Farewell to the RX-8

The day has finally come.  For about three years we've seriously considered selling my Mazda RX-8, and today is finally the day.  It's caused plenty of frustration with its quirky rotary engine and various mechanical issues.  It was reasonably fine when we didn't have kids, and even when we had one or two kids, I could actually fit two car seats in it, so it wasn't too bad.  But with three kids, there's no way for me to take them anywhere together in my car.  So I've ended up taking Meghan's Mazda CX-9.  That's a little inconvenient in and of itself, but it becomes a bigger problem because my car has a manual transmission, and Meghan can't drive a stick.  So if I take the kids somewhere for the day in her car, she has the day to herself, but she can't leave the house to run errands or go get lunch or anything else.  Also, because it's so light and is a rear-wheel drive car, it's terrible in the snow.  Every winter I've been nervous that I'd get stuck or slide off the road, and there were some close calls.  I can work from home any day I want, so on snowy days I did, but there were also times when I'd have to drive to the airport for work, so in fresh snow I'd very slowly make my way as the slowest car on the road.  But we put up with all of that partially because we knew the alternative was likely a minivan, which would mean that Meghan would drive that instead of her CX-9, and I would drive her CX-9 instead of my RX-8.  In that situation, both of us lose, so we weren't eager to make a move.

But the biggest factor in keeping it for so long is that I love this car.  Love it.  I love the way it looks: black on black, leather, spoiler, sunroof, cool body style, etc.  And I love the way it drives.  I never knew the amazing drving experience that a short-throw shifter manual transmission could give until I had it.  When I bought the car, I hadn't planned to get a stick, as I'd had little experience driving one, but I fell in love with this particular car when I saw it at the dealership.  I decided that if I could test drive it without killing it, then it'd probably be fine.  I did, and though I wasn't perfect at the beginning, I soon learned how to smoothly drive it.  I'm thankful of this, because I can now drive a stick, and otherwise I probably wouldn't have that skill.  But the thrill of the car is the driving experience.  It's so responsive.  The steering gives you total control.  And although the acceleration from a dead stop is good, the acceleration at higher RPMs is phenomenal.  It's what I imagine piloting a jet or driving a racecar must be like.  It's like the car is begging me to unleash it and let it blast off. The instant you tap the accelerator, it goes.  It's exhilarating.  This car has brought me so much happiness.  I've said it many times, but it's true:  It literally has given me joy every single time I've driven it (okay, outside of the snow times).  I love driving it even if I'm just running to the store.  I loved driving to Iowa or Missouri or Arkansas for my job.  Five hours in the car in this bad boy?  Sign me up!  It's a 2005, but I bought the car in 2007 with 7,500 miles on it.  It now has 86,000 miles on it, so I've put 80,000 thrilling miles on it.  But it's time.  I looked at trade-in values and wasn't getting what I wanted (they offered between $2,500 and $4,000), so I listed it on Craigslist and sold it for $6,700 to an 18-year-old kid who is from a family of sports car buffs/gearheads.  They all love the car, and the kid is totally pumped to have it as his car, as he should.

Here it is at the gas pump tonight as I filled it up one last time to give the kid a full tank of gas with his new car.  We then completed the transaction (his parents where there too, and they were super nice), and he drove it away.  I was a little bit emotional and actually teared up a bit, but I'm happy it's going to a kid and a family who will appreciate the great things about that car, and they definitely do. The RX-8 is officially gone, but I'll never forget what an awesome car it was for me.