My first car was a 1971 Plymouth Satellite.
(No, I'm not that old, it was 16 years old when I got it)
Fairly big car
318 engine.
Would absolutely smoke the tires.
Straight line car only!

At that time same time, I also (rarely) got to drive my fathers '72 Plymouth Baracuda. (Note: Dad was a MOPAR Fan)
Didn't have seat belts, had racing harnesses that folded up above the doors.
Now THAT was a fast car!
Again straight line only, but better than the Satellite.

Moved on to various Cutlass, accords, etc.

Biggest difference between my first car and the 8 ...
Handling!
Without a doubt.
It's hard to beat the 8's handling, in any price point!

Although, a freak coincidence between the 8 and my dad's Baracuda ...
They both got about the MPG!
Just kidding ... the 8 is worse

 

1998 Chrysler Cirrus LXi in a granny green color. BOOYAH!

Then I went to buy a Mazda6. I accidentially test drove this beautiful Galaxy Gray RX-8, and took that puppy home

 

1st Car 1968 Camaro

 

not my 1st car, but my other car is a WRX. i miss the torque, but the rx-8 is a lot of fun to drive stock.

 

My first car was a 1977 Datsun Pickup that was practically rusting out, and could do 0-60 in about 30 seconds. That was a straight-line car only... corners were scary. I think it also had a smaller engine than the RX-8 does...

 

1966 Malibu w/ 289 and 2 speed powerglide trans.
Comparison?
1966 Malibu = 4000 lbs, V8, auto with only 2 gears!, manual drum brakes, manual steering, bench seats. Great car as long as you never need to stop or turn. Perfect for parking
2004 RX8 = 3000 lbs, Rotary, 6 speed MT, power antilock brakes (what a concept!), electric power assist steering (Whoa!), bucket seats with center console running the length of the cabin. Great car for driving

 

My first car was an 02 saturn SC2 which really wasnt bad at all for a starter car.. I've had a few different cars since then but love the 8 and will be keeping it for a while...

 

1999 S10 Xtreme fleet side with a 2.2 4 cyl and auto trans.

still got it, now the winter vehicle and dirt bike mover. Great little truck. Although it does not have a handling feel nearly as well as a RX8 I've never had it even feel like the front was going to run out of grip. It actually feels like it has far better road holding than the 8. Hopefully within the next couple months I'll pick up a newer pickup and the s10 will become my project vehicle. Maybe a rotary or 2jz swap?

 

1) An S10 feeling grippier than an RX-8? You need some AutoCross time.

2) Rotary swap? I think you'll become famous for it..., mainly because of Mazda's history with rotary trucks (REPU). tl;dr: THAT'LL BE AWESOME.

 

Maybe its the the 9.5" wide tires on the s10, no idea, or the crappy kumho summers on my 8.


There actually was a mitsu mighty max pickup around here with a turbo 13b in it, saw it for sale a couple months back. Talk about sleeper.

 

ford ranger xt... one of the worst vehicles I've ever driven, couldn't handle or accelerate for **** and would go into a fishtail by itself on dirt roads at 40mph if there wasn't a load in the bed...

98 Chevy S-10 with crew cab and step sides and the 4.3 vortec V6... one of my favorite trucks of all time, fast, fun and handled like a champ on dirt roads to the point where I could do tailslides. all that with no load in back. It did go thru a lot of maintenance tho.

95 saturn SL2... still have it but it's a complete crock now at 270k miles. Burns a quart of oil every gas tank, has idle issues and the clutch is on the way out... but it's never ever left me stranded on the side of the road and I've only put about a grand into it over the years as far as repairs go.

Would I ever buy any of them again?

The ranger? HELL NO, I hate those trucks
The S-10? In a heartbeat, as long as it was in good shape.
The saturn? probably if I needed a beater, tho I'm aware that mine is the exception to the norm as far as longevity for those cars goes, I'd rather have a subaru really.

Do any of them compare? I think the S-10 sort of does in a roundabout way, it has that same stupid bump on the passenger side floor, fast, fun and practical like the 8.... obviously no comparison but I think it's fair... and good looking to boot

 

My very first car was a 1985 ford escort. i got it at a government auction when i was 17 (1988). It was 3 yrs old with 85k miles. owned it for 6 months (i think).

It did the job of hauling me and my friends from school to wherever else we needed to go. It had a 4 speed manual trans. and the automatic seatbelts that just drove me nuts. It burst into flames one day while driving home from school. Fortunately, my friends and i didnt get hurt. Was an electrical short in the engine bay and just spread from there.

 

I bought a 1968 Dodge Polara 2 door hardtop when I was 17 (1978). I could get like 6 of my friends into that car comfortably. Eventually had it painted and pinstriped, got Cragars, etc.

I'm way past that now.

 

my first car was a 1937 chevy with a bent frame, the mazda is a little bit better

 

my first was a 99 mustang gt. really its a toss up, the rx8 handles alot better but the mustang sure did have a shitload of torque which made it alot of fun. Id put them at about the same level eventhough there 2 completely different types of car.

 

My fist car was a 1982 Ford Exp 3 speed Auto. Was fun to drive till I crashed into a curb in the snow, never drove the same after that. Last I saw it was in 1987, on a flat bed truck headed to the salvage yard... Looked alot like the car below except it was dark blue with silver stripes.

 

92 maxima... was my daily driver and was pretty good till it choked on me. haha. was sold late last year...