2011 Mazda Cx-9 Sport on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mazda CEO says rotary not viable, so don't look for a new one

We have some very sad news to report, rotor-heads fans: Don't expect a new rotary-powered vehicle anytime soon. This comes straight from Masamichi Kogai, the CEO of Mazda, which is the only company to ever market a commercially successful rotary-powered automobile in the world. The issue, as it has pretty much always been, is environmental.
While the Wankel rotary engine does indeed make a lot of power in a small, lightweight package, it does so while burning lots of fuel and emitting lots of noxious gases into the atmosphere, at least when running on gasoline. And that means the rotary engine will likely only ever be able to power niche vehicles. And that, in turn, means that it is very difficult to turn a profit on vehicles with rotary engines, particularly for a small automaker like Mazda.
"It has to be a viable commercial proposition. If we are going to adopt it, it has to be a product that can generate at least sales of 100,000 units a year. We have to be able to achieve a profit," said Kogai in an interview with Automotive News. Mazda sold 56,203 RX-7 models in the United States (the automaker's biggest market) in 1986. Sales of the RX-8 peaked in 2004, its first full year on the market, with just 23,690 units.

Mazdaspeed2 supermini hot hatch under consideration

Though the Ford Fiesta ST and Fiat 500 Abarth (and arguably the Mini Cooper S) may stand pretty much alone in the North American market, in overseas markets, supermini hot hatches are a big deal. Unfortunately, challengers like the Volkswagen Polo GTI, Seat Ibiza Cupra and Renault Clio RS 200 Turbo never make it to our showrooms, but word has it that there's soon to be a new entry on the market.
That would be the Mazdaspeed2, which would be badged in certain markets as the Mazda2 MPS. Speaking with Australian site CarAdvice.com.au at the launch of the Mazda2 on which it would be based, the Japanese automaker's global sales chief and the hatchback's deputy product manager hinted that such a product is definitely being discussed, even if it hasn't yet been approved.
This wouldn't be the first time such a notion were entertained, as Mazda has shown numerous performance concepts based on the previous Mazda2/Demio over the years, but none have come to fruition.

Mazda CX-5 in auto-brake accident on Japanese test drive

As we slowly march towards a world where our cars will drive for us, there will be mishaps. Systems will act up, not behave has intended or we'll simply forget to turn them on. We all remember when Volvo tested the S60's City Safety system. Now Mazda has had an issue of its own.
During a test of a Mazda CX-5's Smart City Brake Support on a dealership lot in Japan, a prospective customer and a dealership employee were injured when they hit a urethane barrier used for testing the system. According to Bloomberg, which spoke with the Saitama Prefectural Police, the impact with the barrier left the customer with an injured neck while the dealership employee suffered a fractured arm. Considering the injuries, we imagine this wasn't a small barrier.
"For any safety function, it's impossible to be 100-percent free of accidents. These technical functions aren't always the easiest to understand," IHS Automotive auto parts analyst, Hiroshi Ataka told Bloomberg.