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Why Mazda’s Skyactiv-X compression-ignition engine is a smart hedge bet

Mazda has cracked the code on a compression-ignition engine, called Skyactiv-X (which utilizes SCCI, or Spark Controlled Compression Ignition). That's a neat engineering accomplishment, sure, but why is the tiny company investing big dollars in fancy tech that's frustrated the much larger companies who've investigated it? In this case, Mazda is peering into a crystal ball to consider how best to flow with a few troubling tides. One is the premature handwringing about the death of the internal combustion engine, another is Europe's swing away from diesel engines. Skyactiv-X seems, at this juncture, a hedge bet against both aspects. EV infrastructure lags massively behind our petroleum infrastructure — no shock there. Mazda claims the tech will net 20-30 percent gains in fuel efficiency over its current gasoline engines and about matching its diesel engine. And that's without any onboard hybrid tech, so that staves off the inevitable necessity to fully adopt electrification for a while — this is assuming that, at some point, it won't be practical to sell a non-hybrid or non-EV. At what date that happens is open to debate, but as I said above, technology like this kicks that decision point down the road a bit. Mazda is here translating research dollars into time, allowing its engine factories a few more years of probably profitable production of internal-combustion engines before retooling, and before somebody needs to pour a massive amount of money into a broad EV charging infrastructure to replace gas stations. None of this is happening fast enough for a wholesale transition to EVs anytime soon. So, that's one bet hedged. The next is Europe's declining interest in diesel engines for mainly health reasons. Just about a week ago, The New York Times posted an excellent primer on this issue, which is somewhat controversial in Europe. Germany's auto industry, a huge portion of its economy, is heavily invested in diesel tech and seriously opposed to proposals in Britain and France to eliminate the technology, which creates unhealthy diesel particulate emissions. The German industry is hoping Band-Aids like pollution-reducing measures will help them, but after a massive and widespread emission cheating scandal, its credibility is at a nadir. It seems like consumers have sensed which way the wind is blowing, and it has hurt sales. The NYT reports that diesel sales in Germany alone — remember, bastion and originator of diesel technology — are down 13 percent.

2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata First Drive Review | More power is the icing on top

SAN DIEGO — When Mazda announced that the 2019 Mazda MX-5 Miata was getting a serious increase in power, I was both excited and nervous. I was excited because more power is always exciting, and it was no insubstantial increase. At 181 horsepower, it's the most powerful production Miata ever offered, beating out turbocharged Mazdaspeed Miata's 178 horsepower. Plus it has more revs to play with. But what had me worried was whether this power would mess up the friendly, playful character of the Miata. The 155-horsepower 2.0-liter engine is just about perfect, almost universally loved by the Autoblog staff and other reviewers, with good midrange torque and short gearing that always made it feel quick in nearly every rev range. It felt like the right amount of power for the chassis, too. There was just enough to get it loose without working too hard, but it wouldn't spin you around unexpectedly. I could imagine a couple of ways the new engine could affect that sweet balance, too. A bit too much power could risk some of the Miata's accessibility and predictability. It might become more serious and less fun-loving. I also feared that in pursuit of a higher redline and more horsepower, the low-end of the rev range might become painfully slow. Honda owners know this feeling whenever their VTEC-equipped screamers drop out of the aggressive cam profile, and the Toyota 86 and BRZ suffer from an awful lack of torque right in the mid-range that doesn't recover until nearly redline. All of this was on my mind when the assembled reviewers were briefed by Mazda engineers about the car. It started out like most presentations, with a brief rundown of the goals of the car and what Mazda has done with the model so far. Then came a chart showing the power curves of the NC, current ND, and the 2019 model, and my fear of a loss of low-end grunt dissipated. The amount of power and torque over engine speed is nearly identical between the old and new ND Miatas right up to around 4,500 rpm. And then from there, the 2019 continues making more power all the way to its 181-horse peak at 7,000 rpm, 500 rpm higher than the previous model's redline. This was a good sign. Mazda managed to get these gains with no sacrifices through many small upgrades. The throttle body is wider with a slimmer throttle plate, the intake manifold has longer runners and dual paths, and the intake ports are larger.

2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata has arrived

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata. The highly anticipated fourth-generation (ND) model made its official debut in Monterey, CA this evening, and while details are slim (as in, we have practically none), there's one big thing to talk about: less weight.
Yes, Mazda has confirmed that the new Miata sheds some 220 pounds over the model it replaces, and is "the most compact of any generation MX-5 so far." For those keeping track, that means the new MX-5 should weigh in somewhere around 2,200 pounds.
Mazda's Kodo design language is obvious here, with a seriously wide and low demeanor, and a mix of flowing lines and sharp angles. We don't have any powertrain details to report as of this writing, but Mazda says the full suite of Skyactiv technologies are onboard, and the motto in creating this car was "Innovate in order to preserve."