Mazda Test Drive

Pictures taken Sunday May 2, 2004

After running all my errands on Friday afternoon, I reported in to Ginger at work. She asked what I was going to do with the remainder of my free afternoon. Without thinking too much I responsed, "I am going to test drive an RX-8". She said "Ok, but you can't buy it today."

So I headed on over to the Mazda dealership. Upon arriving I put the top up on the Miata. It appeared like it might start raining at any moment. It had looked that way all day.

I headed on over to the building where I met a senior salesman named Bruce. I told him I was there to look at the RX-8 and the MazdaSpeed Miata and pick up a few brochures. We went inside and looked at a Red MazdaSpeed. It was a beauty. Bruce, unlike most car salesman I have dealt with in the past, actually knew about the cars he was selling. He proceeded to tell me things about the car, several of which didn't mean anything to me, ie the differential type. I know what a diff does and understand basically how it works but the specific type on the Miata was unknown to me. I am certain I am not alone here. I am also certain it probably means a lot to some other folks.

RX-8


Next we headed outside where he gave me the low down on this blue RX-8. When he opened the hood, we had a good time trying to located the engine. It is hidden beneath a large plastic plate. The engine is actually pretty small. It is a 1.3 liter and pretty much disappears beneath the top mounted alternator. Bruce said the insurance rates on the car are great because it is a 1.3L with four doors. Hmmm.

Upon opening the doors, the first thing I did was climb into the back seat. It was amazing to me how much room was back there. I could fit comfortably back there with an average sized guy sitting in the front seat. This particular car had a sun roof as well. The one thing I didn't like about the inside was the center console. To some I suppose it would look contemporary, to me it screamed "I will look out dated in a few years."

Next we went for a quick drive. Bruce demo'ed the was the car pretty well, including taking the tach up to about 8k if I remember correctly. At high RPMs it sounds like a jet hurling down the runway. The car drove very nicely, though it was a bit tough for me to get use to the feel of the clutch.

By the time I was done driving it, I was certain I would have to get one. Not the blue of course, probably the yellow!

After the drive we went back inside to grab the brochures. As I happily headed out the door, Bruce asked If I had a another 10 minutes. I said sure. He offered to take the MazdaSpeed MX-5 out.

MazdaSpeed MX-5


What can I say about the Miata. Well to start with, in many ways it reminded me of my Miata. It was very red and went zoom zoom zoom. This one had turbo though. After just a few minutes behind the wheel, I had completely forgotten about the RX-8. Unfortunately, the MazdaSpeed does not currently come in yellow.

So now the question is how do I convince Ginger that I need both of these cars?

Photo Reconoissance

Today I decided to take a short ride to the Mazda dealership and snap a photo of the two cars shown above. As I was driving along I spotted 3 Honda S2000s parked side by side in front of a hotel. What are the odds? I thought since I have my camera, I will stop and take a few pictures.


I have wanted one of these for a few years now. And this is definitely my color.

It turned out the S2000s were in town for the S2K International, Alabama S2000 Owners Club, Rocket City Run. From the looks of the forums on the web site, it appears they had 14 cars for the drive out. Several must have been local for I only found 8 of them in the hotel parking lot.

After snapping a few photos of all eight S2000s it was time to return to the original mission.
But then in front of my wandering eyes appears what I think is a mid 1970s MGB. If I remember correctly, the chrome bumpers ended in 1972. I could be wrong. Well I had to get a picture of this as well. As a kid, this is one of the many cars of which I dreamed.


Now since it was sprinkling, I had the top up. And because I had the camera, I had to take a few shots of my car. Yep, thats a yellow S2000 on the left edge. We are in good company. As for my car, here it is: front view, top up, barn doors open.


And again, rear view top up. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I think I am obsessed with convertible roadsters.

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