. And the 8 beating the Z around the track.

now.. the rx-8 is better because it just is! because it looks better.. because it seats 4. because it's cheaper..

though the Z (6-speed) starts out at $1125 more than the automatic RX-8... the 6-speed rx-8 is $375 more.

I like the rx-8 more than the 350Z, too. Ya all are biting my head off because I am trying to keep everybody honest.

Now I am exiting this thread.

bij8611

I got this treatment at mitsubishi. my friend and i were just gonna look at the evos and everything for the hell of it. once i pulled my 8 in, the salesmen swarmed in like hawks. after awhile one asked about my car. as far as the sales man was concerned, my car was a crap wagon. then he said that mazda was ripping everyone off with the 6 speed cuz its more expensive. nothing u could ever say would convince him otherwise. he tried to pull some crap about the 8 not being much of a sports car at all, talkin down to me like i was 12 and didnt know sh*t about anything and like i was stoopid.

salesmen are no fun at all...

mysql101

heh. I've been to about 3 non-mazda dealerships and the sales guys all twist their necks around to look at my car, none said a bad word about it. Though to be fair, one of the three was a Saturn dealership, so I'm not sure if that one counts...

When I was at my local mazda dealership I talked to someone who wasn't a sales person, I forget what I was saying to him, but it turns out he knew all about my car - he said every time I drive it in, he hears it and goes to look at it through the window. I had no idea, but cool [borla exhaust btw]

shaolin

Dragula,

I have several vids on my computer, one of them being BM of the RX-8 slaughtering the competition. I've got one where the S2K struggles to even keep up. Driving into the dirt on one corner even. They're fairly easy to find, just search for RX-8 Revenge Battle. I've even got one where the Z tails the RX-8 all around the track.

The thing you need to realize about these videos is that they're not the end all be all of comparisons. Especially Best Motoring...terrible way to go about comparing cars in that it's really driver vs driver here. Now if you took the same driver, put him in each car, and had him turn lap times, that would be different. There are just too many factors in these videos for them to be used to compare the cars. Lap times are what's important.

Apples and apples people...

RotorManiac

The stupidity has to do with all NISSAN dealers then. Didn't read the whole thread, but you guys hear this:

It reminds of a car motorshow here in my country, in ATHENS.
I ask the Nissan dealer why they don't have a 350Z for interested poeple too check it out, and he responds "No, this car is an excecutive car, so it will be in another show next month, at the Excecutive Car Motorshow with all the Ferraris, Lambos and so on...

I wanted to laugh on his face so hard, but I played polite. I regreted it after a while... oh, and I saw a couple of Zs in the same show, at the aftermarket section

Audioslave8

dragula53, if you read my post, youll notice i said TOP GEAR... now you obviously have not seen this video, because it cleary states and shows the lap time of the rx8.. dead even with the 350z and the m3.

truemagellen

that is a great video too since it is the same driver, the same track

apples to apples as Shaolin said ealier tonight

TiTaniumRX8

every article i have ever seen with the 350Z has it compared to the 8. I find this weird because they are really diff. in my eyes other than they are both fairly fast and sporty.

DO NOT COMPARE A SKYLINE TO A G35 == that is the worst BS statement i have ever heard and any AZN would chop your ***** off for maken that coment.

i cant belive a RSX beat the 8 around the track... and lets just say that all those other cars should beat the car around the track other than the miata. BUT BACK TO THE POINT... to say that the rx-8 is not a performance car might be a slap in the face when a dealer says that... but i hope that salesperson is happy w/ his altima, if i were u ida waited for him to pull out after he's off then smoke his *** (assumin u have a 6spd).

AND FOR THE RECORD THE 8 LOOKS WAY COOLER THAN THE Z... and i know all my girl will ride in my 8 over my friends Z! SO TO ALL Z OWNERS w/ NO RESPECT FOR COMPITITION "SUCK IT!!!"

spork

The Z is a great car. Performance wise it's close to the 8; in some respects it edges out the 8, in others it doesn't. It's pretty much very close performance wise. Hell, Top Gear did say it got the same times didn't it?

Most reviews I've read had the Z having faster lap times than the 8. But barely. And also I've seen it mentioned that it was MORE DIFFICULT to get the good lap time with the Z than the 8. Like the Z could get better times than the 8 in slaloms but it was very difficult to do. Most of the tries wound up being slower than the 8.

But most reviews also mention that the 8 feels lighter and more responsive and is a more comfortable, enjoyable ride. So even if the 8 loses out to the Z in performance (which is highly debatable and even if it's true, it's close) it surpasses it in so many other ways (except gas mileage, and air conditioning quality - heh).

My point is there's no real point in dissing either car. Both cars have their strengths and weaknesses. Obviously the people here like the all around qualities of the 8 better.

Oh yeah and a skyline != g35. they're similar but the skyline is way better.

shaolin

Uhhh okay I suppose you being "AZN" makes you have some sort of automotive knowledge of skylines that the rest of the population doesn't huh?

For the record I happen to be asian, and I will tell you that the G35 is the next generation skyline. Albeit doesn't have the RB26DET motor nor the handsome looks of the old R32, 33, 34...but Nissan has badged this new car as the next skyline in Japan. The ATTESSA drive system is apparently missing from the newest incarnation, but the G35X has a very similar system set up.

What so many of you riceboys need to learn is that the skyline/G35 is not meant to be a sports/performance vehicle in the raw. The car has always offered a sedan version, and has always offered very low performance models. The car you people are comparing these to is the GT-R. The GT-R is the car that made the skyline namesake legendary.

Rumor has it that Nissan will release the GT-R under the Infiniti marque in the USA sometime in 2006. Expect it to be priced to compete with Porsche, M3, and Corvette.

By the way in the Best Motoring vids, like I said before, they're all driver. I've got vids of the 8 getting beat and the 8 spanking everyone else as well (revenge battle)...all from Best Motoring...what's your point? It's like I said, compare apples to apples. Put the same driver in every car and have him turn out lap times...you'll see the 8 probably close to the top of the pack.

Also the RSX isn't just any RSX. It's the DC5-R. In other words, Japanese Integra Type-R. It comes as no surprise to me that it held it's own so well in all of these videos. The car is an absolute track beast. It's a far cry from the feeble Type-S we get here in the states.

So let's have a fiction shall we? Let's pretend that you and I both drive our RX-8's , both 6 speed, around a track, and I spank you. Is it because my 8 is faster than yours? By your logic, yes. In reality, it's because of different driving styles, and a million other variables that come in to play with track races such as these.

Don't believe everything you watch on video children.

Fanman

What's interesting is in the March 2004 Comparo of the S2000, 350Z & RX8, the 350Z performs as well as the RX8 in braking, skidpad & slalom, but they hardly mentioned that the model they were testing was the 350Z "track" model. There most aggresive model with massive Brembo brake upgrades, "sport" tuned suspension, and slightly larger forged wheels. Given a "regular" 350 Z I think the RX8 would have come out much better in those categories than the "regular" 350Z. Also the prices were RX8 = $27,200, the 350Z = $34,180 (though it has stability control).

An interesting competitor is the Infiniti G35 coupe, in the August 2004 Road & Track the Infiniti G35 while faster, took an additional +2 ft. to stop from 60-0, and +6 ft. 100-0. While the G35 pulled better skidpad #'s (.92 vs. .89 for the RX8), it got beat (badly) in the slalom (66.7 vs. 68.4). It came in over 400 lbs. heavier than RX8. Again the G35 was $34,010, the RX8 was $33,100 (but you should take out $2,000 as the RX8 has navi., the G35 did not, so $34K vs. 31K).