General Motors recently reiterated its commitment to diesel-powered engines, but at the same time, a small Japanese automaker has announced plans for a breakthrough technology.
The Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition engine has been touted as a final frontier for the internal-combustion engine, and Mazda is poised to be the first automaker to perfect the engineering. The Japanese automaker revealed plans to introduce an HCCI engine for 2019, likely in its Mazda 3 compact car first.
HCCI engines run on gasoline but rely on sparkless ignition via compression, much like diesel engines. The greater efficiency comes from a leaner air and fuel mix, which is burned at a lower temperature. Therefore, the reduction in heat energy lost over a normal gasoline engine is significant. How significant, you may ask? Mazda estimates 20-30 percent efficiency gains over its current Skyactiv engines.
Further translation: this engine will likely be capable of matching or exceeding current efficiency levels from diesel-powered engines. Imagine returning 52 MPG—as is the case in the Chevrolet Cruze Diesel—while still burning gasoline. Mazda also plans to use superchargers to further improve efficiency and torque figures another 10 to 30 percent over its current engines.
The milestone is a significant one from a rather small player in the vast automotive industry. GM certainly has a very different strategy laid out through electric cars and diesel-powered vehicles. Mazda’s moves to further refine gasoline-powered engines may also be a new lease on life for the traditional internal-combustion engine.
Comments
This just giving an old horse another kick to stay running. Gas engines are over 140 years old, and no new technology can never improve it over a basic electric motor. As a fact, no gas engine car made in this new century can even start up without the electric motor. So, just throw out the gas engine and all its needed devices, and use the motor to drive the wheels. That is why model electric cars are taking over. If Mazda doesn’t join Nissan or Mitsubishi offering hybrids and electric cars, Mazda will disappear.
and it took only 140 years for EVs to be marginally viable to the average consumer? i wouldn’t start writing the ICE’s obituary just yet.
There is a difference between an engine and a motor. An engine produces kinetic mechanical energy from potential energy stored in a fuel by oxidizing (burning) it. A motor uses kinetic energy, thus an electric motor and a gasoline or diesel engine. An electric motor requires kinetic energy (electric current) which must be stored in a battery or produced in a fuel cell which burns fuel just like the internal combustion engine. Electric propelled vehicles will thus have a limited range when compared to gasoline or diesel propelled vehicles. Even the primitive Model “T” Ford offered superior performance to the Sudebaker electric.
I won’t ever consider an all electric car without a 300 mile range and a complete recharge in 15 minutes or less.
300 miles isn’t enough Rob. I want the same mileage from an electric as you get from a gas/diesel model. In the case of the Cruz, that’s 500 miles. I also want it for the same price WITHOUT government subsidies. That is the only way electrics are sustainable. Same goes for E85. If it weren’t for a .51/gal subsidy no one would buy it.
What most folks don’t realize is that you are simply trading one form of pollution for another. You either run an internal combustion engine or a power plant to make the electricity to charge the batteries, which by the way take a great deal of energy to produce and are toxic to the environment.
this seems cool but would owning such a vehicle be that much different than owning a diesel?
seems like you are getting diesel performance using regular gasoline.
diesel is a little more expensive but not that much more than regular gas.
Diesel used to be cheaper until the government got involved. Are they really trying to help us?
Just white noise given that Mazda has yet to build a prototype HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) engine that can achieve over 40 mpg mileage while Chevrolet could possibly get 60-65 mpg from the Cruze Diesel with the addition of a Delphi 48-volt mild hybrid module.
GM is far from abandoning the gas engine and they like all other makes will continue to refine the engine.
As long as batteries are limited and gas is cheap they are far from finished.
The gas engine is like the B52. It may not be the leading trend technology but it is still better than anything that they have yet.
The Skyactiv X engine is SCCI not HCCI. It still has spark plugs for cold starts or whenever necessary, it’s supposed to be a seamless switch back and forth between spark and compression ignition
Do your homework and you will find, like mentioned above, that birth to death, battery/electric “cars”, using CURRENT technology, use more ‘carbon’ than a conventional combustion engine”car”, same weight-size-ability. Give me a diesel, ‘love’ driving that TORQUE and FUEL MILEAGE. …… GM, I think will do good adding diesel power until electric/motors/batteries improve their capabilities — it might be many years until e/m/b are able to compete effectively. I look forward to ordering a new 2018 Cruze Hatchback Diesel this fall to replace my current diesel car and smile as I pass a Prius charging its battery. Calm down, its all in fun. …… eeh