1979-1985 Mazda RX-7 Buyer's Guide - Motor Trend Classic

look what Motortrend wrote about our beloved little Mazda... better hold on to your investments! awesome!

 

That was a cool article, nice to see our cars getting some press and love.

 

Too much SA hating going on there. "clunky 5mph bumpers"

"guy wouldn't know majesty if it jumped up and bit him in the face!"

 

LOL Qingdao

thats ok leaves more for us

 

it's always nice to see a Gen I in print. what i wouldn't give to be 16 again ....

 

That's a good read.

 

I say "nay" to the publicity. Shhhh

 

As most of my staff would say "True dat."

 

Deep down I kinda want the first gen to remain relatively unknown.
I just don't want the prices of cars to shoot up at ridiculous prices and OEM parts would start to become a pain in the butt to find.

 

Yup...

10 years ago I could pick up a grody nasty Honda/Suzuki inline four bike for dirt cheap... Now after they've become popular people want 2k for a non-running bent up no title POS Just because its an old jap bike.

I hope I can continue to pick up first gen 7's for the prices they currently are at.

 

i see them on craigs list as beat up 500 dollar project people are asking 4k for. it's already starting..

 

^ I'm seeing that around here as well, though not as bad as 240Z or 280Z.

 

^^ Seeing it on everything in Western WA. People want an arm and a leg for any import pretty much. Just looked up Miatas..

"1992 miata-drift - $6000"

It's just a miata with a 1.8, some rims, and lowered. No mention of the miles, mismatched trunk color, and "you need to roll the fender on the right side a little more".

Sigh..

 

Took the Beastie out for a drive with the wife last night, and stooped at our local burger joint ('The Habit;' awesome burgers) for dinner. We ended up sitting on the patio.

Also on the patio was a group of 8 high-school-age guys; as we ate I could hear them talking about various cars as they drove by on the busy street the patio overlooks; pointing out to each other what cars they liked and wanted, and showing an impressive knowledge of the various rides going by. Made me a bit nostalgic for those years. They were most excited, of course, over the occasional riced-up Honda or Acura or WRX that would goonk on by, scraping in the rain gutter between the parking lot exit and the street. Basically, any car that was ever in Initial D, F&F, etc, spurred comment and professions of car-lust.

Any rate, they were still there after the missus and I finished our food and headed out. I intentionally took that exit from the lot and onto the main drag, and cornered it maybe just a teensy bit aggressively.

Glancing at the patio as we shot by, all I could see were round eyeballs, pointing fingers, and mouths going "Oooohhhh!"

Heh; our cars aren't completely unknown, even if they're getting rare to see.

 

I do it all of the time.. I have people ask me all of the time... Ohh what is that? Some lady asked me 2 weeks ago is that the BATMOBILE? Really?

Honestly, the 20 yr. olds love it and the older Camaro/Mustang owners always give me a nod.

I pulled into a local car meet last fall and pulled up next to a GT40 - (I wanted to see that) and 4 people were standing around my car saying "THATS A ROTARY RIGHT??? No SPARK PLUG RIGHT? You can wind them up to 9 Grand and no pistons to blow. Its kind of funny what people know and don't know.

I like having something no one else has.

 

People, in my experience at least, have thought that it was our transmissions that allow us to have the "infinite rpms". Then I get into a big discussion on how redlines generally work and why we don't really have one but do at the same time.

 

EXACTLY! Thank you DD, I was thinking of these same things. I'm a younger guy and work on multiple cars daily at work so I have some ground to stand on when talking to others about cars. And friends of mine still always ask questions and pop their eyes out of their sockets when I tell stories and details about the rotary.

I have loved driving my car around and seeing people break their necks trying to get a glimpse of my car rolling down the road. I don't think that this will stop due to some more publicity. Then they'll look even more and say, "Hey! Wasn't that the old Mazda in the MT article???" Even RX-8 guys who are in their early 20's with their newer 'cool' car have given me the when we are on the road together because they respect where their cars come from.

I believe that the SA and FB is the most beautiful-bodied and pure spirited car I've ever owned, and the most fun car I've ever driven. It deserves some more attention, even if it makes some CL guys go nuts

 

One time, back in the early 90's, I was at a burger joint in my 1978 vermillion MGB, orange with the wide black racing stripes emblazoned with "MGB" on the side.

Very nice car, had the wire wheels and I put some oversize tires on so it looked like something out of the '50's. Everything was spic and span, new convertible top, etc.

As I was leaning against the car, right beside the MGB decal, a group of admiring kids pulled up and one of them asked "what kind of car is that?"

I said, with a blank stare, "its an MGB".

That MGB sure was a pretty car, but I finally sold it once I realized the obvious superiority of 1st gen RX-7s, back in 2002.

 

My dad had a similar experience with the '79. A young girl was going door to door putting fliers for some company/organization. My dad just so happened to be outside when she came up our drive way. She handed my dad the flier and just before she turned away to leave she pointed to the Mazda ( it was sitting in the shadows at the side of the house with only the front nose peeking out) and asked "what car is that?". My dad was shocked a little bit but he replied "it's a 1979 Mazda Rx7", she simply replied "what a pretty car", turned away and left.
When I first started driving the car all my friends were like "what is that" and each time I would have to tell them it was a Mazda Rx7. I've run into older people and they can spot it a mile a way.