bigireland

i wish mazda would build the kabura..

Flashwing

One thing I have maintained is the RX8's design is one of grace and class. You can make the car portray whatever you want but the honest truth is the RX8's overall design is very unique compared to a lot of the trash I see being put out.

Sorry, but using dodge as an example...everything I see in the dodge show room save the Viper has the dodge ram front end on it. Jesus people, use some creativity! Take some risks!

People can say whatever they want about Leno's taste or his critique of the RX8. That man is 100% OK in my book because he DRIVES the vehicles he owns.

I have had the pleasure of knowing the daughter of a Corvette collector out of Chicago. His prized vettes include (I might get the year wrong) the last 1995 ZR1 (yellow) to roll off the production line. I think chevy redid the ZR1 for 2008 and 2009. He has others including a 1996 Grand Sport C4, a couple later 76ish sting rays, etc. The man does not drive any of them. They all sit in a warehouse with car covers, and are ran every 3 months just to change the oil.

Honestly seeing those cars like that makes me want to cry, and I'm not a Vette fan.

So, praise like this coming from a guy who has driven and owned some of the hottest owned cars that are on the market is something that people need to take notice from. I agree that it speaks worlds that other vehicles like the Evo 8, 9, and 10, 350z and G35 are probably not owned by Leno. While those vehicles do certain things well, I think the RX8 is a the total package doing all things well.

Fast, sporty, good looking, unique and classy. All you need is some cheese and you got yourself one hell of a snack!

brillo

Wonder if this is new life for the Kabura? Hadn't seen much press on that in a while.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

I read this in a Mazda mag waiting for a dealer oil change quite some time ago. I really appreciated when Leno was quoted as saying he takes his Porsche for a loop and ends up right back in his garage, as he is fearful of damage, theft, etc. His Miata and RX-8 get much more frequent and fun use all over town.

He really seems a regular guy who's great success hasn't [fully] gone to his head.

Yeah, we'd all love his garage!!!

silvernite8

I think i read somewhere that Leno prefers to collect the "failed" projects. Cars that never really took off when they were first introduced. He like an unique styling to cars. Which is why he likes the rotary engine.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

He's a class act, how many other celebs show up for movie premiers or whatever in an Ariel Atom? lol It's refreshing to see his take on the 8 and the cosmo etc as well, that guy is a walking encyclopedia (or wiki now I guess? lol) of car knowledge so for him to dig the 8 and the miata does speak alot for them, kinda' makes up for the 8 being in that britney video as well

delhi

What?! Say it ain't true!!!!

XRX8X

jay is the kind of person(in my words)who like things that are a little different than the rest of the pack and stands alone in the mist of sport cars.this is only one of the reasons i got one myself and been lovin life a bit more for when others who drive cars that cost much more and have much less i really feel on top of the world so to speak.my buddy down the street has more than 10 (that's right 10!)corvettes of many defferent years but shows a lot of respect for my 8 and that makes me feel like i might not get the m.p.g. but i get most people's attention and respect and that says a lot for what mazda has done .other words i'm happy as s@*!

Eelfinn_Ty

It's true! I made the mistake of searching for it.

canaryrx8

iTrader: (3)

yep it's true, and was covered in length back in the day...ugh :P lol

CarAndDriver

Nice!

delhi

And it's a Silver 8 too!
Time to sell...

gundarx

delhi, thanks for posting this.. it's made my week already!

I especially love this bit: "The magazine did the 10 best cars for under whatever price, and that was my choice."

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thinks that if I had all the money and a choice to get one car, and one car only, at any price, it would be the 8. I held onto this thought for many years prior to getting my 8 but reading about owners in this forum made me look at the negative points.

Last year, I had even downloaded and watched Top Gear seasons 1-9 (every single episode)- there were many awesome cars, the BMW M5, the F430, Audi RS4 to crave for and after it all, the 8 was still the car I honestly wanted the most.

Just thought I'd share that bit to the folks that love the 8 as much as I do in this forum.

lesper4

iTrader: (3)

i love articles about / with jay leno. he seems like a totaly cool guy to sit down and chat cars with, or anything for that matter.

SlideWayz

+1

300# lighter than the RX-8, 50 more HP ala 16x rotary.

Oh, wait a minute, it would REALLY stomp the Mustang into the dirt so FoMoCo would never green light it.

delhi

It already did. And it's a fancy Shelby GT too. Along with the 350Z and a TT. All you need is a well thought out car.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...omparison_test

sosonic

I hope Leno puts some pressure on Mazda to release the Kabura with the 16X rotary engine in it by 2010. A 300HP Rotary Kabura would kick *** on the market, via style and performance.

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

God I'd buy that in half a minute. I'd promise Mazda my first born for one.

tajabaho1

om.........fg, I deny it all!! NOOOO MY BABY!!! NOOOO WTF WTF WTF I CANT TAKE THIS!!!!!

i need a new paint job now!!

jones75254

iTrader: (2)

Video of the 87 Ford Shogun was sick. If u havent yet, watch it, he takes this thing out for drive, it freakin hauls...ultimate sleeper

Design1stCode2nd

Leno is a true enthusiast. I think he still drives most if not all of the cars in his collection.

I think his assessment is pretty much on par with why most people here bought the car. It's a 5yr or so old design and still looks very distinctive and fresh. I normally buy 1st or 2nd year car designs becasue I like new styling and many cars look dated even after 5 yrs. I think the 8 would have looked good for another 5 even if they didn't restyle it a bit for 09.

ASH8

Yeah, I would Gush over a car if it was given to me to.

delhi

Maybe for a regular folk like you ash. This is Jay Leno. In his stable are some exotica that you nor I will rode on let alone own. No reason to gush over a car if it's not worth gushing over.

faboo

the fact that he could drive cars ranging from steam boilers to prototype cars we have never heard of.....and yet takes pleasure in his s/c miata and rx8 is a compliment to all of us owners.....

he is a regular guy that happened to get rich....he doesnt buy yachts or mansions in every continent.......he would rather spend his days making old cars work well than buying new ones....thats really respectable

New Yorker

"The rotary motor... doesn’t have as good fuel consumption as the conventional internal combustion engine, but the reliability seems to be there. People say they burn oil but mine doesn’t. Putting half a pint of oil in every 1,000 miles doesn’t seem excessive to me. If you’re an enthusiast and you like your car, that doesn’t seem crazy."

"The reliability seems to be there"? Guess he hasn't heard about all those ENGINE FAILURES!!! Stupid, uninformed Jay. But then, what does he know about cars. He's just like those stupid writers at Road & Track, Car and Driver, edmunds.com and Consumer Reports who report reliability is fine. Stupid, ignorant journalists!

And funny, but while he said "the reliability seems to be there," for some reason he didn't mention having to add premix. You'd think someone like Jay would at least mention that when he's talking about the rotary engine's reliability, but for some reason... he didn't. Weird.