CryoMax

Well, finally... I gots me a Mazda.

I took delivery of my Nordic Green RX-8 with the Touring package. I didn't end up with the spoiler or the cassette player, which I'd listed as "nice to haves", so not a big disappointment.

The biggest win for me -- I fit. I was starting to get really stressed waiting for the car because I'd test driven a baseline demo with no sunroof, and it was snug fit, so I was freaking out that my 6'4" frame wouldn't really fit in the car with the loss of 2" of headroom. But I put the seat down, all the way back, reclined a little, and it's perfect. I can even fold my left leg up and use my knee as an armrest (I wussed out and went automatic transmission...)

Drove it to a friend's house on my way home, then took the "fast & twisty" highway home. If you're in the SF Bay Area, I'm talking about Route 1 just south of the 280 interchange, going into Pacifica. It's a 55 zone, all downhill, and curves around the side of a mountain. In my Aztek, I had to brake down to 50 at one point, and still felt like I was going around on three wheels... Tonight I coasted down at 60 MPH and got to the bottom thinking, "Wasn't there a tight curve on this road?" It gripped so well, I didn't even FEEL the curve.

I'm so stoked, I can't wait for the commute to work tomorrow where I get to take it up the side of the ridgeline where it's a 35 MPH twisty.

...Paul

KPRX

Good for you..but I have always wondered who ITH buys an Aztek???? Those are freaky looking. At least now your stylin' in the 8, whew, extreme makeover.

Doctorr

Welcome, CryoGuy!

Your morning ride sounds like fun, good luck!
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doc

swoope

iTrader: (5)

aztek to rx-8,
thats kind of like going to bed with rosanne bar and waking up with rosanne arquet.

its a good thing, but i could be wrong.

beers

CryoMax

I reserved the "Green w/ Strakes" thread in the gallery forum for my pictures (although I don't have the strakes yet )...

As for the Aztek... Well, there's a story to that.

Out of college I was driving this '88 S10 Tahoe pickup truck. When I ran it into the ground, I bought a '97 Sunfire GT in purple (I love purple, I only wished the RX-8 came in purple...) and drove that for a few years. One thing I thought Pontiac did well was sell to their buyers. I got the "newsletter" (still do) four times a year or so, and in one of them, they had a spread on the Aztek concept vehicle.

Well, the concept vehicle was awesome. Brushed aluminum interior, color-matched seats, etc. etc... Yeah, the form was "polarizing" (you either hated it or you loved it). Anyway, when I found out they were going to produce them, I wanted one. Turns out, the company I worked for, eGroups, got acquired by Yahoo! (they're "Yahoo Groups" now), so I made some money in the acquisition, went out and bought an Aztek for cash, in blue.

Now, don't get me wrong, I still loved my Aztek, and there are a number of things I'm going to miss:

* Heads Up Display. Holy COW, why does nobody else do this? It projects your speedometer (in digits, not a "gauge") on your windshield, right below your normal field of view. This is the MOST AWESOME FEATURE ON A CAR EVER. And as far as I know, only GM has really ever done anything with it. I would LOVE to know how to get a HUD on the RX-8 -- looking down for the speedo reading, I've found, is particularly distracting, especially coming from the Aztek where I almost never had to look below the windshield...

* 10-speaker Pioneers... I read a lot of people complaining about the Bose system (which I have), and even though I'm not much of an audiophile, I totally understand now. The Aztek I had came with the AC Delco 6-disc in-dash changer (which also hooked up to the HUD so you could see the radio station displayed on your windshield!), and it came with a 10-speaker set, most of which I believe were Pioneer speakers. Now, maybe it also has to do with the cavernous interior, but the sound off that stock system was extremely rich... The Bose in the RX sounds a little tinny to me, even with the bass cranked up (and I'm not even that big on heavy bass!)

* Cargo room from hell. Okay, I never expected to do any major moving in the RX (I just bought a condo about a year ago, after renting for 8 years, so I'm hoping I don't end up moving around as much anyway). With the back seats out of the Aztek, I fit a 6' long metal-frame futon in the back *with the doors closed*. The bed was apparently designed so that if you left the tailgate down, you could fit an 8'x4' sheet of plywood back there.

* Tailgating. The tailgate on the Aztek had seats molded into them (complete with cupholders), the back two speakers actually pointed *backwards* so they would fire out the back when the tailgate was down, and they had a second set of radio/CD controls in the back, so you could sit on the tailgate and still play with the radio.

The Aztek was definitely a bit of an ugly duckling (though I loved the aggressive styling personally). I had a lot of people who thought it was ugly as hell, but once I sat them inside, they thought it was the best car ever...

If I had the space, the money, and the reason to have two cars, I would've easily kept my Aztek for hauling people and cargo and for camping and stuff, and then have the RX-8 for haulin' ***.

But that's the past now. I'm an RX-8 driver.

...Paul

JimW

It seems you live in the ultimate place to take advantage of the RX8. After owning the car for 6 months, I find that it still makes me smile and I'm never bored with it. I think you will be the same....CONGRATULATIONS!

RenesisRotary

I was waiting for an approriate time to use this...


Go You!

Riccio

Interesting report on the Aztek - I show dogs as a hobby and a lot of people in the "dog world" drive them - and they all LOVE their ugly ole Azteks. Now, I know why!

Anyway - you're gonna love your RX8 even more -enjoy!

kbull

Nice work, and congrats. Careful on Devil's Slide, though- wouldn't want you and your 8 to take that fall...

HiTMaNN

have fun

AaronElCampeon

I've got a nerd friend and I asked him what woot meant. He said it's kind of like cool. Could someone expand on this?

CryoMax

Not sure where the term came from, maybe a combo of "woohoo!" and "hoot!"...

It simply worked its way into my vernacular after seeing it so many times. Kinda like "pr0n". :P

...Paul

rxeightr

You are gonna love how the RX-8 handles, especially after you get more comfortable with her.

Welcome to the Club.

JimW

It's strictly a car forum word for YAHOO!

SiMplyBluE

Yeah I've been trying to hit 70 on an onramp and offramp. The G-force is just something I've gotta get used too because instinctively I start slowing down when I feel it.

Elara

Not sure where it came from either, but I'm pretty sure it originated in the first-person shooters online. Just try to play Urban Terror or some such without somebody screaming that every 5 seconds.

dcfc3s

I do have some respect for the Aztec - it's the kind of car that gets made when you let the engineers call the shots and not the design studio. Tons of neat, usable, and people-friendly features, but they didn't worry about making it look good.

The powerplant team should have been shot though - front wheel drive and a peg-leg diff on a car that should see some light offroading? Bleh.

Anyhow, on the HUD feature. Go to http://www.defi-shop.com - Defi is probably the Rolls Royce of gauges, and they have some heads-up display gauges. They're not too pricey, INCREDIBLY well made and designed, and will do what you want - speedo on the windshield. Some also do tach with shift warnings, a tripometer, etc. Really slick stuff. Not too tricky to install, all things considered.

Dale

CryoMax

I'm so there with the aftermarket HUD... Anyone else ever install one? After the 'tek, this is something I would totally pay good money to have done to my car... It's such a huge safety feature, and it looks cool, too.

Grazi for the link.

...Paul