1990 Mazda Rx7 Gtus on 2040-cars

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Mazda's game plan: Compression ignition, superchargers, EVs — and still fun to drive

Today, Mazda announced its new Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030 initiative. Dumb marketingspeak name aside, this is Mazda's general plan to make its cars more efficient while still keeping Mazda's fun-to-drive character. The most notable part of this announcement is Mazda's new Skyactiv-X engines and the addition of EVs and electrified powertrains starting in 2019. As we reported back in January, this new supercharged Skyactiv-X engine family will be the first to use high-compression ignition, or HCCI, rather than traditional spark plugs. Each year, fuel economy and CO2 emissions standards grow ever tighter. Each and every automaker around is looking for ways to improve both factors. Initially, most have chosen to downsize engines and add turbochargers. That's why Mazda's new Skyactiv-X engines are going to be so special. They essentially work like a diesel engine, using extremely high compression to ignite the fuel rather than the flame from a spark plug. Adding a supercharger rather than a turbo retains a smooth and immediate engine response. Look for a 10 to 30 percent increase in torque and a sizable boost in fuel economy. Mazda's engine already have some of the highest compression ratios around, but these new engines will push well into diesel territory. The biggest issue so far with gasoline compression ignition is controlling when the gasoline ignites. Mazda claims to have solved this issue, seamlessly moving from spark to compression ignition. This new plan comes 10 years after the first Sustainable Zoom-Zoom initiative was announced. With Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030, Mazda wants to focus on the Earth, society, and people. Together with the new engines, Mazda hopes to create a sustainable future that still involves engaging and fun-to-drive automobiles. First, Mazda wants to consider emissions over the entire life of a car. That means reducing emissions generated while building the car or fueling and charging a car in addition to those released while it's on the road. The goal is to reduce emissions to 50 percent of 2010 levels by 2030, and a 90 percent reduction by 2050. New electrified models will debut in 2019 in markets that have a high ratio of clean energy for power generation. Mazda's focus on society aims to improve safety with the Mazda Proactive Safety philosophy. Like with Skyactiv, this ethos goes far beyond simply improving an engine or adding new active safety technology.

2020 Nissan Maxima and Pathfinder Rock Creek | Autoblog Podcast #602

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Assistant Editor Zac Palmer. This week, they've been driving the Nissan Maxima, Mercedes-Benz Metris Cargo Van, Mazda3 sedan and Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek, and they talk about their experiences with those vehicles. Then, in the Spend My Money segment, they help a viewer from Autoblog's Twitch stream pick a used pickup. Autoblog Podcast #602 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2020 Nissan Maxima 2019 Mercedes-Benz Metris Cargo Van 2019 Mazda3 sedan 2020 Nissan Pathfinder Rock Creek Edition Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2019 Mazda CX-9 improves its IIHS rating to Top Safety Pick +

The 2019 Mazda CX-9 three-row crossover has managed to improve its overall safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety from an already respectable Top Safety Pick to the higher Top Safety Pick +. The area it needed to improve was in the headlight department, and now the crossover features a set of headlights that gets the highest "Good" rating, a prerequisite for the Top Safety Pick + award. The headlight improvement does have caveats. The top-rated headlights are only available on Signature and Grand Touring trims built after June 2019. Headlights on other trims and older models range from "Poor" to "Acceptable." All versions of the CX-9 have top scores in crash tests, though. Mazda's optional forward collision prevention system also earns full marks, stopping the crossover before hitting a car at speeds up to 25 mph. Child seat LATCH anchor access is rated as "Acceptable." Four other similarly sized and priced crossovers earn the Top Safety Pick + designation: the Hyundai Palisade, Hyundai Santa Fe, Subaru Ascent and Kia Telluride. And of those, only the Pallisade, Ascent and Telluride offer three rows of seating.