On a related note, I have yet to see a single '09 RX-8 anywhere but the dealer showroom...

 

I saw one. One. They are much less common than Porsches. They're as rare as any exotic.

Too bad they're ugly. I do envy the tail lights and rims though, and sure would like that extra oil injector.

 

UGLY..Watch it mate...

My white beast is far from Ugly...it is beautiful, all I get are compliments and LOOKS!..

Yes I hated the new look,but in white you do not notice the front "Mustacheooo"..

Like many things it grows on you...Ugly it ain't..

 

i get more attention and comments on my 09 than i did on my 05. This seems to be across the board from young to old. maybe Oklahomans have better taste.

 

I have had two people think I am driving a new Porsche!

 

In that case it should not be of any importance. Rx8 has never had great support from mazda or great aftermaket options. Masda are in love with their own crossover xsv, but go rx and they go "oh, well you're on your own then". Either that or they go, "I've never heard of a rotary I dono't think we sell it".

30 percent of rx8 sold in the world are rebranded under other names, "Tatshuta", "Super Brand", and "Waverunner XP".

 

I can't see how people call the 09's ugly. I think they are just afraid of change

I love the looks, and would trade in my 07 if it wasn't a financial suicidal attempt.

 

Since buying my 09 RX-8 GT (my first rotary powered car of any kind) Wednesday, the 18th of this month, I have been blown away by the reactions I get from other drivers. Kids go crazy, and even many adults have given my car jaw-dropped stares, thumbs up, huge grins, head bobbing, etc. I have always loved the looks of the RX-8, believing it to be one of the most attractive cars on the planet, inside and out. I like the Series I and Series II about equally well. For the most part, I'm fond of the changes that were made for '09 (the mustache being the only thing I'm not so fond of, but on my black RX-8, it's not very noticeable). Based on the reactions I keep getting from total strangers, I'm not the only one who finds the car incredibly hot.

 

I have an '05, and get people rolling their windows down and asking what it is all the time, as well as long *** stares at red lights and gas stations when filling up.

I think most people really have no idea what kind of car it is.

 

Or XR-8.......

Extreme Rocket Ate other cars!

Well....... we have the same in Australia, Mazda Australia (who are owned by MMC, 13% by FORD) do stuff ALL, Bugga ALL, next to ZILCH in the way of RX-8 Advertising, the most I have seen is in GoAuto.com.au.

Not one TV Commercial since the new RX-8 facelift..and there were next to none then..
No RX-8 TV ads since about 2006-7.!!!

 

Yes..... and when you look back in your mirror or by the side of a passed car you can see the drivers Head bending to Stare!

 

I don't think I've EVER seen a car commercial for the 8. Not that there aren't any, I've just never seen one on TV. Youtube, though....

 

The days on hand supply should be a forward looking measure that takes into account a forecast (a forecast we can all hope is wrong, lol). It is a measure of inventory turns which determines the health of a company...now this is just one model and depending on the manufacturing structure I would guess that Mazda looks to have an overall inventory turn rate of at least 4...going by someone elses post about Toyota it sounds like the goal is closer to 12 (going by the 30 days on hand number)...the days on hand is a forward looking inventory turns number and sounds like the RX-8's inventory turn rate is just over 1...not so good. I would have to see how it is being calculated to fully understand, but let's hope that the RX-8 forecast is being sandbagged.

 

To put it in easy perspective Mazda Japan have had a 73% drop in exports this year...one of the worse for any make.

 

It should be, but it's not.

I'm sure Mazda does have their own Days on Hand that does take into account a forecast of sorts, but that data is rarely shared. You rarely see an automaker release days on hand data on their own unless it's a glowing story. Instead, days on hand is calculated by all sorts of outlets and simply takes into account the total inventory on hand divided by the current usage.

But, just FYI, turnover and Days Supply are counted as distinctly seperate numbers in the automotive world (at least outside of the press). Turnover rate is the amount of days a car spends at retail, Days Supply is the amount of cars that the manufacturer has in-transit or waiting to distribute. The numbers are added together to get the true days supply in the total pipeline. These numbers get blended together (or may not, you don't know) when these outside sources provide Days Supply and makes it very difficult to really make a fair comparison.

Automakers don't really shoot for a 30 Day Supply, particularly those that rely in imports. A days on hand of less than about 20 means is generally reserved for vehicles that are sold the second they hit the lot (or before), meaning you have virtually zero inventory. This is because there's a period of time between production and dealer sale that's figured in, you really can't get that less than about 20 or so. If you're import-dependent and don't ship that often (smaller automakers would fit this bill like, say, Audi or Mazda) you could end up with weeks and weeks worth of vehicles waiting at the home port to depart, plus transit time, plus weeks on the other end to distribute the shipload through the system.

In reality, the industry shoots for something in the range of about 60 days. That's enough to provide enough vehicles to supply consumers with exactly what they want, and enough to absorb any hiccups in the supply-chain.

Any way you look at it though, it's not a good story for the RX-8. What would be interesting to see is just how many 2009 models have sold. Of the measly 150-200 RX-8s sold a month there's no doubt a significant number of those have been '08 models, making the '09 model sales dismally low.

 

If I wanted a new RX8; I would wait for the 16X engine.