Exactly

 

Well that's the thing... For us older folks, the shape is familiar... For the younger folks, it just looks old/odd. That's all that not strange though... When I was in my 20's, the idea of buying a car that looked like something from 30 years ago would not had been desirable. I wanted what was hot and happening and "looked" the part.

Yep, but it will be (if it sees the light of day) marketed closer to the BRZ/FRS price which is a little higher then the eco boxes.

 

That's no barn. I can't wait for this Renesis-powered MX-5 to hit the track.

What a great build.

 

Man when I was a kid in high school I loved the classics like the mustang fastback, camaros, corvettes etc......

There are always cars like the latest corvette that get your attention but usually the new look fades pretty quick and it's just another car.

To this day there still isn't a car that stirs my soul more than the FD. Mazda simply knocked the entire design out of the park and I'd love to see them do it again!

 

I love the look of the rx3. It looks like a compact american muscle car. The problem with real american muscle cars isn't the look or power it's the size, there're too big and take up too much road.

 

Found this while reading up on the new 2015 Mustang.


I find them changing the crankshaft phasing as the most surprising thing. This new v8 may sound like a Ferrari v8. When I read about how other manufacturers models are progressing while we rotor heads just have to patiently sit back with our prayers, hopes, and dreams????? It gets very frustrating.

 

LOL, I'm just noticing which cars are fast at my local track, which happens to be Laguna Seca. Sorry if I've offended you. I'm no pro racer or fanboy of ANY brand. I'm just a guy who likes nice, well built cars. A Viper isn't in that category for me. Maybe a Corvette, but even those...meh. They just don't blow my skirt up like some other cars.
I'd smile as I pulled up 3 seconds later in my LFA.

 

I know that you know this Trey, but the REASON they (FORD and other US manufacturers) can afford to do this is directly related to sales numbers and profits. It would be interesting to know what Mazda's profitability figures were in the 70s when they had a majority of their cars running rotary engines. Were they losing TONs of cash every year due to the high number of engine replacements? Mazda has a VERY interesting dilema right now. Sales and profits (Skyactiv) fund your ability to promote your brand via Motorsports. Mazda's past history in Motorsports is nearly ALL rotary-based. It's very difficult for them to move forward in Motorsports without huge success in a piston-based powerplant, OR support the rotary heritage that got them to where they are today! I would argue that lightweight innovative chassis design has played AS important a role, if not even MORE-SO than the contributions of the rotary engine

 

Yea, well they want cars that ARE cool on their electronic gaming platforms. As much as us OLDER FD owners hate it, much of the interest by younger owners was fueled by movies like the Rice & the Rediculous (FAST & FURIOUS), Initial D, and games on their PlayStations.

 

A contemporary racing game like Grid 2 has two models of FD RX-7s in their game. It almost goes without saying that the FD is in Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo.

That tells you that people still want to virtually drive them.

 

So I've been reading a bit about the upcoming Jaguar F Type Coupe – I think this car, with a manual transmission, is the kind of car I'd look at as a benchmark for modern sports cars, price considerations aside.

It's obviously expensive, heavy and complex, but the combination of smashing design, massive power, and balanced handling does the trick for me. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage is the second closest for me, but they don't offer the V8 Vantage S or the V12 with a stick. I'm also excited about the SRT Viper, the Corvette Stingray, and the Ferrari 458 Speciale for similar reasons.

I think Lotus should continue to partner with Toyota and perhaps source their LFA V10 engine or a hotrod 3UZ-FE V8 – provided they remain in business, the main criticism has been the lack of charisma from their V6 engines. It's not like the current Lotus engines are particularly fuel efficient or low in emissions (aside from the tiny motor in the base Elise).

 

Wow, now a Lotus platform with the LFA V10 would take it to the next level. Probably the sexiest exhaust tone on the planet

 

That's what happens when people sit around asking themselves how they can do something cool, not coming up with reasons why they can't.

 

Mazda has these new model training things, its like a power point, and a test afterwards, and the Rx8 one was basically 'shut up, the rotary people will know more than you' which is funny.

i worked at a dealership parts department from 97-2008, and i really cannot communicate how much FD stuff we changed under warranty. all new cars are broken, but the FD was unlike every other Mazda.

its really kind of funny that once you get all the updated parts on the car, and leave it alone, its actually pretty reliable

there is a certain age group of guys who were car people in the mid to late 70's, when you could put a header on your Rx3 and it was faster than the fastest new car you could buy, which is like a 185hp/6.6L trans am.

the Rx3 is kind of the FD of its day i guess.

 

One thing I wanted to point out before (but didn't), Corvette actually has a really good approach with their cars. They know their buyers are older, mostly because of the price point of their cars. With that, they design the cars for their target buyers, but they also make it appeal to younger car enthusiasts. Why? So they will be eventual buyers when their finances and lifestyle can make it happen.

You hear/read stories of people purchasing their first new Corvette (or Porsche for that matter) and hearing how it's been a dream of theirs since they were kids. That's not a story you really hear/read about with most of the Japanese manufactured cars, mainly since they don't typically have top of the line cars which can last generations. If the GT-R can stay around, I can see that possibly developing a similar legacy but it's a stretch. I just don't see anything like that coming from Mazda.

 

I agree with everything you said. But I have question for you and Frittz (kinda off topic tho)...

Is just me or is the GTR is a butt ugly car? I personally think its the performance (and reputation) that make the younger crowd (younger meaning <40) wet for it enough to ignore its aesthetic short comings.

 

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. The GT-R doesn't look like any "sports car" I grew up seeing which makes it seem "not a sports car" to me. Performance aside, in my book, it's a sporty coupe.

I think the shape of todays cars are pretty similar so the GT-R shape doesn't stick out as much to the younger crowd (just compare the front of it to Nissan's other offerings, Jag's or the newer Ford's). I don't think the GT-R is completely ugly. I love how it looks from the rear or rear quarter angle looking down the side. Everything is streamlined and the large tires with the quad exhaust makes it look very aggressive from the rear. It's overall low stance from the factory gives it that "hugging the ground" look as well. It's the look of the front which seems to put off most people as it's doesn't have more of the classic lines us older folk are used to seeing.

I had thought about getting one for a while, but I decided to try and ride out my M3 until it rots. However, the upcoming M4 is beginning to make me question that direction.

 

I think Mazda, and Nissan particularly had/have a real chance at this. Remember all of the restored Z cars? Those cars have real heritage. And Mazda's rotary cars, especially with their racing pedigree (including a Le Mans victory), had the same potential.

Those things don't just happen. They're built over time, and require commitment. Corvette's weren't always a high end car. Some of the 70's and 80's ones were real impotent pieces of ****. Chevy didn't pack it up though, they invested in their brand.

 

people just don't admit that they fell in love with an import as they would a domestic, americans have always had an inherent passion for deep, throaty gas guzzling machines(lol). i fell for the rotary engine when i was 17 as a young apprentice technician back in the early 90's while doing some used car inspections and we got in a used '88 turbo II, it was the funnest experience i had while test driving a car on a rainy day. hearing the rev limiter, clutch LSD working as nearly new back then, solid suspension since it had low mileage and a smooth power band compared to any other car of the era..

since owning one it has become a love hate relationship, even when not working on other people's cars constantly.

at the time i bought my TII i also had a domestic classic with a 383 stroker, ultimately one had to go and it was the gas guzzling beast when gas prices rose during the middle east war to nearly $4 a gallon for premium(both cars needed high octane).

but many people who have bought rotaries also know that same love hate relationship, which is why these cars have been a sinking boat.

a well tuned, well running rotary car is something we all can share a love for, but the reliability aspect has always and will always have something to be desired. this is something that has always plagued rotary engines and likely always will. while some of these problems have been taken care of by the aftermarket world there are still some flaws inside the engine that are quite simply not so easily overcome no matter how much time and development we sink into them.

BUT, even after it all my car ultimately has been the most reliable car i have ever owned. sometimes i just chalk that up to luck, sometimes i chalk it up to experience. the good thing about being in this profession is i can build a reliable motor in a few days with spare parts just lying around and go on for another decade rather worry free.

 

at the local concourse there has been a fairly big showing of restored Z cars in the last few years, there are also some early 80's mercedes diesels that show up too, so there is room for the early Rx7's.

to the second point this is true, the 70's were hard on the vette… actually there was a point where Porsche stopped investing in the 911, as they thought the 928 was obviously superior. i went to rennfest a couple years ago, and they made the 928 people park in town…

 

Personally, I don't. It's take a lot of vision and drive to create such a thing. I haven't seen that yet from the Japanese manufacturers; they don't seem to be interested in such a business model. It's the principle of sell 1 million lemonade drinks for $1 or sell 1 drink for a million dollars.

 

Actually Tim, the Skyactive-D in the Mazda Motorsports 6 is currently kicking *** and taking names.

 

i think it's more that the japanese simply do not believe in retro, they are always looking forward.

americans tend to repeat things every 40 years as fads tend to overlap with a little bit of current spice mixed in. except the boys are now wearing tight pants with bellbottoms instead of girls...

then again, we don't sell teenage girls underwear from vending machines. maybe we're behind the curve.

 

im happy for mazda to be bringing back this legendary car, but i would much rather restore an FD anyday

 

Exactly! All 1st run production vehicles are a bad buying decision. The 1993 fd had the most sales but non of the refinements of the later models. Mazda didn't move many 94's and 95's due to the price increases. My personal 94 showed quite a bit of warranty repair history. I put 48k on the original engine until I blew it at 108k. Over that time period, mine was the most reliable car I ever owned (even more reliable than my 2000 m5). Anyways, we never got the improved series 7 and 8. Theses no telling how much better those were. He'll look at the series 1 Rx8 vs the series 2. I ain't gonna lie, as bad as I want a new 7, it's gonna really hard for me not to pull trigger on one it's 1st year.