The RX-7 is a small automobile produced by Mazda corporation. It incorporates rotary engine technology, unlike most automobiles, which employ piston engines. The upshot of this is that RX-7s sound funny, go fast, and are nearly impossible to get serviced.

RX-7s are also stylish - they're small, sleek, and have pop-up headlights. This upshot of all this is that they're pretty expensive and have high insurance premiums. If you want to impress people and drive at twice the speed limit, getting an RX-7 is a good way to go about it. If you want to get from point A from point B with a minimum of fuss, you should probably buy a bicycle.

Three generations of the RX-7 were produced, each one more powerful, sexy, and above all, more expensive than the previous one:

• The first was produced from 1979 to 1985 and a used one in good condition will cost about US$2,000.

• The second generation was produced from 1986 to 1991 and costs around US$5,000 second-hand.

• The third generation was produced from 1993 - 1995, costs US$15,000 to $20,000, pulls a massive 255 horsepower, and could probably outrun police cars nicely.

Sadly, production of the RX-7 was discontinued after 1995 due to low sales. This was probably due to the fact that the car was created for one purpose only: to go very fast. To this end, comfort and affordability were both sacrificed. Thus, the RX-7 was geared to that demographic of 'rich people who like fast, uncomfortable cars' without realising that what rich people actually want are fast, comfortable cars, so in the end, the RX-7 perished.