I can do what I want with a car I own. Legally, obviously.

 

America!

And we have the right to express our opinions.

America!



Honestly, I wouldn't mind if others (an myself) think I am a douche for driving an $80k sports car around town that can only be driven close to its potential on the track.

You know, if its rotary...

But I won't put **** tires on it. I just can't go that far and be that guy and live with myself.

 

^ same here. The amount of money iv'e spent turning my fb into a "supercar" that still has crappy "wondersteer" steering box but goes like the absolute crappers, can only use a fraction of it on the street. Thats why i call myself **** Factor. Its such a ****, but its effin awesome. It aint no status symbol though cos it still just a crappy old car, albeit very shiny and fast.

 

I didn't say you didn't have a right to express your opinion.

I said you clearly misread and should look again, as your opinion was based on something you seem to have thought I said but I didn't. Maybe you just don't understand how quotes work and how to read a forum, I'm pretty confused where you're coming from, actually, but I know what I said and j9fd3s said, and it looks exactly the same as I remember it when I go back to read the top of page 136.

Maybe look again, and you'll see j9fd3s being a douche out of no where just because I pointed out that a lot of people do buy F-250s for commercial use, and they have a utility use that somewhat justifies their cost.

And even if you thought I'm trying to say you don't have the right to express your opinion, I don't know what makes you think someone doesn't have to right to call you out on it being stupid if it is. It goes both ways.

 

Maybe look again, and you'll see j9fd3s being a douche out of no where just because I pointed out that a lot of people do buy F-250s for commercial use, and they have a utility use that somewhat justifies their cost.

No, I saw all that (except I didn't think j9fd3s was being a douche, but a realist).

Sure, lots of people buy the F-250s for utility or commercial use, but waaaay more buy them to fit their image of what they want people to see them driving.

j9fd3s was saying it is the same with $80k sports cars or $80k trucks.

Most people driving those are also doing it because they think it fits the image of what they want people to see them driving.

 

Rofl.

You know, maybe I misread as well and j6fd3s was referring to a nerve being struck on the two who replied bashing everyone who owns a truck.

But that still doesn't explain your nonsense, BLUE TII.

 

Nothing can explain my nonsense!

But I am not sure to what you refer.

 

i'll quote my boss and say if you knew what i did for a living this is really funny.

i simply think that $83,000 for a Ford F450 truck is quite a lot of money. Ford sells as many trucks as they can make though, so if the $83k truck is a good deal, how can the $40k Z be overpriced?

nothing personal there at all. or maybe the pickup truck costing as much as a Porsche seems odd to me.

 

I don't know and can't comment whether 83k for an f450 is a good deal but I don't really see how that is relevant or even comparable at all to sports cars. They are complete opposites in use and in engineering. Sports cars get expensive because of exotic materials and tight machining tolerances, with all the engineering going toward body aero, engine air flow, durability at maximum use, suspension geometries, heat management, etc. Work vehicles tend to use more common materials in expensive quantities, and machining is geared more toward longevity. The engineering goes toward ensuring nothing is highly stressed during normal operation, fuel economy and exhaust cleanliness are super important to companies that buy fleets.

At the end of the day, this is all I can think of where they are the same:
To people who actually race their car constantly and people who use their trucks at work, the car/truck is seen on the whole as a wear item and a high purchase price may be cheaper when they can use it for longer or with cheaper upkeep. If you aren't using these things professionally then you have absolutely paid too much for your transportation due to want rather than need, end of story. I would think most people on this site would understand and accept that. Yeah I think driving a giant truck all the time is kinda stupid but if I step back a second and look at things, all my commuting I've done in sports cars was kinda stupid too. **** it, it's fun

 

Any news on RX-Vision ?

 

Nah, last news is we have to wait till 2017 Tokyo Auto Show to see the production car reveal.

 

Or at least to get some more official news. It may not be the 100% finished product that is displayed at the 2017 Tokyo Auto Show, but perhaps a close-to-production concept, such as the 2001 Rx-8 concept.

At the very least I hope we can learn something more about the engine (how many rotors? Turbo or NA? Other major technical features?).

 

Pretty sure you can get a great idea about the engine looking at the patents.

 

so Mercedes unveiled their new I6 with electrically assisted turbo and in-line electric motor/generator between engine and transmission...

didn't Mazda already had all these in 2007 with the hybrid electric turbo 16X Renesis?

 

Wasn't the 16X a conventional engine (in the sense that it had no explicit provisions for electrification)? Maybe I remember wrong...

Maybe.

But, as I said, those patents were filed in december 2014. And before that, the engineers at Mazda actually had to come up with those results, which require a lot of time and effort. So it wouldn't surprise me if those patents were showing the state of the engine as it was in the first half of 2014.

Not to mention that several aspects of the new engine may be developed independently from each other, being integrated only at the end, with each patent focusing solely on the relevant aspects of the engine. For example one team may be developing the cooling arrangement while another may be busy optimizing the shape and location of the rotor recess and the placement of the spark plugs and fuel injectors.
For example, the patent drawings do not show any provision for direct fuel injection, which is pretty much a given for the new engine (check out the first picture in my post here).

And for a little reference, the patents showing definitive features of the Renesis were filed during the summer of 2002 (published in 2004), while the patent for the assembly method for the e-shaft of the 20b was filed on 19/2/1987 and published on 24/8/1988 (the JC cosmo went on sale in 1990 if I'm not mistaken).
Granted, before the burst of patents for the Renesis there was absolutely nothing for a few years; on the other hand, in the late 80s and early 90s there's a large number of rotary related patents.
So seeing this stream of patents is certainly a good thing.

Also companies patent "dead-ends" that they find in their R&D efforts, partly because patenting them costs relatively little, parlty because one never knows if those results may come in useful in the future and because if anyone else wants to use them, then they can ask for royalties.

All of this to say that what we see in these patents is not guaranteed to make it to production. One hopes that if a patented solution is not used, it's because an even better solution will be used.

For example, why flip the engine over to install a turbo when you can get the same results by mounting the engine in the usual way and adding more rotors?

 

For example, why flip the engine over to install a turbo when you can get the same results by mounting the engine in the usual way and adding more rotors?


Because people complain about the 15mpg they get with a 2 rotor, so 10mpg is out of the question.

Mazda is trying to improve the rotaries weaknesses so it can bring it back-
Emissions
Lack of low rpm torque
fuel mileage
reliability

while the patent for the assembly method for the e-shaft of the 20b was filed on 19/2/1987 and published on 24/8/1988 (the JC cosmo went on sale in 1990 if I'm not mistaken).

And then all the 20B Cosmos were recalled and the e-shafts were replaced with one with a new coupling design because Mazda rushed it into production.

Mazda is being careful with the new rotary. They will not release a product that isn't ready.

 

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was kidding
Even though...

Didn't know that the 20Bs were recalled back then.

No doubt about that. After two rotary cars with a less than stellar reliability reputation, Mazda knows that they HAVE to get this one right from the start.

And on top of that they may still have to do something like offer a 7 year powertrain warranty from the get go to convince buyers.
Or maybe offering free oil changes for some time after the purchase may also be a good idea: encourage purchase from new buyers and improve the maintenance of the engines, reducing the number of failure due to owner negligence and thus improving the reputation of the engine.

But yeah, a reliable engine is an absolute prerequisite.

 

Another possible alternative for the real and perceived reliability issues is-

Charge an arm and a leg for the car but actually train their dealer mechanics to troubleshoot/work on the damn cars.

Seems to me this is how BMW gets away with selling poor reliability cars without damaging its reputation.

-----------------------------

Another thing they could offer is a factory upgrade model and alternate path for those who want more performance (power really, this is 'merica).

Factory power enhancements that will have the least possible affect possible on reliability while producing more power and still voiding the standard warranty/changing it to a lesser or additional charge warranty as an alternative to people using the aftermarket hacks.

This could be done in conjunction with an aftermarket tuner; aftermarket tuner builds the performance parts and Mazda/speed works out an ECU flash to suit the parts and disseminates the training to service the upgrades at their dealer ships.

The factory "tuner" version can be a little louder, thirstier and challenging to drive (lag allowed) than what Mazda would allow for on a normal production car.

------------------------------

Now you have an $80,000 sports car with 450hp/2800lbs and for another $40,000 you can have it upgraded to 550hp/2850lbs package and still have a warranty and factory service available.

The alternate upgrade "path" I mentioned is.

Mazda could offer all the drivetrain/brake upgrades as non warranty voiding dealer upgrades to customers with the normal base model.

Once they had all those pieces the customer could select the power upgrade package/warranty at a lower price point ($20,000?).

Anyways... my dreams.

 

Guys I found a pic of the new Rx7.

 

Smooth. Clean. Streamlined. I like it.

 

too many buttons

 

Yeah but come on, it's nano ionic!



(WTF is nano ionic?!?)

 

Its superlite as well, can't go wrong with that.

 

That's French for Superleggera. Instant classic.

 

it really is, what engine doesn't last the warranty period these days?

and people don't expect to have to really touch it at all either