flatso

Just read an article in the latest Autoweek on the 350Z long term test wrap up and they mention the new car to replace it is the 8.

PaulieWalnuts

Nice!

I haven't noticed any long term tests on the RX-8. C&D usually does one and reports in at like 5K, 20K and 40K. Shouldn't there have been one already? It's been almost a year.

rxeightr

Thanks for making us aware. I may have to start a subscription to Autoweek.

rx8daniel

anyone who went to Mazda Rev-It-Up is supposed to get either a subscription to AutoWeek or a year extension. My last copy (w/ the 350Z article) didn't reflect an extension yet. I glossed over the article, missed the mention of the 8!

PaulieWalnuts

Good info but I didn't hear anything about this. Do you need to apply for anything or is it automatic just because you attended?

flatso

one of the foreign mags I believe it's Cars is doing a long term test.

scorp76

Im sure they were anxious and happy about getting out of that rough riding garbage.

LeMans1991

Car & Driver just did a long-term 40,000 mile test and it passed with flying colors, the only annoying factor being the road noise that came from under the floor. Not enough sound deadening material, evidently.

Total amount of service bills: $443.00

And this total beat out the Toyota Camry SE V-6 by more than $300.00

Most imporantly, NOT ONE SINGLE UNSCHEDULED visit to the dealer for any kind of problem. Other than adding one quart of oil at 13,000 miles, not one thing broke!


:D

RotorMotor04

the Mazda 6????

LeMans1991

Yep, that's what the SUBJECT LINE says:

Mazda 6

RotorMotor04

not to be an a$$, i thought we were talking about long term tests for the 8

Aratinga

You should have been given a card to fill out at Rev-it-Up for the free subscription. I started getting mine within three weeks of the event.

I also noticed in a recent issue that Autoweek is asking for input from RX-8 drivers regarding their impressions of the car.

PaulieWalnuts

I only filled out the initial event registration at the tent. I didn't see a free subscription card. Unless they're one in the same.

flatso

this week has a nice two page write up of the 8 long termer. Very nice

red_rx8_red_int

Post it please.

flatso

The 8 article isn't posted yet but here is the 350Z one:

WRAP-UP

MILES DRIVEN: 23,326
FUEL MILEAGE: 21.61 mpg
FUEL COST: $1,942.52
DAYS OUT OF SERVICE: None
MAINTENANCE: HID headlight bulb replaced (warranty), 6000-mile oil change and filter (warranty)
ORIGINAL STICKER PRICE: $
TRADE-IN VALUE: $25,075 (per kbb.com)

With heavy hearts and deep regret we bid our fair Nissan 350Z adieu: heavy hearts that our time together has come so quickly to a close, and regret that we did not-could not-effectively maximize our time with its Daytona Blue aspect.

And yet we should not be sad, as adventures await our dear 350Z. It leaves our nest to search for new companions and a new home.

Our journey together took us 23,326 miles down this road we call life. We basked in the glory of the summer sun and drudged our way through a discontented winter, never once sorry for the 350Z's company. And it pleased everyone who turned an eye its way, it seems. Everywhere, jaws dropped and people flocked, and many, many rides-to friends, family and strangers alike-were proffered in return.

Sure, we flirted with prettier faces along the way, and danced with some more fleet of foot. That Ferrari 360 Modena-in which the most rabid 350Z proponent in the office disappeared for hours-comes immediately to mind, or that Porsche GT3, for which the same staffer said he would sell his soul. But those dalliances were brief (though glorious) interludes in our yearlong romance with the Nissan.

For one thing, our 350Z Track model cost but a fraction of those others, its $35,633 price tag making it one of the biggest bang-for-the-buck cars to be had. The cash it takes to buy one GT3, for example, will get you three and one-third Zs-and we'd argue the GT3 isn't three and one-third times the fun (well, perhaps three). Even as we welcome the Mazda RX-8, with its closely matched sticker and similar sporting intentions, to our long-term fleet, it can't replace the Nissan, just distract us from our loss.

The Z also bore well the unfortunate reality of having to share us with others. Other long-term vehicles occupied much of our attention, from the Mini Cooper S (21,140 miles) to the Honda Element (18,377), and though we turned to each of them to fulfill various needs, the Nissan still managed to eke more of our attention-though not nearly as much as past long-termers. In fact, the Nissan falls in the bottom half of our long-term list based on miles tallied in one year. Such is the extent of our regret, that we failed to ply it with yet more of our love.

It says something, however, that our 350Z managed to claim more time than others in the fleet given the fact that the car, even shod with a fine set of Blizzaks, never really warmed up to the snow. Any significant accumulation, and we quickly grabbed for other keys. And that rear strut brace-which we appreciated for its contribution to the car's nimbleness-made the Z most impractical at carrying even moderately sized loads.

And yet the 350Z proved as apt a chariot for the menial tasks that seem to populate so much of our time, making trips to the airport or the grocery store more pleasant. Unlike other beasts of its ilk, it never fussed while performing them. Its hearty 3.5-liter V6 performed as well around town as when we pushed it, full gallop, down empty stretches of freeway. It enjoyed those ramps and turns and bends in the road with as much fervor as the straights, its engine and chassis as flexible as any we've tried.

At the track we found out just how much the Z liked to perform, where it sprinted, stopped and slalomed with equal aplomb. From a standstill, 60 mph came in just 5.66 seconds; from there it took only 114 feet back to a standstill. The quarter-mile flew by in 14.32 seconds at a tick under 100 mph. The Z also wiggled its way 'round the cones at 46.9 mph, besting the Porsche Boxster S (46.0 mph), and displayed 0.86 g of lateral acceleration on the skidpad.

rx8daniel

The Auto Week issue (5/24/04) is out with the long-term (tit grey) RX-8 for their long term testers!