Mazda RX8

First impressions: I didn't initially set out to buy a sports car. My old Nissan pickup doesn't have power steering or any other amentities, so I planned on trading it in on a new pickup truck that was at least equipped with P/S, A/C and a CD player. I like the utility of a truck. Not long after we started shopping around and getting some ideas my good wife casually suggested that I keep my truck and get a car. Hmmm, why didn't I think of that! We happened to be at a Mazda dealership at the moment, so I looked at the new Turbo Miata MX-5. Very nice car, but a bit small. I looked around the sales lot and noticed several beautiful new RX-8's. It brought back fond memories of my '85 RX-7. But, the 8 seemed a bit out of my budget so I started considering all sorts of sporty-type vehicles including the yet unavailable 2005 Mustang. I read review after review on the Mustang and a host of other cars. When I found out how much the insurance would be on the Mustang, I started taking a much closer look at the RX-8. I wanted a vehicle that handled well and had some suds. As luck would have it, the local Mazda dealer ran a newspaper ad about a week later, offering a brand new Silver 2004 RX-8 with the sports package at a handsome discount. I drove over to the dealership and took it for a test drive. My grin gave me away and I bought it on the spot! No haggles, no hassles.

1st week: Well, it's rapidly becoming apparent that I have forgotten the finer points of driving a very responsive, nimble sports car. Fourteen years of herding a very basic 1990 Nissan pickup truck and two SUV's has dulled my driving skills. The 8 is very responsive to steering inputs, braking and throttle. I find myself over controlling here and there as I fumble with the short-throw, close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission. I drive it everyday; to work, errands and occasional ventures to country roads where the car really shines. After one tank of gas and 300+ miles, things are starting to seem more familiar. Everytime I fire up that sweet running rotary engine I have fond memories of my

1985 RX-7. They sound so similar. Although the current rendition of the rotary engine is only slightly larger (1.3L vs 1.2L) than my old '85 model, it produces over twice the horsepower while adding an exciting 2000 RPM to the redline (9000 vs 7000). And amazingly, Mazda accomplished these numbers without forced induction. When you couple this to a better transmission, 4-wheel independent suspension with the trick DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) and huge, powerful brakes, things are very sporting indeed!

2nd week: I think I'm starting to get the hang of it! It takes a light touch on the throttle and my right foot is gaining some finesse. Also, I've changed my shift-down techniques for city driving. Rather than select a lower gear when approaching a turn at a corner or intersection, I wait until I'm slowed and mostly through the turn before making the gear selection. For me, this makes it easier to match engine speed to the selected gear. I love the broad RPM band of the new Renesis engine. It seems happy putting along at 2 to 3 grand or zipping up to 5 grand. I'm still 500+ miles short of the 1000 mile breakin stretch so I'm making an effort to limit RPM's to 5k.

Gas mileage on the first tank of gas worked out to 21.7 MPG, which I am pretty happy with. I used the 8 in an equal mix of city/country/highway driving and I briefly romped on the loud pedal now and then. The second tank resulted in a disappointing 16 MPG, but that was all city driving.

Had to take a load of yard clippings to the landfill this past weekend, so had no choice but to drive my old 1990 Nissan pickup truck. Darned near hit the curb on the opposite side of the street while turning the corner! All I could do is laugh at myself. The 8 is spoiling me real fast!

Third month: Well, my 8 is now officially "broken in" so I can now hit that magical, almost unbelievable 9000 RPM redline every now and then, just for fun! Also, just completed a 750 mile round trip over the holidays, so I got to experience the car on the road. We had the car packed with baggage for two (5 days worth) plus 5 sleeping bags (3 extra for guests coming from a different direction), a large chocolate cake, a ham, enough ingredients to make our famous "camping" breakfast for a large crowd and a few other odds and ends. My wife was amazed at how much stuff I got packed into the 8. While the trunk was completely full, the back seat area had plenty of room left. From the outside, there was no hint as to how much stuff was in the car.

The trip itself went well, although traffic was terrible and came to a grinding halt on the interstate a few times. Inspite of spending 7.5 hours in the 8, we arrived feeling comfortable and refreshed. The seats are terrific for long trips. Although I'm used to driving a Ford Explorer on long trips, I never felt uncomfortable being in a small car. The excellent handling and impressive brakes are very reassuring in heavy traffic. Inspite of the stop and go traffic and high cruising speeds in between (80 to 85 MPH) my 8 delivered an overall average of 21 MPG for the entire trip. All things considered, not bad. I can't wait for my next trip!

I've had the opportunity to drive my RX-8 on California Highway 1 a few times and the car really came into its element, especially when the

highway started to climb above the Pacific shoreline just beyond San Simeon. I really wanted to drive all the way to Monterey, but cut it short due to time restrictions (we just moved and are buried in remodeling

chores). The last time I really had any fun on highway 1 was back in '85-88 when I owned my RX-7. Anyway, as the highway got curves got tighter and rose higher above the coastline, I found myself paying closer attention to my driving. As I ventured along I found that I was getting smoother at selecting gears (and the proper gears) and braking. I could do this all day!

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