Mazda Prepares All-new Engine Tech For Frankfurt Debut, New Sheetmetal To Follow For Refreshed Mazda3

I've heard a fair bit about a new "sparkless" gasoline ICE technology. Like diesel, the cylinder received an air-only charge (no fuel), and is compressed to an unusually high degree. Then, instead of diesel fuel being injected near the top of the compression stroke, gasoline is injected instead, and instantly ignites due to compression heat.

From what I've read, this technology can provide (to some degree) the benefits that diesel engines experience, namely more low-RPM torque and significantly better fuel economy. I'm looking forward to this tech coming of age to see if it's better that ICE and/or diesel, and by how much.

Souns like high NOX to me.

Hauerg: Actually, this engine promises lower NOx than gasoline or diesel engines, and that's a good thing! If it delivers as expected. a 2.0L engine will produce the power of a 2.5 L engine, while consuming the fuel of a 1.5 L engine. That's significant! If it can run on regular unleaded gas, then it's viable competition for passenger diesels.

On one hand, ICE isn't dead, but on the other (PHEV/EV) ICE is dead.

Maybe this engine tech is why Toyota took a 5% stake in Mazda.

The more likely scenario is to keep Mazda from being bought by the Chinese. Toyota already has hybrids. This is another "TDI" effort to deliver what a hybrid can do without delivering a hybrid.

Since the process is similar to diesel engine where gas is now ignited at much higher temperature and pressure, the results is higher NOx emission.

Is Mazda going down the path of VW and the German consortium of diesel engine collaboration - in another name, "dieselgate" ?

Looking at this technology from another angle:

Current market cap of Mazda Motor is around $9.2B. If Mazda has indeed achieved the holy grail of ICE tech - high efficiency and low/no NOx emission - would it be a lot cheaper for VAG or MB to purchase it and use its technology and keep ICE alive for another hundred years than developing EV technologies that costs many times more ?

According to some reports, the improvement in fuel efficiency could easily meet EU strict standards for another 20 years. Why is no one else raising hands ?

Henry - you got it right.

Gasoline will continue to be the fuel for the VAT majority of cars UNTIL
`1 - A complete infrastructure of charging stations that can compete with gas pumps exists (We cannot expect HOME charging to be the panacea because too many do not have that option)
2 - The Price of Oil starts to rise again - and THAT is unlikely for decades as well. (THere will be blips though). With the improved gas mileage PLUS the introduction of SOME EVS and Hybrids - the demand for Oil will likely go down - but the discovery of new supplies will continue to to outstrip demand for decades. It will take government mandate for SOME cities to have only EVs - to change that _ BUT - people will learn how to correctly to compare the EV with the Gas engine for green-ness. THey are not that far apart.

Tom, to add to your comments
2. b. The plug-in hybrid solves the suburban/rural/long distance driver owners problem where they can go to the "banned" city and run as an EV while elsewhere use the current convenient infrastructure.
3. Time to fully recharge an EV has to come down significantly before it replaces ICE.
4. It will be interesting to see if the diesel NOx problem gets resolved by using more DEF fluid. FCA has apparently satisfied CARB and the EPA criteria by making software adjustments that use a little more inexpensive DEF fluid. Likewise VW has a fix for the majority of its diesels that uses more NOx. Indeed ICE may live for decades to come.

You guys obviously missed my sarcasm. ICE will face its demise much sooner than you would hope. Its days are literally numbered - UK and France as well as many other EU countries already have plans to outlaw gas and diesel automobiles by 2040 or sooner. Germany, thanks to Dieselgate, will have to follow suit.

Add China and India, the ICE landscape suddenly doesn't look too bright any more. That leaves the good ol' US of A and the third world countries to compete for the run to the bottom.

When I said GM and Ford are dragging their feet, TomM responded that "the market will still be dominated by ICE cars (Maybe crossovers) for a few more decades - until an infrastructure for Electric cars actually appears" - Well Tom, the infrastructure for EV doesn't magically appear out of thin air - someone has to build it. You just gave an example of "dragging their feet". As big as GM and Ford are, they can't just sit and wait for feast to start - they may end up with scraps on the floor.

Instead of taking a lead in EV development and use their engineering might to make it work, GM, Ford and a host of automakers now spend money on lawyers and politicians to try to slow the progress. That only works for a while with a corrupt system, but people will eventually wise up and recognize who the losers are. GM, and to some extent Ford (with its large debts), may not have a second chance for a bailout.