I've not driven the automatic version, so I can't comment on it specifically, but I love the RX-8, as you know. Let me know how the test drive goes!
One thing to note about the automatic: there are a lot of rumors that the '05 version will improve it from a 4-speed to a 5-speed. This means two things, first you'll be able to get an '04 4-speed for pretty cheap if you wait a little bit (dealers selling off their remaining models, people selling their newish models to upgrade, etc) or if you get the 5-speed, it will have better performance, probably.
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One thing to note about the automatic: there are a lot of rumors that the '05 version will improve it from a 4-speed to a 5-speed. This means two things, first you'll be able to get an '04 4-speed for pretty cheap if you wait a little bit (dealers selling off their remaining models, people selling their newish models to upgrade, etc) or if you get the 5-speed, it will have better performance, probably.