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Mazda rotary engine returning, in an autonomous Toyota delivery vehicle

With the return of the Toyota Supra, the Lotus Esprit and Mazda RX-7 probably share the trophy for hardcore sports cars we'd most like sequels for. The Esprit's too hopeless to consider. Mazda continues to speak in riddles about a new RX-7, but the company has confirmed that the RX-7's heart will return: The company's building a rotary-engined range-extender engine for an autonomous Toyota. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Toyota announced its e-Palette autonomous electric delivery vehicle. The e-Palette will come in bus, shuttle, and car versions to service the delivery needs of companies like Amazon, Pizza Hut, and Uber. They'll also be built in custom configurations such as mobile hotel rooms and emergency command centers. Toyota owns 5.25 percent of Mazda, the two automakers recently signed a deal to open a factory in Alabama, and Mazda's known for ace work with small engines. It's not surprising that Toyota chose Mazda for help with the e-Palette, but the rotary aspect is novel. Mazda U.S. president Masahiro Moro said, "This is a very suitable engine to run a generator because it's compact and lightweight, with no noise or vibration, and it has very good fuel economy." There have been rumors of this development previously, as far back as 2016, then again last October in reference to an electric architecture Mazda intended for release in 2019, but Toyota was never mentioned. As to pining for that RX-7 redux, Mazda's head of powertrain said the company's overcome the technical issues of a sports-car-sized rotary engine — the challenge is making a business case for such a sports car. We think the RX-VISION made the case three years ago, and it's already fitted with the Skyactiv-R rotary. Separately, a Toyota spokesman added that the two companies are looking into whether the rotary can be useful beyond the electric car. That's not much to go on when it comes to pining for another RX-7, but hope lives on a scanty diet. Related Video:

Trucks, SUVs drive U.S. October new vehicle sales

DETROIT — Major automakers posted mixed U.S. new vehicle sales in October on Wednesday, though America's love affair with high-margin pickup trucks and SUVs remained in full bloom as larger, pricier vehicles fared better than passenger cars. Auto industry publication WardsAuto put the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales in October at a robust level of 18 million units. But after a long boom cycle, carmakers are still ill-prepared for the slight decline in sales anticipated for full-year 2017 and have taken too few steps to trim production, said Doug Mehl, a partner in consultancy A.T. Kearney's automotive practice. "When you make a new vehicle, you have volume assumptions tagged to it, and who wants to be the guy who says, 'I'm going to make less of this really cool model'?" Mehl said. "But eventually the market is the reality, and it's going to force companies one way or other here." General Motors GM reported a sales drop of 2.2 percent for the month, with consumer sales down 6.6 percent. But sales of high-margin pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers all rose. GM also cut its inventory of unsold vehicles — a source of concern for the market — slightly. The automaker has worked to reduce its volume of excess inventory, including through significant production shutdowns in the third quarter. GM had said its inventory would rise in October. "We are heading into the fourth quarter with good momentum, thanks to a strong U.S. economy and very strong pickup and crossover sales," said Kurt McNeil, GM vice president for U.S. sales operations. GM slightly reduced consumer discounts as a percentage of average transaction prices to 13.5 percent, from 13.7 percent in the third quarter. Industry experts believe consumer discounts above 10 percent of the average transaction price are unhealthy as they erode resale values and are unsustainable in the long term. Consultants J.D. Power and LMC said last week that based on preliminary October sales numbers, discounts have exceeded 10 percent in 15 of the past 16 months. Ford The U.S. auto industry posted record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. New sales received a strong boost in September as consumers replaced vehicles damaged in southeast Texas by Hurricane Harvey the previous month. Full-year 2017 sales are expected to be slightly lower than 2016.

Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche Mission E charging for Tesla, net zero energy Toyota dealership

Porsche has confirmed that its Mission E charging infrastructure will also work with Tesla vehicles. The ultra-fast, 800-volt charging system will recharge the Mission E to 80 percent in about 15 minutes, and will also service new EVs from Volkswagen and Audi. Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told Top Gear that development of the charging infrastructure "sounds easy but getting the details agreed is hard. We already have the clear technical concept. It can even work with Teslas, with an adapter." Dieter Zetsche, Head of Mercedes-Benz, also tells Top Gear that they are "in talks" with Porsche regarding charging infrastructure. Read more at Top Gear, or from Electrek. An Oregon Toyota dealership is set to be the world's first net zero energy automotive dealership. The newly constructed, LEED Platinum certified Toyota of Corvallis produces more energy than it consumes, for which it is expected to receive Net Zero Energy certification. The 34,800-square-foot building is equipped with enough solar panels to produce as much energy that the dealership will use, with excess being put back into the grid, which will help during hours of peak demand. Toyota Motor Sales regional manager Steve Haag calls Toyota of Corvallis, "a first-of-its-kind template for the auto dealership of the future." Read more from Toyota. Valeo has introduced a new 48-volt hybrid system. The 48V e4Sport, as it is called, uses a 48-volt battery, electric starter-generator, electric supercharger, and eRAD electric rear axle drive for all-wheel drive. It maximizes regenerative braking and stores that energy for increasing torque with the starter-generator, and increasing acceleration with the electric supercharger. The system also supports all-electric driving modes. Valeo says the system is applicable across all vehicle segments, and works with both gasoline and diesel engines. Read more at Green Car Congress. PSA Group has created its own mobility solutions brand, called Free2Move. Free2Move will handle programs like car sharing, connected services, corporate fleet services, and affordable leasing programs for Peugeot, Citroen, DS, and other PSA partners. "For the PSA Group, mobility means not only making and selling excellent cars, but also offering a full range of mobility solutions," says PSA Group VP of Mobility Services Gregoire Olivier.