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]

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Australia's best selling small car over AUD$40,000 (US$31,440), the BMW 1 Series, is getting some upgrades; refreshed exterior and interior styling, increases in power and reductions in fuel consumption, plus a new generation four-cylinder diesel engine. Due to go on sale mid-year, the new diesel in the 1 Series is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder second generation common-rail turbodiesel which features a host of performance improvements and fuel consumption reductions.

The new 120d develops a maximum output of 125 kW / 167 hp, an increase of 10 kW / 13 hp over the former engine. Peak torque is up by 24 Nm / 17 ft-lbs to 340 Nm / 250 ft-lbs and the new BMW 120d accelerates from zero to 100 km/h / 62 mph in just 7.8 seconds (previous model: 8.5 seconds).

Despite the performance gains, combined fuel consumption for the new 120d is down to 6.1 litres/100 kilometres (previously 6.6 l/100km). The optional six-speed automatic transmission (standard on the 120d) comes with new converter technology featuring an integrated torsion damper reducing energy losses and ensuring even shorter reaction and gearshift times.

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Complete press release after the jump.

Related:

• Piezo injection technology breaks into top engine list
• Trickle-down tech: Non-hybrid BMW 5 Series to feature regenerative braking
• Step right up! How automakers have placed their bets on future powertrain technologies

[Source: BMW]