Mazda 2007 Annual Report Download - page 31
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Diesel Engines
Recently, diesel engine technologies featuring reduced CO2
emissions have gained worldwide attention. The diesel engines
that Mazda manufactures have received tremendous acclaim in
European markets. Mazda is drawing on its accumulated
experience to develop even more advanced diesel engines that
comply with emissions standards in North America and Japan
and offer improved fuel economy.
Automatic Transmissions
Mazda is developing new transmissions combining the direct
gear shift sensation of a manual transmission with greater fuel
economy, making them worthy of the Mazda “Zoom-Zoom”
concept.
Rotary Engines
Mazda is not resting on its laurels where rotary engine advances
are concerned. The rotary engine has been called the heart and
soul of Mazda and plans call for significant improvements to
performance and fuel economy, chiefly through such technologies
as direct fuel injection and rapid combustion.
Future Technology Developments
Mazda began leasing the hydrogen-powered rotary engine
vehicles in fiscal 2005. The question now is what sorts of cars
will we be driving when the hydrogen economy really takes off?
At Mazda, we remain convinced of the viability of internal
combustion engines, because they have a flexibility not easily
found in other engine technologies. Utilizing the rotary engine,
which is well suited for hydrogen fuel combustion, allows us to
build cars that can switch between hydrogen fuel and
conventional gasoline. By leveraging this established technology,
we can offer a more practical version of a hydrogen-powered
automobile than one without such capabilities. In addition, we
know that some of our customers, as well as our Mazda
engineers, do not want to give up the sensual thrill that only
internal combustion engines can provide.
As one specific move in this direction, we will introduce the
Mazda5 Hydrogen RE Hybrid into the market in fiscal 2008, and
plans are being drafted to bring other models to market that use
Mazda’s proprietary hybrid technologies.
Going forward, Mazda also plans to
develop other hydrogen-
powered rotary engine
hybrid models that
take advantage of
its new rotary engine
to combine
“Zoom-Zoom”
with practicality.