ArmyofOne

Oh yes, i already read that one. I wouldnt be getting rid of the civic, so the harsh ride wouldnt bother be so long as I could come home and rest on the couch after track day, then proceed to commute to and from work all week in the butter-smooth civic (and yes, it is butter smooth with the comfortreads. put the 18x8 BBS's and a set of 35 series falkens on it, this turns into an entirely different matter LOL).

But as far as the RX-8 goes, the CURRENT pricing doesnt matter quite so much as I tend to buy slightly used cars and plan my purchases a year out at least. so in 2011, if I buy the 09 R3, the price should be sub-20K and the fun should be worlds beyond cause I know I didnt take the "new car hit".

That said, We arent really sure what our next car will be, rest assured however, the Civic will be in the family for years to come...regardless of whats in the garage next to her. Keep those reviews coming Mike! Lord only knows how many members you have helped with in your "relentless pursuit of perfection."

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

You said the engine layout is good. Try checking the coolant level on the resevoir. It's impossible. Cramped and you can't see the full line - I still haven't found it. My sister has the coupe GT.

mmarshall

I still consider the underhood layout generally good by today's standards. The transverse-mounted V6 engine fits in a little snug, but there is some room to reach things around it, and it at least doesn't have one of those big, annoying plastic engine/components that have to be taken off to get to anything.

As far as the coolant reservoir (the overflow/plastic one, not the radiator) goes, in general, you don't have to fill it up all the way. If you keep enough anti-freeze in for, say, the low-level line, and it doesn't use any or leak any out, and stays more or less at that level, then you can be reasonably sure that the engine doesn't have any cooling-system leaks or head-gasket problems that would cause coolant to mix with the oil.

Be advised, though, that although these cars are better mechanically than they used to be, they are generally not noted for long-term reliability, and the engines, particularly the in-line fours, tend to develop upper-block problems with age, including head gaskets, which can affect the coolant.

LexFather

Mike, fantastic review, on a totally unfantastic car

Please allow me to add some insight to this vehicle....The orginal car was a hit as well as the 2nd gen. Turbos, AWD, style, moddable etc. While not the most reliable, it clearly was a hit with tuners and the youth.

Well the dumbasses at Mitsu decided somehow with the 3rd generation, they were going to attract the more "mature" crowd. This was also the time when they debuted some new concepts with a new styling direction. The 3rd gen was changed to FWD only, with an optional V-6. No more turbos, no more AWD. Styling was a huge miss with the public. I have driven that car a few times and a complete POS would be a compliment to it.

The geniuses then decide to keep the same FWD/V-6 layout in a sports coupe and try to basically "trick" consumers by making it "look" like the 2nd gen. The 2nd gen was the 4th gens styling influence.

They totally missed the engine/tranny/drivetrain part. The big 3.8 V-6 is big, but its not class leading in power or performance. Its not the best handling car. Its not the most luxurious or cheapest.

In short they lost their rabbit *** minds as there simply are not enough Mitubishi "sheep" to buy such a **** poor effort and support such an awful car.

mmarshall

Thanks.





Most of what you say is true, but I think the real reason the American-market Eclipse has been ignored since 2000 is that Mitsu execs thought that there would be better potential market for the admittedly more expensive....and profitable.....Evo.

It was no secret, in the early 2000s, that Subaru was getting a lot of pressure to bring the turbo Impreza WRX to the American market (I suggested it myself, several times to the Subaru people). Mitsu marketers, noticing this (and noticing the STi potential as well), probably wanted to have a turbo four-door sedan to compensate.....hence the first U.S.-market Evolutions. While I generally don't like to use images and stereotypes, in truth, the Eclipse was essentially relegated to the role of a feminine, secretary's car, while the Evo (and now the Ralliart) attracted the tuners and the relatively young, male, caps-on-backward crowd that had formerly driven Eclipses and Eagle Talons. Mitsubishi dealers, of course, liked selling the Evo, because, even though it did not sell in as large as a number as the former turbo Eclipses did, there was a healthy amount of profit built into it.....magnified, of course, by dealer price-markups like Subaru dealers were getting on STi's, so there was little dealer pressure to bring the old, turbo AWD Eclipse models back either. And, last, it must be remembered that much of the Mitsubishi corporate exec structure, at the time, was corrupt to start with....more so than anything we've seen at GM or Chrysler (witness the big $$$$$ settlements that they paid out for suits at the Diamond-Star plant.....I touched on some of those in the review). a number of Mitsu execs and upper-level managers actually went to prison.....I don't remember exactly how many.

toy4two

YOU should start a TV Show doing these honest reviews. I can't stand MotorWeek's reviews, they should be called MotorWeak.

You tell it like it is, like Top Gear. All the competing interests in the automotive press (minus Consumer Reports) makes me cringe. Some pubs love german cars to death and it shows...

mmarshall

Thanks.

I know John Davis, of Motorweek, casually, but not closely, and I watch his show sometimes. (I live not far away from their show, in NoVA). I sometimes see him at the D.C. auto shows and we talk. But I can tell you, from the times I've talked with him, that he is very friendly and cordial, seems to be an honest guy, and doesn't try and misrepresent the cars he reviews. I'm not quite as impressed with Pat Goss, though, the show's technician. He is a superb diagnoser of auto problems, especially in the electrical/computer area. But he is sometimes bull-headed about things, especially with callers his call-in show, in the past has tended to (IMO) overrate American-designed cars in relation to Asian-designed ones, and, IMO, goes a little overboard with his recommendations of flushing out all of the car's systems every 2 years/24,000miles. Sure, if you flushed out the transmission, hydraulic power-steering pump/hoses, radiator/cooling system, and brake fluid every couple of years they would stay just like new.....but you would spend a fortune in maintenance. (keep in mind, Goss also owns a repair shop of his own).

The only real problem with Motorweek is that they cram a lot of things into what is esentially a 25-minute broadcast, where I literally spend hours writing up a single review. John Davis usually reviews 2 or 3 vehicles (and, IMO, does an OK job considering the short time-slots), Pat Goss does his service/repair tips, one of the girls does the latest auto-press news, and there are usually a couple of other short takes as well. So, naturally, they don't have a lot of time, on TV, to spend in-depth time with one single vehicle....usually not much more than 3-4 minutes.

The worst part of the auto press, IMO, is not Motorweek by any means, but the newspaper weekly auto reviews. Many (though not all of them) are just awful. I can't believe some of the one-sided junk those people write in them, and why the newspaper ever hired them. If you believed some of them, every car they drive is made of pure gold and drives like a magic carpet, with no faults at all.

toy4two

It would be a conflict of interest if they did honest reviews, they get so many advertising dollasr for their "WHEELS" sections of the papers, can't irk all those dealers selling Colbalts etc. I liken it to the main stream press for the last 10 years always cheerleading higher home prices, affordable housing for the US should be the goal, not million dollar Mc Mansions with ever increasing equity....

Thanks again.