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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday August 09 2017, @10:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the more-vroom-per-mile dept.

Submitted via IRC for AndyTheAbsurd

Mazda Motor Corp said it would become the world's first automaker to commercialize a much more efficient petrol engine using technology that deep-pocketed rivals have been trying to engineer for decades, a twist in an industry increasingly going electric.

The new compression ignition engine is 20 percent to 30 percent more fuel efficient than the Japanese automaker's current engines and uses a technology that has eluded the likes of Daimler AG and General Motors Co.

Mazda, with a research and development (R&D) budget a fraction of those of major peers, said it plans to sell cars with the new engine from 2019.

"It's a major breakthrough," said Ryoji Miyashita, chairman of automotive engineering company AEMSS Inc.

[...] A homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine ignites petrol through compression, eliminating spark plugs. Its fuel economy potentially matches that of a diesel engine without high emissions of nitrogen oxides or sooty particulates.

[...] AEMSS' Miyashita said a key issue would be how smooth and responsive the engine is.

"Is it jerky? If so, that would pose a big question when it comes to commercializing this technology." he said. "Hopefully Mazda has an answer to that question."

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mazda-strategy-idUSKBN1AO0E7


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  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday August 10 2017, @01:20AM (1 child)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Thursday August 10 2017, @01:20AM (#551392)

    Variable compression isn't hard at all today, thanks to Atkinson-cycle engines and variable-valve timing. Mazda's newest engines already employ this technology (basically, holding the exhaust valves open a bit longer when in Atkinson cycle, IIRC; the engines switch to Otto cycle at full throttle I believe).

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:09AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 10 2017, @04:09AM (#551441)

    You realize there's a difference between "hard to accomplish" and "hard to manufacture" right? Try making it as CHEAP and RELIABLE as current models. Now you've got a breakthrough.

    Damn near everything "new" takes 10-20 years before it hits the market. We've had prototype quantum computers. Prototype transistors that run at 100 GHZ. But can those transisters be made cheap enough and in high enough densities? Not yet.