1993 Mazda Rx-7 Touring Coupe 2-door 1.3l on 2040-cars

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Mazda still really wants to bring diesels to America

Mazda's Skyactiv program has delivered much of what it promised for the brand's latest crop of products, namely great fuel economy and excellent driving dynamics. However, the Skyactiv diesel engine has yet to reach our shores. It's been promised ever since the new Mazda6 showed up here for the 2014 model year. According to a new report from Automotive News, Mazda's CEO Masamichi Kogai said that the Mazda Skyactiv D diesel powertrain is still set to make an American appearance. He told Automotive News that there is an internal timeline to get it to the States, and while he didn't reveal the timeline, he said he wants it to come here before he steps down as CEO. The powertrain is offered elsewhere, so it fits in the company's current vehicles, but the US has specific regulatory hurdles, and the engine's extra cost has to make sense from a sales and volume perspective. We doubt VW's diesel scandal helped the engine's sales pitch, either. Automotive News also reports that the next generation of Skyactiv designs and engines are also on their way and will advance and improve on the current generation's strengths. Engineers revealed to Automotive News that they expect a 30 percent improvement in efficiency and are developing an engine with the sky-high compression ratio of 18:1. This impressive ratio could be a further indication of Mazda's pursuit of homogenous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engines. Mazda has had plenty of success with its strategy of making very efficient internal-combustion engines, but there are some concerns that the company can only improve so much. The main worry comes from the company's lack of investment in hybrid and electric powertrains. Even Mazda's North American CEO Masahiro Moro expressed concern about meeting a 54.5 mpg mandate for 2025. That mandate will no longer take effect, but increasing fuel economy requirements will always be an issue. Related Video:

Watch what happens inside a rotary engine

Since it looks like Mazda may very well revive the Wankel rotary engine as a range extender for electric cars, there's no better time to become reacquainted with the quirky internal-combustion engine. And there's hardly a better way to become reacquainted than by peering into a running rotary engine, which you can do with the video above. The video comes to us from the YouTube channel Warped Perception. The channel has already shown what happens inside a conventional internal-combustion piston engine by putting a clear cylinder head on top of a flathead engine. This new video shows off the rotary engine by adding a clear side to a tiny model-airplane engine, something that we weren't aware existed and are glad to know about now. Despite the tiny size, the engine is functionally almost exactly like the bigger versions you'll find in Mazdas from about 1967 to 2012. It has intake and exhaust ports on the edges of the rotor housing, and the triangular rotor swings about in a peanut-shaped housing. For maximum effect, jump to right around the 7:40 timestamp. This is the point at which a bit of acetylene is added to the air-fuel mix for a brighter flame. It's at this point that you can really see when the mixture combusts and how the pressure of the flame pushes the rotor to produce rotational motion. Each stage of the video does slow things down to make everything as clear as possible. Even if you already knew how rotary engines worked, it's still fascinating to watch, first because it's something you don't get to see usually, and also because of the engine's elegant simplicity. Related Video: Image Credit: YouTube / Warped Perception Weird Car News Mazda Technology Videos rotary rotary engine

Chicago Auto Show: The really big reveals from shows past

The 2024 Chicago Auto Show may seem like a shell of its former self, but it still holds the title of the largest consumer auto show in the United States. It didn't get that reputation simply by being efficiently produced or convenient for locals desperate for something to do in February — it earned it over decades of breaking automotive news and powerhouse reveals, eventually earning an informal designation as America's truck show.  2024 may be a down year for Chicago, but let's not forget all of the great things that have come out of it, historically. Here's a look at some of our staff favorites. Bet you didn't know about a few of these cars that were first revealed in the Windy City.    2008 Dodge Challenger SRT-8  I didn't just pick this one as a former Challenger owner, but instead to illustrate just how many cool Chicago debuts we take for granted. Chrysler often chose its home turf to debut new cars, so the few times its unveilings happened elsewhere tend to stick in our minds. The first Challenger SRT-8 was kind of garbage, if we're being honest. I mean, who buys a race-bred, V8-powered muscle car without a limited-slip differential? But the SRT-8 formula evolved over time into something truly special, and what we saw in Chicago was essentially the early version of the Scat Pack, which was ultimately very successful for Dodge. And who would have thought we'd be here, 15 years later, still talking about that debut? And still loving these big Mopars, flaws and all. — Associate Editor Byron Hurd SHO time in Chicago IÂ’ll always have a certain fondness for the return of the Taurus SHO at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show. Chicago has always leaned truck and van heavy for press reveals, but every now and then, as this list illustrates, something spicy would appear. The return of the SHO as a high-powered successor to the original that ran from 1989-1999 gave enthusiasts hope for FordÂ’s performance business, especially for sedans. With a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 packing 365 hp, all-wheel drive and five-spoke wheels, the SHO was a nice upgrade from the lower-rung Taurus models. It was a bit more sedate than the original SHOÂ’s Yamaha-sourced V6 that teamed with a five-speed manual transmission, but still a worthy response to the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and later the Chevy SS. The SHO — Super High Output — begat things like the Fusion ST and gave Ford solid four-door performance for the rest of the decade.