2005 Mazda RX-8 in Peoria

Young America has changed. In Generation Y, silly things like war protests and civil rights movements have been tossed aside to make room for the important stuff. You know, vinyl graphics, huge blingin' dubs, and pounding car stereos. Whether you're drift-racing through the hills of SoCal or cruising South Beach, body kits and lowered suspensions are required, and you'd better be prepared to be made a fool of by some punk in a '92 Civic. Aftermarket performance parts sales are in the billions, and the fever has spread from L.A. to Kalamazoo to Timbuktu.

It is no surprise that Mazda wants a slice of the aftermarket pie. And what better time than now? The 3, the 6, the RX-8, and the Miata all have been on the market for a while, meaning the lights are out in the Mazda Party Hall. Success in the aftermarket is the corkscrew tugging at the top of the next bottle of Cristal-that's where Mazdaspeed comes into play.

Owners of Miatas, 6s, and RX-8s now can visit their local dealers to fulfill their wing and wheel desires. And if that isn't enough to lure you from late-night Google searches for the shift knob of your dreams, parts installed by Mazda technicians are covered by the original warranty, whereas self-installed parts are covered for a year.

Unlike the Mazdaspeed Miata and the upcoming 6, which differ slightly in appearance from their regular, higher-production counterparts, the Mazdaspeed-accessorized RX-8 is adorned with gobs of boy-racer goodies. Extended air inlets and a ground-scraping lip spoiler make the front end look like a cow-catcher, and low-slung side skirts and a rear under-spoiler join in to make the car so low it doesn't fit through a standard car wash. Which is actually a good thing, considering the danger of the flimsy adjustable rear wing adjusting itself right off the car with one swift swing of the scrub brush.... Read full article