That is lame.

Without the rotary engine (and its inherent unreliability) I would not be the automotive enthusiast that I am. I would not have rebuilt half a dozen Rx-7's engines and then piston engines. I may not have built a half dozen engine controllers because the stock rotary ecu's were garbage as soon as you start moding. Without the Rx-7 I may have not owned 6 different Mazdas vehicles. It all started for me with a 1987 base model Rx-7.

The rotary engine and the cars they power are not high production vehicles, they are interesting, unique, and inspiring vehicles that build brand enthusiast.

It's not over...

Still, Kogai said Mazda hasn't completely abandoned the notion. Engineers continue to research the technology, he said, in part because the rotary engine can run flexibly on a wide variety of fuels, including gasoline, hydrogen and even kerosene.

"We are the first and only manufacturer to commercialize the rotary engine. In that respect, we have some responsibility," Kogai said. "So please allow us to continue our research."

I`m Batman wrote:It's not over...

i.e. when they have funds and resources to spare, they'll open the garage and start tinkering. Which will probably be never given the 'lean' concept.

That is a line to give the loyalists hope, when there really is none.

Saul_Good wrote:i.e. when they have funds and resources to spare, they'll open the garage and start tinkering. Which will probably be never given the 'lean' concept.

That is a line to give the loyalists hope, when there really is none.

As an engineer - lean doesn't mean what you think it means.

The rotary and its sports cars has actually driven quite a bit of innovation at Mazda. It may not look like it from the outside, but the auto industry is heavily driven by innovation. I understand where this "every car must sell X units per year to be considered because that's where the success line is" comes from, but really, that just causes stagnation and a slow death. There is room for a low volume sports car (Porsche, Lotus, Ferrari, FRS, 370Z), you just have to be smart and not bet the farm on it.

To me, this is concerning but not quite a fatal blow yet. The CEO may not be a Wankel fan, but there still are quite a few in the Mazda organization that are.

I look at it from a project manager point of view. To me lean means allocating limited resources to get maximum efficiency. Also no one is going to be researching anything if the funds aren't there and engineering talent could be used for actual revenue generating projects.

You're right on innovation, and even innovation needs funding and direction and from the looks of it Mazda directed their innovative juices at skyactive technology and not a rotary that gets decent mpg and meets ever growing EPA requirements.

I want a rotary car as much as the next cmzc'er but that is not in mazdas corporate strategy at the moment.

You guys are just a bunch of Negative Nancies!