I'm looking at this tomorrow

[Colonel Cadillac]

It was a joke, plus the only experience I had with the Honda S2000 was in PGR2 where it was quite a good car for its class.

I don't see why people like to rag on the S2000. It's pretty addicting after 6k. Almost turbo-like. B)

Revving 6000 RPM gets irritating after awhile. My sister has a TSX, it has absolutely no torque and I can't stand it; I always have to rev it much higher than the Volvo, Audi or Infiniti.  

[Raza]

It was a joke, plus the only experience I had with the Honda S2000 was in PGR2 where it was quite a good car for its class.

I don't see why people like to rag on the S2000. It's pretty addicting after 6k. Almost turbo-like. B)

Revving 6000 RPM gets irritating after awhile. My sister has a TSX, it has absolutely no torque and I can't stand it; I always have to rev it much higher than the Volvo, Audi or Infiniti.

The TSX is actually pretty lively with the manual, but I prefer my 1.8T over it myself.

[thewizard16]

Raza, was this a Cadillac dealer or a used car dealer?

It's a new car dealer that's enormous...Jaguar/Chevrolet/Lincoln/Mercury/Subaru/Dodge/Chrysler and probably more that I'm forgetting.  It's about the size of two large malls.  

They've got a brand new used car showroom, though.

:o
That's Ginormous! :o

The huge car dealerships are always interesting. There was one I saw in Wisconsin (can't remember the name) that advertised itself as the "180 acre" car mall, it had nearly every mainstream group of brands I could think of. Locally there's a decent sized one that takes up quite a bit of land on either side of the interstate, but it's not amazingly huge.

[Raza]

Raza, was this a Cadillac dealer or a used car dealer?

It's a new car dealer that's enormous...Jaguar/Chevrolet/Lincoln/Mercury/Subaru/Dodge/Chrysler and probably more that I'm forgetting.  It's about the size of two large malls.  

They've got a brand new used car showroom, though.

:o
That's Ginormous! :o

The huge car dealerships are always interesting. There was one I saw in Wisconsin (can't remember the name) that advertised itself as the "180 acre" car mall, it had nearly every mainstream group of brands I could think of. Locally there's a decent sized one that takes up quite a bit of land on either side of the interstate, but it's not amazingly huge.

I got lost in the parking lot, and if you walking briskly from one end to the other, you'd run out of breath.  There are two lots, one with the showrooms, one with the cars.

[Raza]

I found a Lotus dealer.
:o  :D  :P  

So, I should be looking at the M3 and RX-8 (and probably MX-5) tomorrow, and the Lotus on Saturday if I'm not up for it (since it's in the opposite direction).

[ifcar]

I thought the Elise was waiting-list only. They sound like the type who'd ask for a deposit at the very least for a test drive.  

[MX793]

I found a Lotus dealer.
:o  :D  :P  

So, I should be looking at the M3 and RX-8 (and probably MX-5) tomorrow, and the Lotus on Saturday if I'm not up for it (since it's in the opposite direction).

Considering the fuel mileage you get normally, I'd be afraid to see what kind of fuel mileage you'd rack up in an RX8.

[Raza]

I thought the Elise was waiting-list only. They sound like the type who'd ask for a deposit at the very least for a test drive.

If it is waiting list only, why would they need a dealership?  Wouldn't just an office building suffice?  I'd think a deposit is a bit extreme, even though the Lotus is a dedicated machine, it's still just a 40K car, along the lines of a 330i, Z4, or Boxster, and I don't see other dealers taking deposits on those for a test drive.  I'm sure they have to have at least a car in their showroom to see if my feet will fit in it.

[Raza]

Mazda redesigned the website...I like it.

[mazda6er]

Mazda redesigned the website...I like it.

I noticed that too. I like the new one, but I wish they kept the black background.

[Raza]

Mazda redesigned the website...I like it.

I noticed that too. I like the new one, but I wish they kept the black background.

That was the thing I didn't like about the last website...the black background was too drab and dark.

On another note, I'm going to go look at that M3 in a while.

[Run Away]

#&^#$^$&@

Why do banks always have to be closed whenever I actually have the time to go to them?

[Raghavan]

Good luck with the Lotus man.

[Raza]

#&^#$^$&@

Why do banks always have to be closed whenever I actually have the time to go to them?

Odd place for this post, but my bank is almost always open.  

:P

You need a better bank.

[Raghavan]

Raza, is that M3 that you're lookking at used?

[Raza]

Okay, so I just had a lengthy chat with the Lotus dealership's sales manager, and they've got 8 cars on the lot, 3 have Touring packs, 1 has the Touring and Sport (it's a slightly used dark green car, with 2000 miles), and the others are mostly standard cars.  Touring is a must, since it would be an everyday car, and he ballparked a good number on the lease.  I told him outright that I was 19, and if that was a problem that I wanted to be upfront about it and he said "If you have a driver's license, it's okay with us" and "we're car guys first, salesmen second".  

I'm going tomorrow to drive a model and look at it.  They have a dedicated silver demo car that I believe is the standard model, which will weigh 15 pounds less than the model that I would buy.  

They have an Arctic Silver over Red leather Touring pack that I particularly fancy myself, and it has the soft top instead of the hard top, which means I can store it in the trunk when I'm about.  

Holy shit.  My heart is racing just thinking about it.

[Raza]

Raza, is that M3 that you're lookking at used?

Yes, it is used.  It's a cabrio (unfortunately) and it's an SMG (unfortunately).

[TBR]

I thought you liked convertibles?  

[Raza]

I thought you liked convertibles?

I do, immensely, however, I'm not a fan of the 3 series cabrio.  It's seems to lose quite a bit of structural rigidity, add quite a bit of weight, and offers no real advantage to the coupe in style or functionality.  I prefer sports cars with open tops, but I'm not a fan of the 2+2 convertible (though I know the 911 is, but it's a 911, and therefore it is above fault)  The E46's shape doesn't lend itself to a convertible shape, with the top up the thick C pillar makes it look blocky, and top down it looks like a plateau--simply long and flat.

[Run Away]

Whoa, I could have sworn this was the Chat thread....


Good luck w/ the Lotus.

[Raghavan]

Okay, so I just had a lengthy chat with the Lotus dealership's sales manager, and they've got 8 cars on the lot, 3 have Touring packs, 1 has the Touring and Sport (it's a slightly used dark green car, with 2000 miles), and the others are mostly standard cars.  Touring is a must, since it would be an everyday car, and he ballparked a good number on the lease.  I told him outright that I was 19, and if that was a problem that I wanted to be upfront about it and he said "If you have a driver's license, it's okay with us" and "we're car guys first, salesmen second".  

I'm going tomorrow to drive a model and look at it.  They have a dedicated silver demo car that I believe is the standard model, which will weigh 15 pounds less than the model that I would buy.  

They have an Arctic Silver over Red leather Touring pack that I particularly fancy myself, and it has the soft top instead of the hard top, which means I can store it in the trunk when I'm about.  

Holy shit.  My heart is racing just thinking about it.

Good luck man, but i wouldn't get the Touring or Sport packages.

[Raza]

The Touring pack adds weight, yes (though 20 pounds is really negligible, since I will be modifying the car later on) but it makes it liveable on a day to day basis.  If it were a dedicated weekender, then the Sport pack is all I would get.

[Raza]

Okay, back from the RX-8.

First, I have to say it was not the most exciting car I've ever driven.  The Boxster S is still better to drive, in terms of feedback, handling, and purity, but this is damn close.  The seats are very comfortable and supportive, and it's easy to get into the proper driving position.  I wish the steering wheel would telescope, but the tilt feature is almost as good.

The interior was shocking--it's so much better than the Nissan 350Z.  The plastic on the dash never seems like a cheap slab, the interior actually feels bespoke (even though I spotted some Mazda6 bits in there) compared to the Z car which feels mass produced.  Though Tiff complained of the rotary shaped shifter, I found it fit my hand perfectly, the point of the shifter fit great into the space between my thumb and index finger.  The rifle grip handbrake is uber-cool, too.  There are rotary shapes everywhere, from the front and rear air dams to the front seat headrests.  There's even enough rear seat space to put two people for a few hours without hearing complaints.

The ride is firm, but compliant and smooth, never harsh.  You're well aware of what's going on underneath, but it never slaps you across the face with it.  You could eat highway miles in this car and never think twice about it.  Handling is phenomenal, and the car deals with extreme curves with little drama.  

The shift action is great, but not the best.  It's a little notchy, but the shifts are short and low-effort, but for some reason I had trouble getting it into 3rd gear, and it took me a little while to get used to it.  The 350Z, on the other hand is light and effortless, but a litte vague.  The clutch is much better and more communicative and easier to modulate than the 350Z's, however, and I think overall, I like the RX-8's transmission better.

For those rotary-doubters out there, there is ample power almost anywhere in the rev band.  At 3000rpm in 3rd gear, the car pulls when you step on the gas, no downshift needed.  I had the car in pretty bad traffic (Tom probably knows what Roosevelt Boulevard can get like) and never felt like I needed more power.  Plus, revving the car is so intoxicating.

Overall, I'd say that this car is a much better dance partner than the Nissan 350Z is, and it's more practical and cheaper to boot.

9000 revs.  Now I understand love.

[Raghavan]

ARe you going to buy the Lotus or this?

[Raza]

What's the answer to any economic question?

[Raghavan]

So you're going with the RX-8???

[Raza]

So you're going with the RX-8???

Depends.  The answer to any economic question is "it depends".

It's all about CBA.

[mazda6er]

Good quasi-review Raza. Two things though: what's wrong with spotting  "some Mazda6 bits in there"?  (:P) Even if you did, I know for a fact it's only the power mirror controls, the window switches, (both of which are totaly insignificant), the round vents, and maybe the glove box. Well, and a slightly modified time display, unless I'm remembering something very different.  Secondly, for some reason, my car always has trouble with going into 3rd too. Obviously it's not the same tranny, but I just thought it was interesting that you mentioned that as well. You really have to hit it just right, and that's even with the manumatic. It's only recently that I've been able to get it to the point were it consistently shifts smoothly.

Other than that, you're making me want one too. :D

Edit: ha, ha just checked the Chat. I referred to it as a quasi-review before I even saw your post. Great minds think alike.

[Raza]

Good quasi-review Raza. Two things though: what's wrong with spotting  "some Mazda6 bits in there"?  (:P) Even if you did, I know for a fact it's only the power mirror controls, the window switches, (both of which are totaly insignificant), the round vents, and maybe the glove box. Well, and a slightly modified time display, unless I'm remembering something very different.  Secondly, for some reason, my car always has trouble with going into 3rd too. Obviously it's not the same tranny, but I just thought it was interesting that you mentioned that as well. You really have to hit it just right, and that's even with the manumatic. It's only recently that I've been able to get it to the point were it consistently shifts smoothly.

Other than that, you're making me want one too. :D

Edit: ha, ha just checked the Chat. I referred to it as a quasi-review before I even saw your post. Great minds think alike.

:D

Yeah, the first time I shifted into third (funny, though, I chirped them every time into second...it was awesome) I thought I got it in, but I wasn't sure, so I tapped the gas and the revs shot up...so I just pushed a little harder.  Second time it almost happened again, but by the third time, I got used to it.  Two methods--either finesse it into gear, or slam it in.  Anything in between and you'll probably miss.  And, on a downshift from fourth to third, I thought I was going from 6th to third, and accidently put it back into 1st.  My revs were really low, so it wasn't a big deal, it was just that it seemed a little hard for me to get back into third.  But overall, I loved it.

And there's nothing wrong with the Mazda6 bits.  I was just saying that otherwise, the interior seemed almost coachbuilt.

[SaltyDog]

I have a feeling you'll get into the Lotus, start it up, and immediately be immersed by the pure, no-BS, sporting cockpit.  The exhaust at idle will tease you into revving it up and put a smile on your face before you even move.  You'll put it into first, the revvs will drop, and you'll get the same feeling you get as you ascend a roller coaster right before it unmercifully drops you.  Your heart is beating and your mind is cleared of everything but you, your Lotus, and they road you will together own.  The clutch comes up and grabs some friction as the rear tires bring you back to reality with an unexpected jolt foward.  You slam the gas, take off, and you're gone.  

I think you'll like the Lotus.