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Jeff, as I have said in another thread here, I've been watching along with what you have been doing for a while now, and it really is great for the overall car community, so I was super excited to see your announcement of this project. But honestly, I'm kind of a nobody.....but I do think the excitement that you have sparked in some of the more tenured and experienced members of this forum speaks volumes for this project and the community's desire for some more mature content with a little more production quality.
I also think it would be fantastic if it gets to the point that Kaleb is talking about, and you were able to go out and discuss the cars with the community around the country. It could feel more like an ongoing series, rather than just a one and done documentary. If it does come to that, I'd like to put in a shameless plug for the Pittsburgh area rotary community. We are somewhat small compared to say the New York/New Jersey area or places like Texas and California....but we have some really great members of our community, and there's definitely a 'special' car or two in the area
Very cool. I studied industrial design at AAU. I knew Tom was responsible for the Miata, but found out after I left he designed the 7 as well.
Another of the teachers there designed the Gee Whizz, that hasn't aged nearly as well haha
I have heard this from a few folks! Did you enjoy your time at AAU? They must have some real heavy hitters on the faculty if Mr. Matano's presence is any indication!
Originally Posted by DaleClark
Wow this would be awesome to watch, good luck with the documentary and keep at it!
Dale
Thank you so much, Dale!
Originally Posted by SETaylor
Excited to see how this turns out! Best of luck to you all.
Thank you so much!
Originally Posted by cloud9
What an awesome project! Seems like you all are really putting the effort in, both in terms of content (interviewees) and production. Which is refreshing and encouraging to see, considering all of the youtube special's floating around these days with misinformation and cell phone footage. I already follow Kaleb's build on IG but definitely going to add the rest. Best of luck and I look forward to following your progress!
Thank you for your kind words! We look forward to sharing more information soon.
Originally Posted by Manny_Apex
Cannot say how excited I am for something like this to finally materialize! I believe this car absolutely deserves something of this nature, and I definitely look forward to enjoying the final product!
We agree wholeheartedly. We are glad to hear that you are excited!
Originally Posted by Montego
Loving the approach that you guys are going with. I will definitely be watching when it comes out.
Thank you so much!
Originally Posted by Akagis_white_comet
Very interesting. Perhaps it would be worth mentioning the RX7club in it, possibly a few red-letter members? The combined knowledge and experience of all of our long-time members certainly has earned its weight in gold when it comes to keeping these running and driving properly in various states of modification.
To echo Kaleb: The community will definitely be a part of this film. The RX-7 is an incredible car made even more incredible by the awesome people who have kept them running over the decades.
Originally Posted by ProjectAce
How exciting. Cant wait to check it out.
Thank you!
Originally Posted by Redbul
Interesting to see the knick-knacks in the design office. Also the prominent Jaguar poster.
Are you interviewing Chin Wu-huang as well?
I think he may be in California.
I think Goodfella posted a pic of Chin's car a while back..
I believe Mr. Chin is currently retired and living in Taiwan. He and Mr. Matano are fans of classic Jaguars. Then again, who isn't?
Originally Posted by Redbul
Did he say anything about the wheels?
Just wondering.
These were an ɛ̃fini option in Japan. Credit to @SA3R on this forum.
Originally Posted by darktower
Hey Jeff, thanks for posting on here. I’ve got an account but haven’t posted in a while. I’ll try to answer any questions as best I can.
As Jeff mentioned, we are posting updates and behind-the-scenes on Instagram. Thank you all for your support and interest in the project. The RX-7 community is an important aspect of the film and we want to highlight what makes that special. The RX-7 Club is a big part of that.
-Kaleb
Hey, Kaleb!
Originally Posted by REnaissance_Sle7in
Jeff, as I have said in another thread here, I've been watching along with what you have been doing for a while now, and it really is great for the overall car community, so I was super excited to see your announcement of this project. But honestly, I'm kind of a nobody.....but I do think the excitement that you have sparked in some of the more tenured and experienced members of this forum speaks volumes for this project and the community's desire for some more mature content with a little more production quality.
I also think it would be fantastic if it gets to the point that Kaleb is talking about, and you were able to go out and discuss the cars with the community around the country. It could feel more like an ongoing series, rather than just a one and done documentary. If it does come to that, I'd like to put in a shameless plug for the Pittsburgh area rotary community. We are somewhat small compared to say the New York/New Jersey area or places like Texas and California....but we have some really great members of our community, and there's definitely a 'special' car or two in the area
It is really hard to express how much those words mean to me. Thank you so much. Our goal is to make a film that will make all FD owners proud. Seeing the positive feedback from these senior members is inspiring beyond comprehension. Oh, and you aren't a nobody!
Pittsburgh sounds like a lot of fun. While it isn't currently on our list of locations, I would at least love to check it out for myself sometime in the future. I am in NJ, so it isn't that far.
How was AAU? The workload was insane. Very talented teachers but you were expected to spend every waking moment on projects. If that was what life was supposed to be as an Industrial Designer, it wasn't worth the salary for me, so I left.
The Automotive design department graduation rate is something like 1/20. It's the top school in the USA for automotive clay modelling. The only modern car to enter production without a full scale clay model was the Pontiac Aztek, so it's a pretty safe bet demand for that job will stay strong lol
Can you please ask Mr. Matano if the 99+ bumper was always supposed to have a plate mount, or if it was only added because Japan requires a front plate.
Can you please ask Mr. Matano if the 99+ bumper was always supposed to have a plate mount, or if it was only added because Japan requires a front plate.
I must know the original design intention!
Thanks
I’ll see if I can find a definitive answer to your question, but I can tell you that the license plates were a heavily considered matter, especially on the rear end. As opposed to the FC and most other cars of that era, they wanted to bring the plate down as low as possible because it is a focal point, and putting it low on the bumper creates a feeling of the overall car being low to the ground. If I were to guess about the front bumper, I would think that the series 6 bumper was sold to international markets, many not requiring a front plate. As you mentioned, JDM cars require the front plate so molding it in is a much more streamlined look.
There is the Bizenyaki concept. You make a beautiful clay pot, they purposely create a flaw. Or maybe like a nose piercing or a neck tattoo......
But it is interesting that this is really the only thing that jars in the overall FD design.
I also find it interesting that no matter how hideous some of the aftermarket kits are they almost always leave the hatch backlight (glass) area alone.
Custom glass is incredibly expensive. Many countries require glass for roadgoing cars, no poly or plastic windows. I think the Veilside kit still uses the factory glass but covers up a portion of it? And then there are the full carbon hatches that remove the rear glass entirely, but even those retain the factory shape.
And then there's the GReddy Breadvan rear hatch lol
We filmed our interview with John Dinkel yesterday. We were so grateful for his time. For those who are not aware, Mr. Dinkel is co-author of the book entitled “RX-7: Mazda’s Legendary Sports Car”. He wrote the book with Jack Yamaguchi. Mr. Dinkel is also a former editor-in-chief of Road & Track. You may notice a couple of familiar books behind his couch!
Our production team had the pleasure of having a Zoom meeting with Mr. Kelvin Hiraishi. Mr. Hiraishi was director of R&D engineering at Mazda North America in Irvine and was involved in many projects including the third-gen RX-7. He was also instrumental in the creation of SevenStock, the largest annual rotary engine car event in the world. It was really great being able to pick his brain and hear some unique stories. We really appreciate him taking the time to speak with us. (Text posted by Kaleb on our Instagram).
Last edited by bossbattleRX7; 03-09-22 at 01:42 PM.
When we started this journey, Kaleb and I shared our enthusiasm for the official RX-7 FD book written by esteemed automotive journalists Jack Yamaguchi and John Dinkel. Less than a year later, the “Dreams of Hiroshima” production team has had the pleasure of speaking with both Mr. Yamaguchi and Mr. Dinkel about their experiences writing the book and more.
This past week we spoke with Jack about his experiences with Mazda and the history of rotary engine development. Many know Jack by the multiple books he has written about Mazda’s sports cars. We were in awe as he walked through his decades-long career while recounting the lifelong friends he made along the way.
There are few people outside of Mazda who have such a deep understanding of the company’s history. We will remember this discussion for a long time, and look forward to including some of his heartfelt sentiments in the film.
Thank you, Jack. We were so grateful for your time.
02-02-22, 10:49 AM
ummm…fast forward between 35 mins and 42 minutes then.
Wheels of Spring
