ndfi98

Did anyone see the July 22 Business Week article on the 350 Z? Given all of the posts about the RX-8 price, I thought this excerpt from the article was intersting:

"But competition is heating up among midrange sports cars, even as demand has fallen in the past decade. In that shrinking market, the Z's price tag may yet prove a liability. "There's not much point in launching a car at an uncompetitive price," snipes Lewis Booth, CEO of Mazda Motor Corp., whose RX-8 sports car, to be launched next year, is expected to start at about $20,000."

freekwonder

i doubt it that seems a little low, how much were the RX7's when they first came out compared to there market. but we can only hope, if they are ill have a blue RX8 sitting next to a Blue MP3. now thats going to be a sweet picture.

1.3 liter

I agree with Freekwonder, that 20K seems a bit low and very optimistic. If Mazda brings the RX-8 into an entry-level of 25K it would be fantastic.

boowana

The price quoted in Newsweek has to be a typo. Mazda has said all along the the base price wil be under $30K. To me, that means a loaded one will be under $35K.:o

I for one, will probably get one farly loaded, then wait for the Mazdaspped version.:p

zoom44

must be nice to have the bucks to buy two!:p

SinDiego

It probably is a typo but I will not argue that price. i wont also getmy hopes up. what ever the price turns out to be, 25 k sounds about right to me in black with grey interior.

enjoy

Mazda will probably price it at 26K or even 25k for the base models just to compete with the 350Z, i believe fully loaded could reach as high as 30k - 32k maybe.

loungeliz

When you re-read the full BizWeek article carefully you'll notice the author is not quoting the CEO. The CEO quote is:

"There's not much point in launching a car at an uncompetitive price," snipes Lewis Booth, CEO of Mazda Motor Corp.,

The rest is the author's interpretation...i.e.. is expected to start at about $20,000.

Anyhow, this is CLEARLY wrong. Think about pricing in the lineup:
Protege starts at around 17K
626 and soon to be Mazda 6 will start at around 20K

There is no way the RX-8 will start at about 20K. I wish it were 20K, but if it were true, you might as well mothball the 6 as you would have to have a screw lose to buy the 6 over the RX-8 for the same money. In fact you might as well junk the Protege too, because who wouldn't scrounge/beg/borrow an extra 3K to get the Rx-8 over the Protege?

When you look at the current Mazda lineup, the logical conclusion is that the RX-8 replaces the hole left by the Mellenia ie. 30K. I want one and wish it were 25K or even less, but I'm saving for 30K. If it's less I'll be happy.

ndfi98

Oh I agree that there has to be some sort of mistake. I was just curious as to how the magazine came to that conclusion. I doubt they pulled it out of thin air. Whatever the case, I do expect it to be around $25-$30K.

Perhaps Mazda will just wait and see how the 350Z sells at its price before deciding what to do with the RX-8. The big concern would with a high RX-8 price would be the BMW 3-series, Mercedes C-class, etc. Those have more cachet than a "Mazda", but would be priced relatively the same.

loungeliz

Yeah, it's hard to say where the 20K comes from, but I do agree the price is more like your 25-30 price range. Most people tend to compare RX-8 to 350z, which is natural... However, I think the RX-8 is a sports sedan and not a sports car so the closest comparison to the RX-8 is actually the Infiniti G35: 250hp vs 260hp, both have four doors, etc...

The G35 starts at around $29K. I think the RX-8 has to be less than that, as Infiniti has a slightly more luxurious and upscale target market than Mazda.

Another comparison you could make is the RX-8/Maxima: 250hp vs 255hp, both have four dours, etc... The Maxima starts at around $25K.

I think these two set the lower/upper bound for the starting price of the RX-8. ie $25-29K.

Johnny

20k is still too much for a "mazda" but if the price drops to 18k i'll be interested then.

enjoy

I highly doubt the RX-8 will be priced below $20k.

$26k Base to $32k Fully Loaded sounds about right.

ThaBrkrs349

That just doesn't make ANY sense whatsoever. It's not just a new car Mazda is launching, but a new market grasp. Toyota has Lexus, Nissan has Infiniti, and Honda has Acura. Frankly, I think it's time for Mazda to rethink starting a luxury brand. The Millennia was supposed to be the first car in Mazda's "Amati" luxury brand. Between the Mazdaspeed Protege and the new RX-8, these cars could pave the way for luxury sedans, coupes, and SUVs by mazda. Mazda is a great company that has arguably manufactered some of the most reliable vehicles ever to come out of Japan. I know someone who has a '91 Protege base model that has almost never needed a single repair and still works well. What doesn't make sense about that is the same guy is a millionaire and could afford a damn Bentley, but hey - that has to say something for Mazda!