David Lane at SevenStock
Since I started my appreciation for the quirky car known as the First Generation Mazda RX7, one of the people who has halped me learn all of the ins and out of the workings of the car has been David Lane. David has owned a 1985 RX7 GSL-SE since it was new. That happens to be the same year and model as my car. In his years of ownership David has subtley upgraded his car constantly. Today he has an incredible performing sports car. The car is original paint that looks phenominal. He loved the car, but wanted to make it a little better in every parameter, but still not lose the character of the GSL-SE. I had the good fortune of driving David’s car about a year and a half ago. He has achieved his goal to perfection.
David was invited to travel across the country and give the opening presentation at an event called SevenStock. SevenStock is the yearly pilgrimage to southern California where Mazda opens their doors to us, the rotary enthusiast, and allow the event at the Corporate HQs in Irvine. Mazda RX enthusiasts get together and celebrate one of the greatest sports cars of all time the Mazda RX-7, and the greatest engine ever, the Rotary!
With David’s permission I have reporduced his SevenStock intorduction here. At the end I let you see a few pictures of David’s wonderful RX7 that simply don’t do the car justice.
I had the pleasure of opening the presentations at the Sevenstock 10 banquet on Saturday, September 22nd. It was an honor to express my thoughts to friends and heros present. Several people suggested creating a version of the presentation for distribution on the internet. Here it is.
David Lane
1985 GSL-SE
Cartech Turbo
———————————————————-We are here tonight for various reasons–good, rational reasons for some of us, but I’m thinking that for MOST of us the reasons would be hard to explain to others. I’m not an automotive professional of any sort. I’m just a clarinet player. Yet it was….somehow…important for me to be with you today. The reason we get together, of course, is that we own GREAT cars. Mine is a 1985 RX-7. I’ve owned it since new.
And that’s what I want to talk about. Great Cars.
Collectors might tell us that a great car is one that is rare and gains value over time. Collectors don’t want to drive their great cars very much. It decreases the value, and makes them dusty. Collector cars are not the sort of cars I’m talking about. Their greatness typically resides in a motionless state–stationary on the grass at Pebble Beach, or on the auction block.
Exotic cars are not always great cars.
Costly, yes.
Relatively rare, yes.
Fun to drive?……..Sometimes.
Practical for us average types? Hardly. Even if we could squeeze the money together to buy one, we’d never be able to deal with the upkeep.Some might tell us that a great car requires the kind of power that results in instant immortality when the accelerator is pressed.
Two words: Bugeye Sprite.
So, What makes the kind of cars you and I drive GREAT cars.
Great cars were meant to be driven every day. There is no other way an owner can truly bond with a machine.
Great cars are visual candy. How many of you turn back to look at your car when you get just the right distance away? Research tells us that when a male sees a beautiful female, the physiological reaction is similar to the one a woman gets when she takes a bite of chocolate. That explains a lot of things, but certainly looking at a beautiful car is a pleasure of its own. After all, that’s what we have been doing all afternoon. At least looking at cars won’t make you fat, or get you fired for creating a hostile environment in the work place.
Great cars create great memories. Certainly we all have our favorite car stories–whether from the track, the street, or an event likethis one. But more than that, a great car creates memories in others. I can’t bring my 1st gen to an autocross without people stopping by:
“My Dad owned one of those.”
“I had an Aunt who drove a car like that to work every day.”
“I had 1983 RX-7. I beat the living hell outa that car for 70 thousand miles, and it never gave me a lick of trouble”
And–I knew it was going to happen eventually: “That’s an RX-7? I didn’t KNOW Mazda made an RX-7 that looked like that.”
I was putting gas in the car last week, when a fellow came up behind me and started to stare. All he said was: “Rotary!” I nodded myhead, and asked if he had owned one. “Not me,” he replied. “My brother.” I asked if he had a “pet car” in his past, and he had. A BMW 2002. Another great car.
Great cars are totally involving. Every sense is heightened when you are driving a great car–even if you are just moving the thing from one parking space to another. There are no words for this, but Mazda got it right when the little kid, who looked like one of the Munsters, whispered, “zoom zoom.”
It’s that quality in a car that makes you want to take the long way home.
It’s what makes you look at a twisty road, and wonder what would happen if you tried it just a little bit differently this time.
A great car doesn’t demand. It just wants to play.
There are highly capable cars out there that are simply too reserved to get excited about anything. You know the ones I mean–expensive, usually German, stylish, and capable of mighty feats. But most lack the spirit Mazda captures. It’s a happy puppy thing, responding to every move you make. “Come on! Let’s go for a ride!”
Great cars beget other great cars. It’s what happens when people like you and me take one of Mazda’s great cars, and make it our own. The results are, well, unpredictable, but as we all know, delightful.
….. which brings up the next item:
Great cars are not perfect cars. They are simply the cars worth fixing and worrying about.
Great Cars change lives. In 1967 I bought a Lotus Elan, and someone said: “Why not autocross it?” Three years later, my Mom was watching me get totally lost in a sea of cones when she struck up a conversation with a fellow enthusiast. She ended up marrying the gentleman.
In 1985 I bought the RX-7. A year later I put one of Corky Bell’s turbo kits on it–just to get even with the 5-liter Mustangs of the day. And here I am….
People thought I was nuts when I bought the Elan, and people thought I was nuts when I put the turbo on the RX-7.
They were right.
But sometimes you just have to do something quirky……and it can change your life.
Great Cars don’t just happen. They come from great people.
Great cars do not come from committees.
They do not come from bean counters.
They do not come from car companies that always play it safe.Great cars come from people of vision and passion. And in the hands of nut-balls like us, they morph into personal expressions of our dreams and desires.
Okay……and our pocketbooks.
Some of us dream of what would happen if our cars had just fifty more horsepower. Others dream of racing. At a quarter of a century old, 1st gen RX-7s are STILL being beat to death as Spec-7 racers on tracks across the country. Can you imagine a Spec-8 racing class in 2028? That’s what you can do with a truly great car.
So, here’s to the great people at Mazda who dream of great cars and bring them to market. And here’s to the great people who provide us with what we need to keep them running, and to make them our own.
And here’s to the great people who bring us together around the country–but especially here at Sevenstock.As a musician, I understand that the most powerful part of being human comes from our ability to feel; to be passionate; to experience life more fully. In truth, there are no words for it. But for people like us, it’s about great cars. And to paraphrase my favorite philosopher–Tom Lehrer: “When there are no words for what you wish to say, the least you can do is to SHUT UP. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
