David Spriggs

Mazda Extends Production of Special Edition RX-8 SPIRIT R

 David Spriggs, NEWS, On The Radar  No Responses »
Apr 272012
 
Special Edition RX-8 SPIRIT R

- An extra 1,000 RX-8s are on their way due to popular demand -

HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation has decided to extend production of the Mazda RX-8 SPIRIT R by 1,000 units. Mazda initially intended to make 1,000 units of the special edition four-door, four-seat rotary engine sports car, but will extend production due to a large number of orders. Sales of the RX-8 SPIRIT R, the final special edition model, were launched in November of 2011.

 

Mazda has received orders for the special edition RX-8 SPIRIT R from a variety of customers of all ages including sports car fans and rotary engine enthusiasts. The 6-speed manual transmission version is proving most popular, constituting 66% of orders. It features aero parts and Bilstein dampers as well as RECARO bucket seats and 19-inch bronze-painted forged aluminum wheels. Orders are almost equally divided between the three available body colors, Aluminum Metallic, Sparkling Black Mica, and Crystal White Pearl Mica.

 

Mazda commenced sales of the RX-8 in April 2003, and as of the end of March 2012, has produced 192,094 units (figure includes those intended for overseas sale). Mazda plans to end production of the RX-8 in June 2012.

Main features of the limited Mazda RX-8 SPIRIT R series (disclosed on October 7, 2011)

Special equipment for RX-8 SPIRIT R
For both manual and automatic transmission models
  • Exclusive ornament
  • Front headlights, front fog lights and rear combination lights (with black bezels)
  • Front and rear brake calipers (red)
  • Larger brake rotors
  • Transmission tunnel trim (piano-black)
  • Curtain and front side SRS airbag system
  • Driving Stability Control and Traction Control System
  • Leather-wrapped steering wheel (black with red stitching)
  • Leather-wrapped parking brake lever (with red stitching)
  • Center console box with front seat armrest (synthetic leather with red stitching)
  • Rear console box with a lid (with synthetic leather)
Exclusive to the 6-speed manual transmission model
  • Bucket seats from RECARO (red and black leather* and fabric)
  • Hard suspension (with Bilstein dampers)
  • 225/40R19 89W tires and 19-inch forged aluminum wheels (bronze)
  • Aero parts
  • Aluminum pedal set
  • Leather-wrapped shift knob (black with red stitching)
Exclusive to the 6-speed electronically-controlled automatic transmission model
  • Black leather seats (with red stitching)* and 8-way power seat with memory function
  • Sports suspension
  • 225/45R18 91W tires and 18-inch alloy wheels (gun metallic)
  • Heated front seats
  • Leather-wrapped shift knob (black)
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Lexus CT Hybrid

 David Spriggs, New, REVIEWS  1 Response »
Feb 072012
 

 

I like the idea of a hybrid for 2 reasons, as both daily commuter and for long trips to visits friends and relatives. The conservative gas consumption is appealing on both fronts. For the first 2 days the Lexus CT 200 was used simply to transport me to and from the office, which would include quite a bit of errand running in-between. This would tally up to about 36 miles a day. I was pleasantly surprised as I watched the gas needle throughout my travels.

The real test however would come on Friday as we loaded up the CT for a 900 mile round trip southward, from MD to NC.  This is where we got a true feeling of what this car was like to own. The trip took us through heavy stop and go traffic, Back country roads and open highway with speeds upwards of 80mph.  So with that back drop, let’s get into the review.

Exterior - Breaking away from the bland and odd styling of the Prius was a good move for this Lexus. Actually, quite a few people we introduced this car to didn’t know it was a hybrid. And that’s a good thing. That said, the styling of the CT is a departure from the other cars in the Toyota/ Lexus line up. It’s a  bit edgier but its not quite bold enough. So it doesn’t particularly appeal to me.  Its foot print is just a little over 170” long. Making it about 9” shorter then the Corolla. The Creases down the sides of the car give it a slightly more mature look, which I like. The roofline is pretty low standing at 56.7” and it tapers to the hatch which was designed to minimize drag. This is where I feel the design fails. The lines stop too abruptly at the rear giving it that minivan look. This design works on crossovers like the venza as it’s a large car. But it simply fails on such a small frame cars as the CT. I do like the front end of this car as the face of the CT doesn’t scream “economy” as most hybrids do. Rather it has an aggressive stare and low dropping air dam giving it a sporty look. Changing the 17” wheels to 18s would be a step in the right direction. Even though you would lose a step or two in efficiency you would gain points in style as the car would look more balanced.

Interior - The interior of the CT is both Clean and simple. Which is fitting for a sport hybrid. I particularly like the thick wrapped steering wheel and the seats. The car is very welcoming to the driver. The seats are countered as more of a sport seat so they held us snugly in place as I swept through corners. Typically seats that hold this well come with a price, which is a sacrifice of comfort. Not so with the CT. They provided a form fitting seat that proved soft and comfortable, even on long rides. Kudos to Lexus. On another note, we found a few pieces not fitting as snug as they should. For instance, the door trim was pooping loose on our loaner car as did the plastic trim at the bottom of the hatch. Minor problems that may have stemmed from abuse from the previous reviewer.

The cock pit layout is straight forward as well. All of your common controls are in reach and easily identifiable. All accept the gear lever, you can identify it but the feel and placement of it is all wrong. Like the prius, your gear shifter puts your car in drive or reverse with tap in the respected direction. The shifter then returns to center position and your input is shown in the tachometer area. I would much rather have real shifter with a leather shift boot. The current lever feels plastic and out of place.

The steering wheel controls can change media function modes as well as control the volume and presets. It also allows you to answer your phone and activate the cars voice recognition, which also controls many of the cars features. Lexus has incorporated a joystick like control called “Remote touch” which selects and toggle features that appear on the pop up multi function display. This screen shows everything from AC to the navigation controls. Unlike BMWs I-drive the lexus control works and feels more like a PCs mouse. Complete with a sort of right and left click feel. The one button is “enter” and the other is “display” which can back you out of your current screen. I get the premise of keeping your head up and eyes forward instead of downward but I found my eyes constantly focusing on that screen to guide the pointer where I needed it.  So even though the positioning of the joy stick is ideal and comfortable, I’m just not a fan of it as it doesn’t save time. I found myself using the standard controls to operate temperature and radio as it was faster.

The back seats were not as tight as I thought they would be. We loaded up the CT with 4 adults and took a trip to the local store. Our back seat passengers reported that shoulder, head and leg room was OK. So despite the compact car looks, it has more of a mid size interior.  Your Storage space however is going to suffer. This car was not built to haul a lot of luggage or anything else. So if you have the urge to buy a  TV or a Desk chair getting it into the hatch may be a struggle. We were able to pack 3 small travel bags and a notebook bag. We did still have some room up top as well. But fitting in larger luggage sets simply wouldn’t work

Performance - The CT achieves 43/42 MPG, to achieve this, the CT is equipped with a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder engine coupled with a magnet, electric drive motor. Yet, the combo only produces 134HP. Which is a bit disappointing when you consider that models like the Mazda 3 Delivers 155Hp and is still able to achieve 28/39 MPG without the use of a extra battery and magnetic motor. When cruising along in city traffic the car is fine. It’s when you take it on the open freeway or in back twisty roads that the car begins to feel sluggish and under powered. The slow climb to 60-70 may leave you craving a bit more power. On the other hand, the MPG on this car will put a smile on your face. We averaged 41MPG on a trip from MD to NC while maintaining speeds of 80MPH, quite impressive. You can dial the CT into 3 different driving modes, Eco – the most economical mode but also the slowest. Normal –An efficient blend of battery and engine. Sport – Which demands the most from the engine and is the least fuel efficient. The later is the only mode that gives this little car life from 0 – 50.

So the car looks sporty but doesn’t perform like a sports car. It does OK in the corners but I can’t call this a driver’s car. It falls into the category of a “point A –B appliance”. Which is not my cup of tea. If you don’t need the pep in your daily driver then this car should suite you well. Its interior room and comfort is more than we expected. It also carries plenty of creature comforts like heated seats, voice recognition (which works rather well) and the MPG on this hybrid well drastically shorten your visits to the gas station.  All and all, I enjoyed my time with the CT. Now if only they would couple that high output electric motor with a 2.2 liter engine and a sport exhaust. Ahhh now were talkin.

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2011 Toyota Sienna Review

 David Spriggs, New, REVIEWS  1 Response »
Oct 052011
 

thinking outside the "box" in exterior styling

A minivan can be practical in a variety of settings. Comfortably transporting your business colleagues to the airport or an important event, loading up the kids for a soccer game, family vacations with easy access to your infant or infants as it were even hauling sheets of drywall to finish your basement. Today’s minivans do all of the above and quite well. So what are the strong points of the Toyota Sienna and where does it fall short?

Exterior - This is one of the better looking minivans out there. True, it’s basically a box, as the rest are. But by incorporating the new identifiable front bumper onto it, it has become a more stylish box. Joking aside, it does make a big difference giving it a style that sets it apart from the rest. The Sienna is a huge vehicle, measuring just over 200” long and 69” tall. It’s hard to make something so big look sleek and pretty so I found the added rear spoiler simply gets lost in all the mass. The standard 17” tires look out of place on such a large vehicle, but the ride was comfortable and smooth. Larger tires will hurt with MPG but will work wonders for this vehicle visually.

Interior- To say that there is ample room in this van is an understatement. I.e. I wear a size 48 jacket and when I close the driver’s side door, I still have about 6” of room between my shoulder and the door. I typically only have about an inch or two so that extra room is nice. The passenger also has plenty of elbow and head room in this vehicle. Toyota uses a good quality leather on this van as well. I personally wouldn’t buy this van without it as it’s very convenient for quickly cleaning spills. My family and I found the seats comfortable as well. The 2nd row seats not only recline but also have a hideaway foot rest like a lazy boy chair. However, this only works if the front seats are moved very close to the dash and the 2nd row seat is slid far back. Otherwise, you have no room to stretch your legs anyway. This van also has great rear storage space. There’s luggage room for a family of 4 or 5 that shouldn’t impede the passenger area. All and all it’s a solid vehicle with a smart ergonomic layout and a tidy fit and finished package.

Electronics- The first gizmo to strike my eye was the multi function head unit at center dash. This blue tooth compatible device serves as your Navigation, AM/FM radio, Satellite radio, rear-view camera and multi disc CD player. It also has full ipod integration so you can plug in your ipod, tuck it away and control it from the head unit. Although happy with all of the features this unit entails, I found it cumbersome to navigate at times. The most annoying was the ipod integration. I found that my eyes were off the road for too long due to the delay in the touch screens response. Scrolling through playlist is even more annoying. The unit will list about six songs per screen, when you advance to the next six it automatically selects and starts playing song one of the next six. All of this causes more delays. And music is a part of our driving experience nowadays.

Performance - The 3.5 V6 engine powers this massive vehicle with ease. I found it rather easy, not only to keep up with smaller cars but to pass them. We drove the vehicle to PA for the weekend and found that we averaged around 19.5 MPG that’s pretty good for a fully loaded van of this size. I was most pleased with the suspension. Even thought it doesn’t ride like a car (it’s far too big for that), it doesn’t ride like a Truck either. The suspension made even the bumpy roads of PA feel rather smooth. And that’s what I want in a people hauler. There is just too much drinking and snacking going on to deal with a sport suspension of any type. Toyota’s 3.5 as well as the 2.7 i4 are both well tested engines that for the most part will go for a long time requiring minimal maintenance.

I would highly recommend the Toyota Sienna for those in the market for a minivan. It was designed with family in mind and that reflected in the comfort and convenience found from every seat in the van. It’s also well built, comfortable, roomy, and great on gas and, if I may, has a little “swag”. The Toyota Sienna is worth a serious look.

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