(CONTENT) Information on when the RX-7 was new.
 

Hi,
I was just thinking, what did people think of the 1st gens when they were new (since my car is older than me). Was it considered a really quick car at the time? How much were they new? Can anyone tell me what they were like compared to the other cars at the time, I assume it's competitors were things like the starion,cordia turbo and the datsun zs.

I'm not at home, but if i was I would send you a link to a website that has the origianl sales brochure posted so you can read the price with all the different options. As far as competitors, im sure that you pretty close or even dead on. Off the top of my head I believe that the 7's were right aroud $10-$16,000...Depending on model...then again, thats off the top of my head, ill know for sure later

http://beyondtheredline.fd3s.net/history.html , when they first came out in memphis, had only one place that sold them, they couldnt keep up with the demand, there was no competition with the Japaneese cars at that time, everyone had the mustang, camaro or the vw beetle, the v8 muscle cars were still the rage for true power back then.....

The Datsun/Nissan 'Z' cars were the competition.

Back in 1984 when I bought my 82 for $10.5k, it was kind of an exotic car, especially in the midwest. Many compared it to the Datsun/Nissan 280Z. In the early 80's, the days of 140hp Z28 Camaros, the Rx7 was fast enough to run with the "musclecars."

Steve 82 GS

Well I'll tell yuh, (twirlin' one end of his mustache). First let's get into the "way-back machine," set the dial for 1979, there we go......

Ohhh, Jeez. What a dark time. Donna Summers music....Hey ain't that Haddaway doin' "What is Love?" Oh, wow, I'm wearin' muh 'ol Sheriff's Deputy uniform....There's my Prowl Car,,,,A Dodge Diplomat....
Uh-oh, the gas crunch is in full swing, and the Government is really crackin' down on smog stuff....You never saw such complicated carb set-ups in all your life! That's a Roadrunner? A damned Volare! Look there goes a Mustang II, all scoops and fins, but not much else...If folks have big mill muscle cars they ain't drivin' 'em....cost of fuel is too high. Look at all the rip-off sudden shortages...Sugar sky high, anti-freeze is 12 dollars a gallon! Coffee shortage....Chocolate shortage....Steel industry is goin' right down the toilet....Folks cuttin' back on their vacations 'cause of cost of fuel. Firestone 500 tires blowin' up and causin' big accidents, sounds familar. Hey, listen to that...It's the Village People....Disco down, pardner....Brits have finally stopped importing cars as they can't afford to meet the emissions and safety standards. Look at that, a German Ford Capri....OOOO, the much desired Ford EXP with FWD...Now that's a sports car. Wow, Camero's come with 4 cylinder engines! Roads are filled with Pintos and Vegas. And look at the prices of cars! 10,000 plus for almost anything, and to think that in 1970 I bought a brand new Volvo for only $3 grand, and in '76 picked up an RX-4 brand new for only $4 grand! Hey, anybody want a Vega Cosworth? Newspaper says Canadians are buyin' Russian Fiats! It's called a Lada?
Jeez, are those Supras UGLY....And look the Datsun Z car...Started as a 240, then to a 260, now a 280 with 4 seats. A stretched out boulevard cruiser with all the options including T-roof...A fat, heavy pig...Now here's a newspaper ad to remember....A true 2-seat sports car, rotary powered, light, nimble, pretty and for just under $10,000 dollars....The new RX-7! Now that's a ride to drool over...Time to get the Hell outta here...It smells bad of lingering Nixon...And there's Reagan-nomics comin the screw the workin' man....Trickle down? What the Hell does that mean?!?

A tip of the Stetson,
Denny, from the 'ol corncrib... :D

The 1979 model went on sale in April 1978 at a price of $6,395. at this price it undercut the then market leader the Datsun 280Z. It was qicker than than the typical UK style small convertibles such as the MGB.

The retail price was very low in an attempt to break into the market, but dealers tried to grab a profit by charging a large premium when it quickly became popular. By the start of 1979 the base price had risen to $7,195

The three main rivals were the Datsun 280Z, the Porsche 924 and the Corvette. It was slightly slower than the 280Z and had a much higher fuel consumption. The big advantage the RX had was the low price. The Porsche wasmore than double the price at around $17,000 With the speed restrictions, emission controls and consumption limitations the full potential of the engine was not realized in stock form until the gsl.se wewnt on the market six years later. Because of its cheapness and ease of getting modified performance it became popular in sports car racing circles.

After the first year sale volumn declined and Mazda progressively took the RX-7 upmarket finally bringing in the Miata as their popular sports car. The RX-7 sales slowed, the car became heavier and more complex such that it was not sold in sufficient numbers in the USA to market profitable.

IN 1979 people were all over this car, they were back ordered forever people couldnt get enough of them. They WERE EVERYWHERE!

Now sadly rust and iggnorant owners didnt know how to take care of them so they sit in boneyards.

Anyone else ever go to a junkyard and say 'man that used to be a brand new car, someones pride and joy and now look at it'?

Man, Denny......Every post you do cracks me up. :)
Keep it up!
Tell me this, do you put MMO in your coffee?

Denny doesn't put it in his coffee, he drinks MMO straight :D

In late 1978 I was working as a mechanic at a VW/Porche-Audi /Mazda
dealer.The first few RX7's that came in had sticker prices of $3500 with everything even air.This was in Yuma ,AZ.
Within a month they were stickered at over $6000.I don't think Mazda
at first realized what they had.Some of those first buyers were reselling their new RX7's for thousands of dollars more than they paid.
It was too bad I was too broke to buy one.But I made up for it on all those test drives.hehe

there was a pretty interesting acticle in car & driver a few years ago. battle of the beaters or something like that. the theme was how much speed can you get for $1000. it was a '80 (it think) RX-7 vs. '85 camaro vs. a vw gti. it was pretty interesting, as they has their test results when the cars were new.
the only stats i recall were the RX-7 was 0-60 in 8.9. 1/4 in 16.7. the camaro was 17.1 in the 1/4. the RX kicked the V8 camaros ass in all the stats, but i think the vw was pretty close.
every road test i've read, they raved about the handling. the early road tests were impressed with the power. the road tests on the -se in '84 were impressed with it's power, but said the 12A was starting to fall behind the compition.
i have the window sticker for my '85 GS, it was around $13,000.

i played with a 924 about 5 years ago, both stock. i was on his ass for about 2 miles on a twisty road. i couldn't pass him, but he couldn't shake me either.

I think a $3,500 sticker on a RX -7 in late 1978 is an urban myth!

The original advice in late 1977 to Maxda dealers was expect a price around $5950. It came out in April 78 at $6395 plus options. Witnin a month dealers were demanding such a high "delivery' premium that Mazda issued a warning. By mid 1978 second hand prices were a $1,000 over list- if you could get one.

In total 19,299 were sold in 1978 and 54,853 in 1979. Just under 300,000 Gen 1 cars were soid in the USA of which an estimated 70% have been 'parted'.

Perhaps the $3500 sticker had in small print after trade-in on your 924!

My mag articles agree with Paul F, not with $3500.

If 70% are parted that means there are still about 100,000 on the roads... which means the 1st-gen is the RX-7 force, not the FD.

And speakin' of 924... the RX-7 was always compared favorably with the 924, usually they'd end up just saying the RX-7 is a more comfortable car but the 924 has better steering. ( :confused: my '80 had perfect steering, pretty light yet you could also run over a dime and tell with your fingers what year was stamped on it)

The 944 however ended up with a 2 1/2 YEAR waiting list to get one. No wonder Mazda tried to emulate the 944/928 when they made the FC :)

...Estimated by who? Is that a guess on your part, or did you get that from somewhere? I've been interested in knowing how many can be accounted for; non racing road cars.

I never see any firsts around where I am.


Happy about this post because it gives me the opportunity to brag that I recently aquired 3 "Car and Driver" magazines;
On the cover of the May 1978 issue is a white 79. It reads below it, "Driver's report: MAZDA RX-7
New 125-mph Wankel sports car. Outruns Datsun 280-Z and Porsche 924, costs far less."

On the cover of the April 1979 issue is a line of cars on a road in double file staggered pattern. It's foggy, and everyone has their pop-ups on. Front is a red RX-7, with a 924 1/2 car length behind on the side. Behind it is a 280-ZX, and behind the Porsche is an L82 Vette.
Under the photo reads,"Reader's Choice Poll Winners:
Ford Mustang. Mazda RX-7
You picked the year's most significant cars"

I keep 'em in plastic like they're priceless baseball cards!:p:

I want that baseball... er... Car and Driver magazine!!! :D

I'm a second gen type, but these articles are making me think of what I could do with a 1st gen if I had, let's say, $2000?:uhh:

I'm trying to figure out why you brought back a 5 1/2 year old thread?