300 + hp close to 30mpg?? what cars i'm just curious :uhh:

C&D just likes to leg hump BMW until the bone marrow shows... <shrugs> that's always been their angle on every review...

What the hell does this title even mean?

IDK . . . the new Z has some fugly "eyes" about it. Looks like it's surprised.

The 16X willl not be competitive HP-wise, but what Mazda rotary ever has been?

As you say, it'll make up for it. Aside from the rotary, Mazda's DNA is tied to light cars, and they work at that hard. Mazda success has been tied to making their car's weight complement the engine. Being eco-trendy, Mazda deserves kudos for it's dedication to lightness, but their DNA is really after the handling benefits from lightness.

A 270-300HP, 2800lb 16X..with RX-8 or better handling? Sign me up....I'd "accept those facts" with pleasure and enjoy the overweight competition in every turn! :yesnod:

..

I think I see what you're saying... you gotta check out her ass too before you can judge her.

^:rofl:

Yeah, if she's club footed w/tree trunk legs and a horribly huge ass, the rack doesn't matter much.

And just reiterating a point made a few hundred thousand times before.

It's not about horsepower. It's about power to weight ratio and balance. If the 16x has 270hp and is put on a 3200lb car with 55/45 balance people will be disappointed.

If it has 270hp and is put on a 2700lb car with 50/50 balance and a fully adjustable suspension it'll destroy the cars listed in almost every category.

All of those cars make some significant sacrifices in order to get the straight line speed or the luxury branding. Mazda has an opportunity to produce something that can crush them in 'contests' like this one.

IF the 16X, and IF it makes it to a production car, IMO it will be in an ultra Stiff chassis (AKA MX-5 ) and above all a lightweight body totaling no more than 2500 lb's...

Then you will see 300HP and Better Fuel economy, but forget it if you think a 1.6 litre is going to have a Hugely improved MPG over the 1.3 RX-8, you will see 20-25% on Gentle Cycle!,
Hard or Heavy Cycle you will see next to no MPG improvement.

Japan is now in a depression, so their car market is shot to pieces.

At the moment I can't see a viable position for ANY new RX~

The only strange thing is apparently many car makers think that similar cars are just the ticket right now, and in many price ranges. For example:

- Caymen / Caymen S
- 370Z
- Genesis Coupe
- TT

These are revised or new to market. Poor timing? Bad planning? Or just smart marketing to get buyer excitment level up to buying again? A competitive sports car image car is what Mazda is missing now. If they don't have that, what do they have...Toyota clones? and I doubt the MS3 is a truly a player against any of the above.

i didnt know they even sold that version of the solistice. nissan has been making improvements to the x almost every year, well deserved.

Yes, the S2 RX-8 was already planned and in production...

So was all the other cars you listed..

Would a car maker today take a risk?...I don't know.

Its' obvious Honda, Subaru and many others pulling out of motorsport to save $$ss.

Honda scrapped the NSX and new S2000 before final production.

Will Toyota and Subaru bring out their new MX-5 beater?..now?

More than that...you'll need drag radials and/or an upgrade from the pegleg to get into the 12s.

I still can't believe BMW sells the 135i & 335i with an open diff!!!

LOL That is pretty deep.

Gotta look at the whole package first...:lol:

Wait a second, since when does Shirtless Wonder (ShinkaTween) have any authority to speak about breasts and/or women?!?! :uhh::fruit:;)

16X + FI = King Again.

Maybe they can fit the next RX with its 16X with one of them low pressure turbo's for improved efficiency standard, and then also offer a more aggressive turbo setting as an option for competitive level power.

Sound feasible?

It's the 09, out now (or very soon) - Solstice Coupe w/Targa top.

you forget the DI

Me No.

Rotary DI is new territory, I have not seen exact figures showing Fuel improvements , mine is an "experienced guess", so called improvements Mazda has made with fuel economy over the last 30 years has not lived up to the hype....ie it is not quite what they say in real driving, then again is any car makers claims.
Do you have any news about DI, I have heard nothing for some time.

To be in that crowd says alot about the 8. As others pointed out, the 8 is relatively the same car it was in 2003, while the Z and 135 are brand new models with new technology and putting down considerably more power.

I do agree with others in that if Mazda doesnt improve the rotary on the hp front, doom will come real soon.

There was an SAE paper on this back in the late 90's. It did show both an increase in power and drop in fuel consumption. I don't have the paper in front of me now. Maybe I can dig that up. I want to say ~10% improvement in both fuel consumption and power. It was a very different design from the current DI concept in the 16x so I'm not sure if the comparison holds but it's safe to say there is a benefit to this.

My original bet on the 16x is 287hp at the flywheel.

Interesting review, but mainly because of the cars in comparison. I actually finished watching it thinking another angle of conclusion could have been drawn. All of those reviewed are performance cars that share considerable overlap and performance but off distinctly different styling and power delivery/handling characteristics. In fact to me, these qualities are far more distinct than the performance figures betweent the cars. In short, any of them would be a great choice, it's simply what characteristic of the car most appeals to you. We live in an age where there is plenty variety AND bang for your buck; the buyer is spoilt for choice like never before.

the new vette's with over 400hp

since FI has been now proven to be a fairly solid mod--temps under control etc. a s.c low boost R3 as I have said before--would fly off the showroom floor. and it will get 23-24 mpg.
But Mazda is not going to do it. rx8---- maybe one/two more years if things dont change.
OD

OD,

And all to do with cost, does the SC or FI (small turbo) create any emission issues?