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Mazda development chief discusses future rotary platform

The switch can again be flicked from "The Rotary Engine is Doomed" to "The Rotary Engine Lives!" Mazda is re-tooling the once nearly forgotten rotary to work as a range extender for hybrid vehicles, with a chance for it to do even more than that. The latest information sounds rather promising for those still holding out a candle for the rotary. Mazda's powertrain development chief, Ichiro Hirose discussed future rotary plans with the Australian Drive at the CX-30 crossover's launch. Hirose told Australia's Drive that Mazda is currently working with a very flexible and efficient rotary hybrid platform that doesn't necessarily come with the heavy emissions and fuel consumption baggage the rotary engine has earlier been saddled with. Hirose calls the rotary-based solution "XEV," referring to its adaptability. "It has the generator function and also it can be used to provide the drive force to give you traction. [...] Because the rotary engine is compact in terms of its packaging size [and] if we should choose to do so we can have the generator, rotary engine and electric motor all in one [driveline] because of the small packaging." The result is an electrified platform that could be made to work as a mild hybrid, series hybrid or a battery electric vehicle with a rotary range extender (if given a plug), depending of the required implementation. It's as if Mazda had a slider to adjust the balance of using a rotary engine and using electric power, to make the platform more of a jack-of-all-trades. Hirose explained: "If you reduce the other way around it could be a pure battery-electric, using really the rotary engine as a range extender and, according to the balance, you can even provide something akin to the series hybrid that is providing the drive force. [...] So, we are looking at a wider coverage and scope. Based on this architecture it allows us to do that, to explore the huge range of applications we can have with the rotary." The platform would also be flexible when it comes to meeting various stringent emissions standards. To be able to sell XEV-based vehicles globally would mean introducing a certain setup for one region and one for another, keeping in mind when the rotary power would kick in and how. While Hirose keeps the question open whether these vehicles would make it for sale in the United States, he says Mazda would be able to make them pass U.S regulations. "I'm just saying that — theoretically — if we were to introduce it in the U.S.

Lexus tops Consumer Reports reliability rankings, unseating Mazda

Lexus is back on top of Consumer Reports' annual reliability rankings. Toyota Motor Corp's luxury division dethrones last year's winner, upstart Mazda, to second place, while the Toyota brand itself rounds out the podium in third place. In general, while Asian brands topped the list, Europeans ranked second, and domestics brought up the rear.  Lexus' high marks stem from the Land Cruiser Prado-based GX SUV, which got a perfect score of 100. Mazda's second place finish was the result of strong showings by the Miata, CX-9, CX-5, and CX-30, but dragged down by the Mazda 3's mid-pack score. Likewise, nearly all of Toyota's lineup, from Prius to Avalon, all had very high marks, but the RAV4 and Corolla Hatchback brought down the class average. Like last year, the only American brand to break into the top ten was Buick, which ranked 5th thanks to good scores for the Envision and Encore (though the Enclave ranked sub-par). Eight of the top 10 brands were Japanese, with Infiniti in 4th, and Honda, Subaru, Acura and Nissan following Buick in that order. Mini, in 10th place, was the only European brand in the top 10. The bottom spots went to Jeep, Tesla, and once again Lincoln in dead last. While all Lincolns received poor scores, the Aviator was notable for getting only 3 points out of 100. Similarly, last year's lowest-scoring vehicle was the Ford Explorer, with which the Aviator shares a platform. It wasn't all gloom from the domestics, however. The Chevrolet Trailblazer tied the Lexus GX with a perfect score, but overall Chevy brand ranked 14th, pulled down by the Corvette, Silverado 1500 and Tahoe. The Tahoe tied with the GMC Yukon with the lowest scores this year, just 2 points each. Both the Silverado 2500HD and the nearly identical GMC Sierra 2500HD were among to top scoring American vehicles, along with the Ford Bronco Sport, Mustang Mach E, Ranger and Chrysler 300. Consumer Reports also points out that the oft-said line that electric vehicles are less prone to problems due to fewer moving parts isn't necessarily true. The Audi E-Tron and Tesla Model X each got a score of 5, the lowest of their respective brands, due to more and more technology being crammed into these higher-priced EVs. For a complete list of rankings by company and of individual models, check out the full study at Consumer Reports. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).