As I said in my introduction, I am a salesman. One of the cars that I know the least about is the RX-8. I would really appreciate a little help. If I were showing you the car, doing a walkaround, what features and benefits of the vehicle would you find most important, attractive, and justifying the value you are getting for your automobile dollar?

 

its a very balanced car, not really driver friendly if ur tall or fat, decent mpg for a rotary motor but if ur that worried about mpg u shuold get a civic . although classified as a 2 door the back half opens up so u can stuff ur child in there or groceries. although a compact car the trunk space is very usable. If planning on using it on a circuit track VERY little mods are need to get that tight, responsive feel and grip going in and out of turns. standard 6spd trans with abs and tcs, bi-xenon headlights, if u ever got an econo mazda like the 3 u will see that the reg halogens are complete crap. rx-8 comes with an extremely big community and u can wear the "say no to pistons" badge with honor

 

Tracker,
First of all, thank you. What would you point out that makes this car better than its competitors? In fact, people who buy RX8s cross shop it with what? There really is nothing out there like it. Nor is there anything as fun to drive as th RX-8.

 

Push on the fact that it is the only car in the world that uses the Wankel Rotary Engine. The advantages of this powerplant are smoothness of operation and no complaints to it's 9000rpm limit. This is the highest RPM of any production car. It's engine which is rated at 1.3l of displacement, makes 232hp to the flywheel in manual trim and 212hp in auto trim without the usage of a turbocharger or any other form of forced induction. Due to the engine's size, shape and placement, weight distribution is enhanced resulting in one of the best handling chassis in the world in any price range.

 

Why does it have such a slow 0-60 time?

 

Mid 6 second is slow?

 

Compared to other "sports cars" - yes - mid-6 second 0-60 is slow.

A bone stock GT Mustang does it in 5.1 seconds for about the same price.

 

We all know a Mustang can only do that, though. Show it a track and that girder with wheels they call a rear suspension will show its ugly head. Mustangs belong on the strip, not the circuit.

Besides, all Mustang drivers are concerned about it WHP and TQ. I've never heard one speaking about any kind of cornering. I think it's too complicated for them.

 

Interesting....seems to me Mustangs take corners just fine. (Note the BMW eating exhaust)

http://www.motorsportscenter.com/printer_527.shtml

Ford Racing Mustang GT race cars finish 1-2 in Grand-Am Cup 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Blackforest Motorsports Group claims victory with "just out-of-the-box" race car.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 5 – With less than one day’s experience behind the wheel of his new Ford Racing Mustang GT race car, car owner and driver Tom Nastasi, with co-driver Ian James, claimed victory in the opening race of the 2005 Grand-Am Cup season at Daytona International Speedway. The win marks the first race and first win for Ford Racing’s Mustang GT race car built off the new 2005 Mustang GT that is currently available in Ford dealerships

"The car is awesome," said Tom Nastasi, owner of the #5 Ford Racing Mustang GT run by Blackforest Motorsports. "It was delivered to me on Wednesday, and the race was Friday. I was only able to put practice laps on the car, and didn’t make any changes. It was that good right out-of-the box."

"It’s a testament to how good this race car is and the development that went into it that we could run the whole race on one set of tires, and win."

 

Though that's seemingly possible, I don't remember the last time I've seen a Mustang at an AutoX event.

And they can say what they want about the car in that report...of course a driver who receives a car to race with isn't gonna really badmouth it if he still wants a ride.

I don't know, it's just, you'd think they'd give it more thought than a torsion beam in a RWD monster? That's just cheaping out. Even my Malibu has all-wheel independent suspension...

There are products of FoMoCo that I like, particularly the Focus (awesome little car), but then there are cars like the Mustang that I'll never want a part of.