Yeah, I don't know why they got rid of those. Were they functional vents on the old model?

 

I believe so. They extract air from front engine compartment. We shined a light through them to see if they served some sort of purpose.

 

I'm not feeling the new tail lights at all
Seems like they were inspired by the Skyline GTR tail lights

I think that the reason that they took away the air vents bec Mazda improved the front of the car to allow more air flow through the front.

 

I'm just glad they got rid of those cheepo plastic grey strakes in the old lights. I would have bought an rx-8 years ago except for those taillights.

On the 7 the vents behind the front wheel well were connected to the back of the oil coolers, supposedly they pulled air through them instead dumping it into the wheel well.

If you ever opened up the plastic in the wheel it was actually a little doubtful they did anything at all, it was all cheap floppy plastic stapled together.

If the one on the 8 isn't functional I'm all for getting rid of it.

 

True. The side vents were cool.

Basically, I think Mazda has lost its mind and various executives should be bitch-slapped.

The RX-8 was already a good looking car. Screwing around with it's looks is an invitation for disaster.

It's the engine dummies, add more damn power, and they could have ruled.

 

omg!!!! i cant wait to see these 8 on the streets!!!

 

wow...i need to get on the 57 more often.....

hmmm..maybe to diamond bar for some sushi or somtheing

 

anyone notice how similar the side markers behind the fornt wheels are on the 8 compared to a mustang.

 

I think the '09 is a bit ugly. I don't like the rear end down by the exhaust at all.

 

I like the rear tails.

Wonder when I can pick them up/how much they will run me at a dealer...

And the side vents on the 04's are not functional.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/ducting-heat-transfer-thread-121903/

Abbid used to have pics hosted but they've sense been brought down...there's a 1"x1" square "ducting" the engine bay to the fender...no good.

 

The old rear end hides the exhaust system below much better than the new one.

 

I noticed that too......

 

I think the update looks great. More importantly though it's got upgrades in other areas that are sorely needed!

It's common for people to hate updated looks at first. This always happens. It's not familiar. In a few years people will be trying to acquire the parts to update their older ones. This too always ends up happening.

 

I can barely tell the difference between the current one and the 'new' one.

 

This is not 1st look jitters.

The new 09 RX-8 looks uglier.

That plastic crap in the front, the removal of the side vents, and the rear lights were just dumb moves.

They screwed up the aesthetics. The other changes, larger oil coolers, OMP, bigger oil pan, etc... are welcomed though with good reason.

Now the 09 RX-8 Mazdaspeed kit gets a pass. Aesthetics count. It just looks better period.

 

....

 

Looks like Diamond Gray Metallic with the copper interior as seen here also (Post #45):

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...38#post2329138

 

Everybody has their own opinion.

As a non-partisan non-owner, I can say that I don't think it looks dramatically worse than the old one.
Both have kind of a quirky weirdness and gimmicky styling. The new plastic on the nose can be found on
all of the mazda models so you can't really blame them for using it on the eight.

I agree with everyone saying that in time this will become the "new" look and everybody will be paying
bucks to get the updated tail-lights.

 

The old FD tails were awesome, kinds reminds me of them...

 

For the most part I like the car, just bias to our cars...i really hate the new side vents functional or not, they just look like every other cars now. The steering wheel is also ugly, but other than that I think its nicely done.

 

Were those ever released in the states? I've never seen those lights on an fd... Personally I would not buy a car with those things on it, but to each his own

 

the side by side comparison makes me think that the new 1 is much sexier. sorry guys, i tend to disagree with most of you

 

You tell them Jordan! I'll be getting me one as soon as they're in production.. Here is a side by side comparison.

 

Cheap looking = cheap looking. There is often a kind of general consensus about that.

The excessive plastic on the standard grille and in front of the oil cooler looks "cheap".

Weirdness is relative, so you will get less of a general consensus on this, from my experience.

Removing the side vents, decreases the "coolness" factor of the car. Actually, it may have been smarter for Mazda to make the side vents "functional". The new side vents, in comparison to the old ones look like a "downgrade". Again adding to the "cheapish feel" and losing a couple of "cool points"

The tail lights are open to debate. However, I don't think they added anything to the car.

These unenlightened cosmetic changes by Mazda cost them time and money to perform. It would have been better if for instance they focused on things like a semi-automatic/dual clutch transmission.

That way you have one version of your transmission, have best of the manual and automatic worlds, and save money.

Things that people are really interested in are performance enhancements, because that adds value to the car. That is also how you get present RX-8 customers trading in for a NEW RX-8.

For instance more area around the oil coolers and front grille is smarter for cooling purposes. Nobody would argue with that. But, if it looks bad, than standby.

Messing with the aesthetics was just a dumb gamble. Taking something people are fine with and screwing with it, is an invite for disaster, when there are so many other areas you could have focused on.

 

I agree with you 100% on updating functionality vs aesthetics. Just saying I don't think it looks dramatically worse to a new buyer because of their changes. And it does bring it up-to-date with the rest of their product line and modern styling. Whether that styling is good or not is a different question that will take years to answer.

Plus, if I buy one, one of the first things I'll do is figure out how to pull all that plastic out.

My opinion is that they don't want to increase power so that they don't have to compete with the "big-boys". Big fish in a small pond instead of a small fish in a big pond and all that.