Mazda At 100 | The Quest For Sustainable And Fun Vehicles
July 14, 2020 by Mazda![Mazda At 100 | The Quest For Sustainable And Fun Vehicles](images/articleimages/mazda-sustainable-fun-01-400.jpg)
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Fast forward to the 1990s when, as most others were still talking about fuel cell vehicles, Mazda was already building one. Exhibited in 1997 in Kyoto, the Demio FCEV, powered by a compact hydrogen-based system, is considered one of the world's first viable fuel-cell passenger car concepts. Then, in 2001, the company began public road testing of the Premacy FCEV, which used a methanol reformer to convert methanol to hydrogen to power the fuel cells. Mazda has also harnessed the sun's energy. Its Bongo Sky Lounge, an E-Series based microbus from 1983, had solar-powered ventilation for the air conditioning. Ten years later, the Mazda 929 flagship was available in some markets with a similar system powered by solar cells embedded in the sunroof. As mentioned, lightweight design always played a prominent role at Mazda. But one vehicle – the Mazda MX-5 – would take the company's obsession with weight reduction to new heights. All the experience gathered in this field dating back to the R360 would go into the roadster. Launched in 1989, the MX-5 singlehandedly revived the market for affordable two-seaters. And not with wheel-spinning horsepower, but rather a minimalistic design (it weighed only 955kg), a smallish, efficient petrol engine, a perfectly balanced rear-drive layout, and a bespoke suspension tuned for outstanding handling and maximum fun. After four model generations and well over 1 million cars sold, it has proven a winning formula. The lightweight principles honed on the MX-5 have since found their way into every other Mazda model. The fascination with weight of Mazda engineers is stronger than ever as they strive to eliminate every unnecessary gram. It's a central element of Mazda's comprehensive approach to enhancing the efficiency of its vehicles today: Engineers exhaustively scrutinise the advantages and disadvantages of various options, whether they concern engines, transmissions, materials or safety, questioning industry conventions at every turn to come up with solutions that compromise as little as possible. This strategy fuelled the development of Skyactiv Technology, an innovative range of powertrain, car body and platform technology introduced to Europe in 2012 starting with the original Mazda CX-5. Take the engines, for example: With their lightweight materials, extreme compression ratios and unorthodox air intake set-ups, among other things, Mazda's Skyactiv-G petrol units deliver a unique combination of exceptional performance and outstanding real-world fuel economy with correspondingly low emissions. Never satisfied, Mazda took things even further with an entirely new kind of internal combustion engine. First revealed in 2017, the Spark Controlled Compression Ignition SPCCI, Skyactiv-X is the first ever mass-production petrol powerplant to use compression ignition, thus uniting the advantages of diesel-like fuel efficiency and petrol responsiveness. Both Skyactiv-X and Skyactiv-G combustion engines are currently available with the Mazda3 and CX-30, mated to Mazda M Hybrid mild-hybrid technology. And in May, Mazda began manufacturing the Mazda MX-30, its first purely electric production model. Featuring the new e-Skyactiv drive, the compact SUV will go on sale in the UK early in 2021. The powertrain approach, like the whole Skyactiv Technology programme, follows a specific objective: To sustainably minimise CO2 and other harmful emissions in real-world operation – and not only on paper -- while continually enhancing the experience of driving and owning a Mazda. It's something that hasn't changed for as long as the company has built cars.
posted on conceptcarz.com
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