Here it is Chris, $1,500 for the original purchase, another $1,000 for parts (mostly RB exhaust) and the immeasurable pleasure of fixing your own car:



Yes, the rear window washer works.

Now, a new Miata will run you around $25,000 and an RX-8 a bit more. Go figure.

 

damn you to whoever took this picture of Ray's car. damn you to hell. lol

 

Just embrace the picture ray loves that picture like a son

 

Just making a point, you can get a much better pleasure/cost ratio by maintaining a 1st gen than you can with even the most exotic sports cars being produced today. This includes even the Lotus, unless Tim decides to sell me his for less than $10,000.

 

HAHAHA That would be the deal of a lifetime Ray

 

This is a very debatable point.

 

I don't know, I'm with Ray on this one. A new car that costs 5x as much certianly won't provide 5x the enjoyment. It'll add security, reliability, comfort, etc, but if you're just looking at enjoyment as your metric, I think Ray's dead on.

Ditto for track cars, by the way. Oftentimes, wreckability is a highly desired feature, too.

 

Even I may have to agree here . I definitely get more enjoyment now out of the 1st gen than the 3rd, because I never have to worry about it. The thing borders on indestructible, cheap to fix, and if the worst does happen, it's a weekend of pulling parts and swapping them to a new shell.

And Ray, I can't sell the lotus to you if I don't have it . Been at the dealership all week and haven't heard a thing out of them. Must have them stumped. On the plus side, I have a sweet Ford Taurus......

 

Yep, I also have to agree with myself on this one, the ride in to Atlanta this morning reminded me once again of the virtues of a well kept first gen. And if the White One gets dented up by the Atlanta commuter traffic (as has happened to my first two, the Tan One and the Brown One) it's no big loss, I have the Silver One waiting to take over the daily chores.

Guys I need help! The Sig Police finally caught up with me. They've discovered (after six months) that my signature is over the limit of 19K (Doc says it's 55K but when I look at it's properties I get 45K, still I don't think I'll win the argument).

Can somebody help me resize it without making it impossible to read??!!

 

it's 48.72 KB but I've made it 9.39 KB

 

You're a genius Chris, Thanks!

 

This is the funniest thing I have read in while... It does seam to be true.

I have to agree with Ray, et al on the enjoyment factor of a first gen. Now that I van pool most days to work, I find myself planning each week for a reason to drive in at least one day a week. I just miss driving the 7.

 

Look guys I want to DD an Rx-8 and keep the 7 as a project/weekend car. You guys act like I wanna sell it. I would like something newer more refined. Something I don't have to worry as much about if it's gonna break or not.

 

In all fairness, Chris, Mazda hasn't been too forward regarding RX-8s losing engines. They're troublefree until they're out of warrantee, at which point I'd argue that they're as tough to keep up as the average well-sorted FB (which yours is fast-becoming, if you haven't noticed).

 

That is a good point. either way, I;m building up a little bit in savings, so we'll see when it gets to that point. This plan is laid out to unfold in a few years, that gives me plenty of time to weigh my options needs/wants and prioritize.

Story from today:
On a side note, I am very happy that autocrossing has taught me to recover lost traction. I was in the far left lane of 75 north and a maroon Honda accord was in front of me gonig kinda slow. There was no one to the right of him and as per the laws in the state of GA he is supposed to move to the right to let me pass. So I started approaching him (not riding his *** or anything) and when I am about to close in 1.5 car lengths behind (the point where I was going to stop accelerating, let the distance grow to 2 cars, give him some time to move then go over to the right and perform an illegal pass as a last resort) he SLAMS on his ABS brakes(SOB brake checked me). I slammed on my brakes(they locked) and my car started to skew with the rear towards the right, and the front facing the dividing median (thankfully there was an empty HOV lane). Well having quickly shaved off a good 20mph(approx) from the brake slamming (idk cause speedo no work) I decided I wanted to downshift into 4th (no high rpm further traction breaking, but something to shift the weight rearward over the driving wheels, so I counter steered and gave it gentle throttle in 4th where a perfect rev match, and appropriate steering angle straightened me out in a little bit of a fighting jiggle but eventually I was pointed the right way. The guy then threw up a middle finger at me. I know my tail-happy antics probably scared him but it was HIS FAULT and he was going WAY slower than folks way off to the right. I didn't let my rage show I just pulled to the nearest exit and took a breather. All of this happened in like 1 or 2 seconds, but I was happy how quickly my brain went into correcting the slide (at highway speeds no less!).

 

Man Chris, you are having quite a day. Another favor, could you reduce this photo down to 9 KB for me too? Then I can put in my sig along with the OGTA card.

 

Tim we just havent gotten to your car yet we only have two techs

 

Not your fault, of course, but why not schedule the work, then, if you only have 2 guys in Service? Sureley they can forecast the workload for just 2 guys. Leaving a new customer in an old Taurus for what looks to be at least 2 weeks isn't a good way to sell a new Lotus.

 

Its scheduled just for later on in the week, The two guys are quite busy

 

It might be gettin done today, but idk im off today

 

Oh, I figured. Was just making a joke . I'm not actually worried.

He said he'd call me Tuesday afternoon though. 2 days late a call that just said "sorry, we're behind" wouldn't be a terrible idea though. But, being a relatively reputable dealership, I'm not actually concerned.

 

You know our Taurus's are classy cars who doesnt love a mildly abused cloth interior? What number did they give you?

 

#1! The one with the driver door panel missing .

Beats walking though.

 

FINE THEN! SCREW YOU ALL! i lost this one....

JK, i totally love you all. See you saturday!

 

But I do have one question:

What do they give the Lambo owners that bring their cars in? I hope not the same Taurus'