The race towards high-mileage, low emission cars is on – and the big boys are taking the alternative fuels route. Chevrolet’s taking on the electric car with the Chevy Volt while Toyota and Honda are continuing to market their hybrid gas-electric engines for sale. The futuristic, bright green cars are a novel delight to consumers looking on, but Mazda has taken another approach that might be even more refreshing.
Mazda, which has been forced to pinch pennies perhaps more than any other foreign automaker, simply doesn’t have the budget to reinvent the wheel (or engine) . Instead, Mazda is focusing its efforts on streamlining conventional automotive technology to create a lighter, more efficient vehicle. The key: improve Mazda engines and Mazda transmissions and make the whole car weigh less. Mazda isn’t delving into exotic new technologies – they are looking to optimize the internal combustion engine. In doing so, Mazda believes it can improve its gas mileage by 30% by 2015.
Mazda is calling the entire initiative “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom.” One of the keys to getting more mileage out of the Mazda is to cut down on the weight. The aim is to drop 220 pounds from each model by slimming down the chassis with lighter-weight structural materials and new bonding techniques. One of the main issues with reducing weight, however, is the perceived deficit in safety ratings that will result. High-end models, such as BMWs, use carbon-fiber roofs to cut down on weight without compromising safety – but few details have emerged on how Mazda plans on addressing this tradeoff in a cost-effective manner.
As for the transmissions, Mazda’s new transmission will purportedly “all but eliminate slippage in gear changes” which is expected to improve fuel economy by up to 7%.
Mazda has also developed the Smart Idle Stop System (SISS) which is said to improve fuel economy by about 10% in urban areas where stop and go traffic is frequent. The SISS saves fuel by shutting down the engine automatically when the car is stationary and automatically restarting when the driver resumes driving. This differs from typical engine startups in that it doesn’t use a spark plug. The Mazda SISS restarts the engine using combustion and can purportedly restart the engine in 0.35 seconds. Drivers should feel “no delay when resuming their drive.”
Mazda also plans on introducing a new generation of gasoline rotary engines that will be developed and integrated in the beginning of 2010.
All in all, Mazda will remain an interesting automaker to watch as car manufacturers reinvent themselves to be more fuel efficient.
