The Inner Life of Cars (Robrecht gets an RX-8)

[robrecht]

Originally posted by robrecht
Gotta love the RX-8! Been wanting to buy one for years. ...

I've been too busy or it's been too cold to fix an annoying rattle in my beloved 15+year-old Miata. It's been driving me absolutely crazy for the past couple of weeks, not too hard to fix, just a lovers' quarrel really.

So last night I went out and fixed it for my long trip today. Left early in the morning in my trusted old friend, let her warm up a little, no rattle, but as soon as I red-lined it at 7k for the first time this morning on my old country road I was struck by a profound sense of guilt and betrayal. I was on my way to pick up an RX-8.

Finally. I've wanted one for years ever since I first test drove one January 2nd, 2004.

But I could never imagine getting rid of my Miata. It's been my daily driver since the day I left the monastery in 1996, my older brother had helped me buy it used with only 9k miles on it. Two kids later, I really should have a family car. But instead I bought a hard top, reupholstered her torn seats with leather, upgraded the stereo, bought her 7-lb wheels and super sticky summer tires, put on stronger sway bars and end-links, replaced the leaky power steering rack with a brand new manual rack, added nice chrome and polished aluminum accents inside and out, removed 100+ lbs of unnecessry weight, even raced her on the track a few times. I could never get rid of this car ... ever. She knows that. She'll always be there in the barn garage, ready to go topless every weekend in the summer. In less than 10 years, I'll be able to race her in vintage sports car hill climbs.

But I've got two boys and only one sports car and I can only take one of them for a drive at a time with the Cars soundtrack blasting away and both of us bouncing back and forth smiling. Life is a highway ... When I die, which one will inherit the Miata? Depends on who's most interested in helping me bolt on a turbocharger I guess. But both of them LOVE to help Daddy work on his cool red car. Only one thing left to do. Gotta get a 4-seater sports car.

So I did it. Finally.

[Flyimports]

I thought after all of the unbelievable hype that mazda would have done something else with rx series, or at least shared the mill with another line if it was as good as they said it was. I noticed too that the newest design ('09) left everything the same and didn't change looks or power after all these years on the market. Either way, congrats!

[jay]

Sweet! Congrats! Gotta keep those kids happy.

Update your signature! Had to bust on you somehow, since I can't use the smiley.

[whizmo]

Gorgeous car, I've owned two of the earlier models and they were great.

The only think that gives me pause now is the gas mileage. I just can't see ever buying a small personal car in this day and age that can consume the better part of a $100 bill at the gas pump.

- Mark

[robrecht]

Originally posted by Flyimports
I thought after all of the unbelievable hype that mazda would have done something else with rx series, or at least shared the mill with another line if it was as good as they said it was. I noticed too that the newest design ('09) left everything the same and didn't change looks or power after all these years on the market. Either way, congrats!

Thanks. We do expect a new RX-7 2-seater in the near future. Problem with the 1.3 is that it's really too small for larger platforms in today's horsepower wars (but it's more than sufficient for me). I would have expected a turbo or supercharged RX-8 for the last year or two before the next upgrade but the sales just weren't there to justify any real investment. The '09 has some important engine improvements but no more power nor better fuel consumption, which is very poor. I had expected direct injection sooner. It is finally coming with the 1.6l rotary but that's a still few years out. It will be all aluminum, 20% lighter and 23% more power. I waited a couple years for direct injection, but finally decided the current model was better than nothing until the 1.6l comes out. I love light weight little rotary engines, but the real genius of the car is its incredible handling that is, of course, related to the low and rearward placement of the little engine. Some people even call it a mid-engine car technically, but I think that's an exaggeration.

[robrecht]

Originally posted by jay
Sweet! Congrats! Gotta keep those kids happy.

Update your signature! Had to bust on you somehow, since I can't use the smiley.

Thanks. May have to wait until we get back from Disneyworld. Don't want to post any more pics until I get a couple of super duper important mods bolted on.

[2ndhonda]

I have friends disagree with me all the time, but I think the RX-8 is one of the best looking cars of the last 10 years. Congrats. I still remember the first time I test drove the RX-8. I could get over the gas consumption any day.

Cheers.

Tim

[robrecht]

Originally posted by whizmo
Gorgeous car, I've owned two of the earlier models and they were great.

The only think that gives me pause now is the gas mileage. I just can't see ever buying a small personal car in this day and age that can consume the better part of a $100 bill at the gas pump.

- Mark

Yeah, that was the final obstacle, until I just said screw it, my commute is only 13 miles and I can get 40 mpg coasting in my Miata so my fleet average is still pretty good. Besides, if the crude oil bubble doesn't burst, I can always convert the rotary to run on hydrogen ... just to piss off N_Jay, of course.

[jay]

Originally posted by robrecht
... I can always convert the rotary to run on hydrogen ...

Or diesel or electric.

[colorider]

Robrecht,
VERY sweet ride!!!!!! Love the color!!! Congrats and looking forward to more pictures!

[robrecht]

Originally posted by colorider
Robrecht,
VERY sweet ride!!!!!! Love the color!!! Congrats and looking forward to more pictures!

Thanks, ye olde farte! Yeah, I really like Phantom Blue on the RX-8. But it was discontinued for 2008 so I jumped on this one at an incredible price. It's one of those colors that changes depending on the light. Sometimes it's more of a very dark teal and other times there's more than a hint of grean reflecting off certain angles. I hear Dr. Guggenheim had something to do with the development of Phantom Blue.

[Sportymonk]

Originally posted by robrecht
... and I can get 40 mpg coasting in my Miata so my fleet average is still pretty good. ...

Did you get rid of the Miata or simply buy another car, expanding the "Fleet"?

Was in another town a week or so back and just had to take a moment to stop and look at a PHRT Miata (Copper Red, second choice behind Highland Green). Wife agreed I looked good in it. Have her approval, now just need of overcome a few thousand reasons I can't get it.

Are you a member of Miata.net? If so, what is your avatar/name?

Happy zoom zooming.

[jestmaty]

Now THAT is one of the sexiest, straight out of the box, sports cars I've ever seen. I thought black was sweet, but that color is 'da bomb'.

I miss my early 80's RX7 that I owned for about 3 months... sold it back to the guy I bought if from after owning for about 90 days. This was back in the early 90's and he needed quick money. Got back on his feet and we traded back.

[robrecht]

Originally posted by Sportymonk
Did you get rid of the Miata or simply buy another car, expanding the "Fleet"?

Was in another town a week or so back and just had to take a moment to stop and look at a PHRT Miata (Copper Red, second choice behind Highland Green). Wife agreed I looked good in it. Have her approval, now just need of overcome a few thousand reasons I can't get it.

Are you a member of Miata.net? If so, what is your avatar/name?

Happy zoom zooming.

No, I will never get rid of my Miata. I will use it on weekends with the top off in the summer and actually it's a fantastic car in the snow now that I have a 2nd set of wheels with 4 snow tires. The RX-8 has summer high performance tires on it and is therefore completely useless in the snow. (It's actually against the law in Japan to put all-season tires on an RX-8.)

Or I've always wanted to turbo it to increase it's capability on the track, but mostly just because my Dad designed Diesel engines and always tried to teach me about turbochargers since I was a very little kid. It would be fun to pass that on to my kids as they get older.

Copper red is a very nice color on the PHRT. It was only available on the RX-8 one year as a special edition Shinka and I would have bought one except it had the moon roof which takes away 1-2 inches of head room.

You will not regret getting a Miata if you're still considering it. Older Miatas are dirt cheap if cost is a concern and they're very reliable and easy to fix when they're not. In 2005 Consumer Reports called the Miata the most reliable car of the century. A little bit of an exaggeration perhaps, but my daily driver 15-year-old Miata still has near perfect compression and I redline it as often as I can.

But if you do have to fix something, there's a ton of help available over at Miata.net. Oh, and I'm robrecht over there also.

[robrecht]

BTW, here's a pic of the upcoming 1.6l rotary that has s larger displacment but is 20% lighter. Gotta love an engine that's so small! Since rotaries are essentially 2-stroke engines, the 1.6l effectively compares to a 3.2l 4-stroke piston engine.