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Mazda's new turbo four fits in both the 6 and the 3

Despite the size differences, the Mazda CX-9 shares a lot with its smaller car-based siblings, the Mazda6 and Mazda3. That could allow Mazda to slot its full-sizer's new 2.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine under the hood of its smaller offerings. Pardon us while we do a happy dance. "[The 2.5-liter turbo] fits in a lot of our cars, and where we're actually going to put it is another question," Mazda North America vehicle development engineer Dave Coleman told Australia's Car Advice. Coleman specified that the turbocharged engine will fit in all the same applications that can accommodate the company's 2.5-liter gas and diesel engines. "Basically, that big space we used for the bundle of snakes exhaust manifold, the turbo is in that space too. They're all packaged to occupy the same space. It's exactly the same clearance as the exhaust manifold of the other engines." This kind of logic – if Engine A is the same size as Engine B, then both should fit in Car C – is what's lead us to imagine a turbocharged Mazda6 since the new engine was announced. In short, it's great news. Mazda's 2.5-liter turbo is a hell of an engine in the CX-9, and it's hard to imagine it'd be worse in a lighter vehicle. But just because it works from an engineering standpoint doesn't mean it's going to happen. At least, not soon. "It fits. I'm not a product planner so I don't get to make that call," Coleman told Car Advice. "It's up to the product planners to decide what they're going to put it in." The most obvious application for a turbocharged engine in the 3 or 6 is as a reborn Mazdaspeed model. But don't get too excited – Coleman said Mazda hasn't even gotten as far as building an engineering prototype with this engine. We're still firmly at the theoretical stage. And that's bad news, because it gels with what we've been reporting – that Mazda will wait a generation for future Mazdaspeed models. We just stopped doing our happy dance. Related Video:

Miata buyers prefer a manual gearbox, says Mazda

Earlier, we wrote about Toyota's underwhelming 2018 manual transmission sales figures. To recap – as Toyota's representatives told CarBuzz – the automatic Corolla outsold its manual equivalent to a ratio of 100 to 1, and just one in three Toyota 86 buyers picked a manual version of the rear-drive coupe. What about the other famous rear-wheel-drive offering from Japan, Mazda's MX-5 Miata? A case can be made that an 86 buyer cross-shops the Miata, and vice-versa, but what kind of split do Mazda's sales figures reflect in comparison? We reached out to Mazda for some sales data, and PR program manager Tim Olson told us 76 percent of Miata soft-top buyers go for the classic stick-shift option, leaving just 24 percent of buyers preferring the automatic. Both transmission options for the Miata are six-speed. The figures are based on year-to-date sales data for the 181-hp 2019 Miata, from July 2018 through April 2019. Interestingly, the more coupe or targa-like, retractable hardtop RF variant takes a step towards the 86 when it comes to transmission choices. While RF buyers still preferred the manual, the split was far closer to half and half: 52% went for the manual, and 48% chose the automatic. Perhaps this reflects the RF's more grand tourer-like image, and it might also be indicative of the RF's higher pricing. If you're going to spend nearly $34,000 for a Miata, another $600 for an autobox doesn't necessarily mean that much – choosing the auto on the base, Sport trim level soft top roadster is a $1,350 bump instead. While the $26,650 base Sport isn't exactly spartan, on a roadster it's fine to have less cushiness. With the higher-specced Club trim level, the auto's price tag shrinks to the aforementioned $600, as it is on the RF Club. There's no base Sport for the RF, as the cheapest RF is the $33,865 Club. But still, the manual shifter's snick-snack feel is one of the Miata's classic traits that has been with it since its inception 30 years ago. Sources say fewer than 5% of the original first generation Miatas were made with an automatic gearbox, but it's obvious trends and tastes are changing – although to be fair, automatics are getting much better as well.

Mazda patents show rotary engine for range-extended EV

Two years ago, Mazda introduced a fascinating range-extended electric car called the Mazda2 RE Range-Extender. It took an electric Mazda2, and dropped in an itty-bitty 330cc rotary engine. It wasn't the rotary-powered sports car we had hoped for, but it seemed like a unique way to keep the quirky engine alive and kicking. But not long after the car's reveal, it seemed to disappear. Now the basic idea has resurfaced with a few modern updates in a couple of US patents. The first patent is pretty straightforward and describes a range-extended EV similar to the BMW i3. At the front is an electric motor driving the front wheels. At the back is an internal combustion engine that powers an electric generator. In the middle is a lithium-ion battery for storing and delivering electricity. It's the same set-up as that Mazda2. The second patent is for an engine start-and-stop system, but specifically for rotary engines. The system is designed to shut off a rotary engine when not needed, much as modern piston engines do. It also stops the rotor in a position that closes the intake port to ensure no fuel or exhaust emissions slip out through the intake tract. This is necessary since there are no valves in a rotary, and air and exhaust come through ports that are "opened" and "closed" by the rotor itself. The patent also describes the possibility of firing a spark plug after the fuel has been cut to eliminate any leftover fuel emissions. This system would theoretically improve a rotary engine's fuel economy and emissions significantly, which would be a boon as those are two of the rotary's major weaknesses. The rotary-engine patent also includes the same range-extended powertrain drawing as the first patent. It's there as a description of a possible application. And in such an application, where the rotary wouldn't have to run all the time, the system could take advantage of the rotary's inherent strengths. Weight can be kept low thanks to the engine's small dimensions, which should help in keeping the car sprightly and efficient. Rotaries are renowned for smoothness, too, so it shouldn't need too much refining and sound deadening, the latter of which adds more weight. The small size would also help with packaging, leaving more space for people, cargo, or possibly batteries. And since it has been patented, the company may be looking to bring the system to market.