Mazda fine tunes cars for U.S
 

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=101701

cheers
michael

I hope they leave the 8's suspension alone. It's perfect as far as road feel goes. Now if it was like the pre 04 S2000s or the FDs, I could see a little tweaking.

And at the bottom of the article was a modestly upbeat status report on their fleet RX-8. They had some mileage and lack-of-torque gripes. You'd think by now they'd just focus on the fun and practical aspects, huh?

AutoWeek RX-8 Update

NONONNONNOONONONOO

Hey its only taking Mazda 35 years to listen to the needs of its main clients , what hope have we got in Australia you guys buy more RX8 IN ONE MONTH than Mazda Australia sells in one year :eek:

cheers
michael

Ugh, more softening for all the lazy Americans who are apathetic towards precision engineering. :(

Don't they know that 8 buyers are not the average American idiot!

I have heard these comments before but they still hurt:

>>>Americans want less shift shock from automatic transmissions, even if it sacrifices power. They want less lane drift, even if that makes for a loose on-center feel from the steering wheel. (we are lazy inattentive driveres that look at cars as appliances)

>>> Seat backs and cushions are too small for many Americans. (we are fat)

>>>Cupholders are too small for Big Gulps and Starbucks grandes. (we use our cars as rolling restaurants)

>>> Climate control systems can't handle cold winters and hot summers. (this one is on the mark)

>>> Mazda has been late to the party with telematics connections for iPod, Bluetooth, satellite radio and navigation systems. (this one, too)

Hopefully they won't make the car mediocre by "improving" it.

I really like the following American "pain points" in the article: :D

>>> Seat backs and cushions are too small for many Americans.

Yeah, they are all those fat-assed obese people who don't fit into seats that are perfectly adequate in all other countries. But it gets better...

>>> Cupholders are too small for Big Gulps and Starbucks grandes.

Of course... one of the reasons for being obese is the obscene number of those 'Big gulps' of soda and vanilla-syrup-flavored lattes that those same people consume.
How about the principle of "no drinking in the car except water"? Works for me... the water bottle surely fits into the cup holders and there's no mess should any spill occur.

No Mazda...NO, what American's are tey they talking about? I love the sporty character of Mazda and they don't need to dumb down the driving experiance for us.

Better auto no matter if we lose HP...loseing HP is NEVER AN OPTION!!!!!

The RX8's suspension is very compliant and fun to drive, they better keep their current customers happy and forget about becomming another Toyota...for the love of GOD, Noooooo

How to contact Mazda to leave their sports cars alone?
 

I just picked up a 2005 Rx-8 this week SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE:

a) seats fit properly - compare the RX-8 seats to the new Ford Mustang's seats which I would call "bench buckets", even the G35 seats are too wide. It is a pet peeve of mine of car reviewers constantly complain of "narrow seats" - the problem isn't with the width of the car seats....

b) superior steering - who would want to float down the road? BMW has been getting slammed in forums for their new electronic steering on the Z4 and new 5 series - lots of owner's say that the cars have lost their "souls" and feel disconnected from the road

c) great road feel - softening the suspension would take the fun out of driving

Like others I agree with the climate control and electronic integration points.

I had a '92 Miata prior to a Z3, now an Rx-8 - all 3 are fun to drive - Mazda can soften up the sedans and the MPV but should leave the Miata and Rx-8 alone!

Anyone know who to contact? Maybe just an e-mail to the main USA contact form?

that sucks

start emailing the contact email at www.mazdausa.com or call 1-800-222-5500. let em know. of course they will read this anyway but it does make a difference if you contact personally.

They can upgrade the Protege, MPV or Mazda 6 that way, I am sure they understand the RX-8 is not a rolling family restaurant.

They were talking about their cars in general, and not just the 8. So hopefully they won't mess with its steering and handling dynamics. Bluetooth and an iPod interface would be nice.

I'd like them to improve some of the things mentioned, like the Ipod interface and stuff like that . I test drove the car, everything was perfect, but a few extra goodies could be nice. Please Mazda, don't change anything that would affect the feel of the car. :)

Maybe it's time for a large save the 8 e-mail campaign....

Great now Mazda will be the exact same as every other car maker.:rolleyes:

Taken from a internal Mazda email:

Note to Marketing Dept: Drop the "soul of a sports car" campaign. The new slogan is "Haul your fat asses to 7-11 for more of the good stuff".

:( :( :(

Sweet, I was wondering when someone would come up with the idea of putting some SUV handling into a sports car. I always wanted to drive a lumbering beast! Some nice, wide seats would be fantastic too. I've always enjoyed sliding around while cornering - gives you a better sense of speed.

They are going to use Ford of America for help. The same people who managed to make the Ford 500 and Taurus. Great.

So am I the only one that is trying to contact Mazda?

Read the thread on "Mazda called..." I remember telling them the handling was terrific. Hopefully they'll take those surveys to heart.

I don't know what you guys are so upset about? I won't be happy with my RX-8 until it has a microwave installed where the glovebox is located. The cupholders are already great soup warmers.

Already emailed autoweek, looking for someone at Mazda to yell at... ;)