AUG 29

When I asked Bob Lutz almost a year ago whether he thought other car companies would be adopting the Chevy Volt's "extended range electric vehicle" platform, he said that they were welcome to join in the fun.

But he may not have expected that other car companies would be so quick to the punch. While GM has been pushing like crazy to get the Volt out of the door, it looks like Mazda (Ford) has had a little bit of work going on as well.

While all eyes have been on the Volt, Mazda outfitted a Mazda MPV with an electric engine, some batteries, and an onboard Wankel engine to re-charge the batteries. Basically, this is the same set-up as the Volt with two big differences.

1. The batteries are probably small and cheap, and Mazda will need to do a lot of work before matching the Volt's 40 mile range
2. Mazda is, quite cleverly, using the Wankel engine that they have some experience with. Wankel rotary engines are much smaller and lighter than piston engines, and so will be less of a burden to haul around while the car doesn't need it.

Oh, and the other difference is that this is all very hush hush. And, generally, that means that "hopefully ready in two years" means "if absolutely everything goes right and nothing at all goes wrong."

Generously, I say we'll wait for another four years before Mazda has an Extended Range EV in showrooms.

Via WIRED

Comments (7)

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RX-H sportscar of the future
written by Paul Barthle, August 29, 2008

Mazda needs to create a sporty hybrid using the RX platform with an electric motor for low speeds and the standard rotary engine for top end. A simple upgrade that would answer the two main complaints of RX-8 owners; poor mileage and not enough torque off the line and coming out of corners. By making a fire-breathing hybrid available in small quantities, maybe some of the public resistance to raising CAFE standards will go away and we'll see more buyers for more mundane eco-cars. Just look at how many 4 and 6 cylinder Mustangs have been sold because of the GT model at the top of the line!

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needs mpg
written by sam, August 29, 2008

Mazda needs better efficiency than than the low MPG the RS-8 exhibited. The Volt claims 50 mpg when using the gas engine to charge the batteries. Similar efficiencies are needed if they want to go mainstream.

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...
written by Virgil, August 29, 2008

This is a very interesting proposal. It will be easy to criticize the choice of a rotary engine due to their traditional low mileage (the RX-8 gets 24 on the highway, but in the city in the middle of winter you're lucky to get 12MPG).

BUT... I like the idea that maybe the light weight of the engine (the entire RX8 engine is something like 130 lbs) means that it would provide significant savings and economy in all-electric mode, that would offset the crappy gas consumption in extended mode. The two might balance each other out, giving a net increase in MPGs for mostly city drivers.

It will never get into something like an RX-8, there simply isn't the room to spare, but for an MPV or other vehicle with adequate space, it could work.

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The problem with the weight argument....
written by bbm, August 29, 2008

is that GM has made several statements that weight turned out to be much less of an impact on vehicle electrical range (aerodynamics were much more important). This makes sense with good regenerative breaking etc.

So an engine that's going to be a little lighter isn't going to make up for the inherently crappy mileage you get with a rotary engine.

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Hydrogen Gas Elec?
written by Miltowny, August 30, 2008

What are the pros and cons of Mazda's Hydrogen gas generator on the Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid concept? It seems to mesh together a few key ideas.

http://www.mazda.com/mazdaspirit/env/hybrid/premacy_hre.html

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Any hydrogen system...
written by bbm, August 30, 2008

Currently will have a much lower "well" to wheels efficiency than we'd like to see for the next generation of transport. In addition to haveing no infrastructure and storage problems.

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Thanks
written by stellaf, February 19, 2009

Hi,

It is such a nice stuff and I really like it. Thank you so much for sharing.

Stella

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