Mazda has declared that by the middle of the decade they will have replaced their entire powertrain lineup and cut fuel consumption by 30 percent. On the powertrain side, engines will be upgraded across the board including a new direct injected wankel rotary. In 2009, a new Smart Idle Stop system will debut that restarts the engine using the direct injection system instead of the starter. Fuel will be sprayed directly into the cylinder and ignited to get the pistons moving. New gas engines will get direct injection and Mazda will add new clean diesels to the lineup worldwide as well as continuing to develop hydrogen-fueled engines.

Ford's Japanese affiliate intends to continue down the path begun with last years new Mazda2 and the new 6 this year by reducing the weight of new models. The trend of recent decades to higher powered engines has led to a cascading effect of increased mass to support the power. Mazda intends to reverse the process. From 2011, Mazda wants to cut at least 220lbs from new models.

[Source: Mazda]

click to enlarge

Unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show last fall, the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE hybrid is about to make its on-the-road debut in Japan. Mazda announced that the Japanese Ministry of Land Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) has granted permission to test the hydrogen- and gas-powered minivan on public roads. The new rotary engine and hybrid powertrain in the Premacy Hydrogen RE gives the vehicle more power (40 percent more, compared to the old setup) and offers a range of 200 km (124 miles). All of this makes Mazda confident it can complete road trials and begin commercially leasing the vehicle during fiscal 2008. The hydrogen car uses a plant-based biofabric for some of the seat covers and door trim. G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit attendees can get a view of Mazda's hydrogen rotary vehicles (the Premacy and RX-8) during next months' event. More details after the break.

Ford has been developing lots of different materials from renewable sources including the soyfoam that they introduced in the Mustang seats for 2008. Now Ford's Japanese affiliate Mazda has kicked off a new research program with hometown school Hiroshima University to develop a new type of plastic. Current plastics are largely made from petroleum-derived materials meaning that they too contribute to our fossil fuel dependency. Mazda's research is focused on creating a new bioplastic made from cellulosic biomass. Like cellulosic ethanol, the new bioplastic won't be made from food products.

Polypropelene is commonly used in automotive applications. Mazda will be working on developing processes to produce cellulosic ethanol and then transforming that into ethylene and propylene. The difficulty will making the processes both cost effective and environmentally friendly. The goal is to have the new processes ready to produce bioplastics by 2013.

[Source: Mazda]

The new Mazda2 has been a sport success for Mazda, selling almost 40,000 copies as of April since hitting the showrooms last October. A three-door version (above) was announced back in January and is now available to European customers. A 1.4 litre diesel engine is now also an option across the Mazda2 range and is cleaner and more efficient than the MZR gas engines. According to Mazda's own numbers (read them after the break), the breakdown goes like this:

• The gas-powered MZR 1.3 gets 43.5 mpg (U.S.) while emitting 129 g/km of CO₂.
• The gas-powered MZR 1.5 gets 40 mpg (U.S.) while emitting 140 g/km of CO₂.
• The diesel-powered MZ-CD 1.4 gets 54.7 mpg (U.S.) while emitting 114 g/km of CO₂.

All of these engines are mated to a five-speed manual tranny with higher gear rations that also reduce fuel use. One thing to note: those 114 grams make the Mazda2 with the MZ-CD 1.4 the Mazda production car with the lowest CO₂ emissions ever sold in Europe. The diesel will still generate 50 kW/68 PS at 4,000 rpm and 160 Nm of torque at a low 2,000 rpm for, in Mazda's words, "lively driving fun."

At October's Paris Motor Show, Mazda will be the latest manufacturer to unveil a new city car with the new 1. Based on this initial sketch, the micro sized 1 will apply the swoopy lines seen the company's recent concepts and apply them to a competitor for the VW up! and Toyota iQ. The concept version that will be shown in Paris may have sliding doors to ease entry and exit. In concept form, power may come from fuel cells and batteries although the production version will probably have either a small internal combustion engine or battery power.

[Source: AutoExpress]

The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan will honor Mazda next month for the automaker's research into combustion of catalysts in diesel particulate filters (DPFs). Mazda's goal, unsurprisingly, is to design future DPFs that burn up exhaust soot and other particulates better. Mazda's winning research looked at how a catalysts' oxygen exchange characteristics affect particle combustion, and the company has discovered ways to get the DPFs to clean the exhaust better. This is all lab work for now, but Mazda says that the discovery could lead to better DPFs in both automobiles - the Mazda2 diesel, we'd like to think, and whatever vehicles get Mazda's upcoming common-rail direct injection diesel turbo diesel engines - and general diesel engines in the future. More details after the jump.

Mazda introduced the Tribute hybrid at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show and initially sold it in small quantities in California. The first customers must have been happy and it seems that the hybrid SUV has now proven what it's capable of. The Tribute hybrid is now available throughout the United States available in California and there are no other plans to introduce it to other markets.

The Tribute is a full time hybrid which can run in EV mode up to 25 mph and has an I4 2.3 liter engine good for 133 HP, complemented by a 93HP electric engine mated to Nickel-Cadmium batteries. The car meets California's strict Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle requirements by achieving Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle II standards. Mileage is 34/30 mpg (hwy/city).


[Edited: The Tribute is only sold in CA]
[Source: SF Chronicle via Leblogauto]

Hybrids help you save gas at the pump, this is something we all know. We also know why burning less gasoline is good: fewer greenhouse gases are emitted to the atmosphere, it reduces our dependence on foreign oil and we spend less money at the pump. However, there is always the question about what is the overall impact of using a hybrid versus using a non-hybrid version. There are currently 17 hybrid models available in the U. S. market and all but one have a corresponding non-hybrid counterpart to compare with. As part of our Earth Day coverage today, we took a closer look at the following two questions:

• Question #1: How far can we drive with a hybrid powertrain compared to a non-hybrid?
• Question #2: When will the hybrid investment pay for itself through gas savings?

Before we go to the complete list let me explain the criteria we used. First of all we chose the "economy" powertrains, when we had the option. Therefore we'll be comparing mostly 4-cylinder models. In the case of SUVs, we chose the AWD/4WD versions. For a few models, we've compared them to the European diesel versions data, although this should be taken with a pinch of salt due to the EU's different driving cycles. Finally, we used $3.5/gal as the price of gasoline and added the car's MRSP price. Don't forget that some of these vehicles will qualify for various tax breaks, so you might have to recalculate our numbers for yourself. Got all that? Good, let's see the results (after the jump).

Do you have a fleet in the UK and you want to know how green it is? Business Car, which is specializes in cars for fleets, has taken CO₂ emission information for the three best-selling fleet models, the automaker's CO₂ reduction figures, as well as other considerations regarding low-emitting models across the range.

Their results are quite interesting. The top marques are, surprise, Toyota, not only because of the Prius, but thanks to clean diesel technology. Volkswagen follows, thanks to the availability of Bluemotion models across the range and a hybrid announcement. Third is Citroën, which has a lot of cars with low CO₂ emissions, although the same can't be said for the upper models. Fourth is BMW which has brought "ecology" to the luxury car segment.

On the negative side there's Saab, which struck out due to the Swedish marque's bet on biofuels and the lack of biofuel support in the UK, as well as the lack of availability of smaller models. Then there's Mercedes, which was hit because they don't (currently) have any green technology vehicles on sale; the company's larger cars are available, though. Closing our the four worst list is the Land Rover, with a high CO₂ average, and Mazda, which suffers due to a lack of an eco label. I bet they wish Econectic, parent Ford's green brand, could be handed down.

[Source: BusinessCar]

Click the Mazda6 for a high-res gallery

Here in the U.S. we have yet to get the new redesigned Mazda6 that debuted at last fall's Frankfurt Motor Show and word has it that when it does arrive stateside, the hatchback and wagon versions won't be included. Not so in Europe, where the enhanced utility variants have just gone on sale a few months behind the four-door sedan. Not only do the Europeans get extra portals on their Mazda6, they also get the option of a compression ignition engine. The new 6 has a newly redesigned 2.0L four-cylinder diesel engine called the MZR-CD. The turbodiesel engine has a common rail injection system with 6 hole injectors. With a diesel particulate filter the engine complies with Euro-IV emissions standards. Compared to the diesel in the previous-generation model, the new version uses 6.7 percent less fuel and gets an EU combined rating of 42mpg and CO₂ output of 149g/km. Power comes at the rate of 140hp with 243lb-ft of torque. What will it take for manufacturers to finally start giving American drivers the option of a stylish, mainstream mid-sized car that gets over 40mpg? Come on, let's go get on the stick.


[Source: Mazda]

A year after it debuted in Geneva as a stylish little five-door hatchback, the Mazda2 is adding a new member to the family at this year's Geneva Motor Show. A three-door hatch will be joining the Mazda2 lineup for the first time. The three-door gets the same 1.3 and 1.5L gas and 1.4L diesel engine options as its more accessible sibling. Even with two fewer doors, this model is still the same size, it just has a sportier look.

[Source: Mazda]

The first video below the fold is Mazda's Director of Design, Franz von Holzhausen talking about the Furai concept at the Detroit Auto Show. The Furai is a racing concept that runs on E100 (100 percent ethanol) and the car's design is inspired by the wind. The video includes a look at a really cool pop-up wing in the middle of the Furai.

The second video below the fold is the Furai on the race track with sounds you really have to hear. You will never believe that's corn ethanol making that noise. Also below the fold is a video that takes a look at the inside of the Furai and its very cool steering wheel.

Related:

• Detroit 2008 Preview: Mazda Furai concept
• Detroit 2008 Preview: Mazda Furai completely exposed

[Source: YouTube]

High school student Andrew Angellotti contacted AutoblogGreen last fall to tell us about his 1988 Mazda B2200 pickup truck that he converted into an electric vehicle, taking nine months to learn how to do it and getting seriously DIY on the project. Our friend at Michigan Public Radio, Dustin Dwyer, was able to spend some with with Angellotti and an update on the teen and his truck was broadcast this week.

Angellotti put 20 "basically golf cart" batteries into his truck; most (16) take up lots of space in the bed. The batteries give him a 40-mile range from a 10-hour charge. Considering that the truck's heat originally came from the engine, the EV doesn't have a warm cab any more, which must make for some tough driving these days. Still, Angellotti is pretty darn happy with his homemade truck. As he told Dustin, "There were quite a few points during the project, during you know, kind of a hard part, I'd start thinking, you know, for six thousand dollars I could have a really cool car. But, you know, I woke up the next morning and I'm like, 'But nobody else is going to have an electric car. So I decided to keep going with it." We're glad he did.

Listen to the report here or read the transcript here.

UPDATE: Andrew was kind enough to send us some more pictures of his truck and, as you can see in the gallery below, he is making progress on his second conversion, a Toyota Tercel.

LATER UPDATE: Yes, he has a heater.

Mazda has announced its new line-up of gasoline engines using direct injection, which comes after Ford's announcement of its Ecoboost range of engines. The name Mazda chose for this technology is DISI, which stands for Direct Injection Spark Ignition.

First of all, Mazda has a new I-4 DISI 2-liter gasoline engine. DISI includes a whole new set of innovations for gasoline engines. To mention a few, direct injection (including cooling the air-gasoline mixture), a new combustion chamber geometry, variable timing technology, and nanotechnology for the catalyst. This all makes the engines consume 20 percent less while getting 15 to 20 percent better performance.

Mazda has announced further developments for its diesels: new direct injection technology (most European automakers are switching to piezoelectric injectors), making the engine lighter, DPF, and urea technology to reduce NOx emissions

And, last but not least, Mazda spoke about its latest iteration of Renesis, the famous rotary engine: increasing the size, improving the shape of the rotor, and using direct injection and aluminum side housing.

Find the complete press release after the jump.

[Source: Mazda]

Last fall, the Chevy Tahoe 2-mode Hybrid won the Green Car of the Year award at the LA Auto Show. The hybrid SUV couldn't pull off a similar victory in today's North American Truck of the Year award at the Detroit Auto Show. Instead, the Mazda CX-9 crossover took top honors, beating the second-place Tahoe in the voting points 201-140.

Over on the car side of the aisle, the Chevy Malibu (standard, not the hybrid) won the Car of the Year award with 190 points (beating second-place Cadillac CTS. Does this mean that green issues will take a back seat here in Detroit? It's not an auspicious start, but we will certainly see a healthy dose of green news from the Motor City (as you'll be able to read later today). What this does mean, though, is that the CotY judges appreciate a simple, vanilla sedan as much as anyone.


[Source: NAIAS, Autoblog]