I wasn't making that many customer visits in my personal car, so the field was open. Three cars were on my shopping list: the Camaro Z-28, the Toyota Celica Supra, and the Mazda RX-7.
I liked the styling of the Gen 3 Z-28. But the assembly quality was terrible, pollution controls had made the engine a shadow of its former self, and the Boy Racer graphics were a bridge too far for me. Also, it was the most expensive of the three. The Supra was big(ish), fast, refined, and aggressive-looking. It got good road test reviews. But it was 25% more expensive than the RX-7. I had two kids headed for college. And the new toy would be a daily driver, in winter road salt.
As for the RX-7, I was charmed by the rotary engine. A weakness of mine is high revs, smoothly delivered. The assembly quality, fit, and finish of both the Supra and the RX-7 were high. These decisions often come down to balance-tippers. The RX-7 had a manual sunroof, standard. The Supra had an optional electric sunroof. The RX-7 had that cool-looking, fully-informative gauge package, with a big central, tach, borrowed from the Porsche 911. It seemed almost as much car as the Supra for less money.
So the RX-7 it was. If you got the GSL model, everything was standard: a/c, cruise, inside-adjustable mirrors, premium sound, limited-slip. Econoboxes are marketed that way today, but in 1983 the RX-7 checked a lot of "features" boxes other cars didn't. My only choice was color. I went with the nicely-done rip-off of Porsche's metallic Cocoa Brown. (Most RX-7's were white, blue, red, or black.)
The rotary engine was happy up to 7000 revs (it ran out of breath above 6000). It was butter-smooth. The gearbox was fun: quick throws; low 1st and 2nd ratios to get you rolling. Steering was quick and direct, but I missed the precise feel of rack-and-pinion. The brakes were OK. The Bridgestone 175 X 70 X 13 tires were not grippy. The glass hatch made the car easy to live with: just throw it in the back. Overall, it had the feel that Miatas were later celebrated for: an entry-level European sports car done right. My car made a couple of 2000-mile road trips. It never let me down and the seals in the rotary engine were fine when I sold it with almost 100,000 miles on the clock.
It got me through drivers' school and a couple of seasons of HSAX. The important lesson learned was that I was not going to be a club champion in my class: my times were in the middle of the RX-7 bell curve, upgraded wheels and tires notwithstanding. And I began to get bored with it in street driving. Lack of power was my main complaint.
Ten years into the life of the car, I had two kids in college. My commute was in dense rush hour traffic. So I got a Ford Escort GT with an automatic transmission. It was OK basic transportation, but it won't get a blog post.
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