Comments on: Mazda staying off of electric bandwagon

By: Jon Luc

Jon Luc — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:32:07 +0000

rds130, I re-read a few of those articles, most of them said “potential” release dates, so I took it a bit literal. While I may not be the most intelligent man on the planet, I’m certainly not “stupid ass”. I’m definitely not Need More Oil For GM.

By: zoomzoomer

zoomzoomer — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:09:44 +0000

“The automaker does say that it plans a 30 percent reduction in fuel economy across the board by 2015..”

That seems to run contrary to what everyone else is doing.. are they planning to go all-rotary?

By: HRR

HRR — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:57:51 +0000

Yeah, the japs are so fuking innovative. Real smart dumbasses, do the japs at mazda have a fuking clue what is going on in the world. Take zoom zoom and shove it up your asses.

By: jonmiles

jonmiles — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:53:26 +0000

I don’t understand how Mazda doesn’t build a pure performance car like the RX-7 anymore…

By: jayjc08

jayjc08 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:57:08 +0000

TomF- You probably saw a picture of the Mitsubishi i. They’re odd looking cars, if you ever have the “honor” of seeing one in person. They’re actually pretty neat. Odd, but neat.

By: rds130

rds130 — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:36:09 +0000

“Mazda is the only comapny that managed to master rotary engines – every major manufacturer in the world, including Mercedes attempted and failed.”

If by “master” you mean, successfully sell them, sure. If by “master” you mean, successfully sell a majority of reliable examples, I’d beg to differ.

@ Jon Luc, the Volt hasn’t actually been delayed, so says the press releases as current as I believe, last week. But GM’s example is far from the most ideal example of the electric vehicle I’ve seen. And No Oil For GM is a moron. As much as I don’t like Tesla or Elon Musk, the Tesla Roadster has already proved EVs can be successful produced. GM has yet to put a single vehicle on the road. I hate stupid ass people…

By: kitko

kitko — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:02:16 +0000

The electric car is doomed to fail – electricity needs to be made – and, GET THIS, electric networks in most countries in the world, that includes USA, are overstretched, remember summer air-condintion induced blackouts? Imagine another million cars plugged in to recharge.

“Need more oil for GM” – not talent or ability? Switch off your GM distortion field for a second and enter the real world.

Mazda is the only comapny that managed to master rotary engines – every major manufacturer in the world, including Mercedes attempted and failed.

Mazda is the only Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans – with a Rotary engine. These engines were banned next year.

Most of Ford’s i4 Duratec engines are simply rebadged Mazda’s MZR and subsequent powerplants.

Mazda’s been in a business of making dual power gas/hydrogen engines longer than any other manufacturers, these cars have been available for lease in Japan for the past 3 years and Mazda runs the network of hydrogen stations.

By: TomF

TomF — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:02:21 +0000

Good for Mazda.

It may be that they know they cannot make a dime selling an electric vehicle with wide appeal.

I answered a long online survey this weekend measuring my interest in alternative-fuel cars. The questions kept coming back to electric-only vehicles, though. Finally the survey showed a picture of a little egg-shaped Mitsubishi prototype electric vehicle, sort of an overgrown Smart car with four doors and 100-mile range, and asked at what price I thought it should retail. I typed in $13,000. A couple of questions later, the survey named a series of price points and asked me to say which I thought were good value, which I thought were ridiculous, etc. and the field started at $40,000 and went down to $18,000.

So it looks like Mitsu is working an a $30,000 luxury golf cart. I think Mazda’s in the better position.

By: Jon Luc

Jon Luc — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:59:49 +0000

Chevy Volt’s release date’s been pushed back, pushed back, pushed back. It seems that GM isn’t the only company out there who can pull it off.

By: yarddog82abn

yarddog82abn — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:47:30 +0000

ZOOM…ZOOM…ZOOMmmm……

By: yarddog82abn

yarddog82abn — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:46:55 +0000

This deserves a standing ovation…

By: Dante_JoseCuervo

Dante_JoseCuervo — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:27:07 +0000

Good job Mazda, being that my roommate is an electrical engineer, and knows a bit about cars he can vouch for their reasoning. Electric motors are great, they’re reliable, they’re simple, and they have torque. There’s a HUGE problem though, batteries… when they’re done they’re PITA to dispose of properly. Recycling them isn’t exactly a walk in the park and they still don’t have the range that we need. I’m thinking that supercapacitors will eventually take over. Even still, electric cars are not the answer, they’re a good idea if you have something like… mass transit that can run off the grid without the need for batteries, that’s a good idea, but the infrastructure needed for that is… a bit much.

Way to go mazda!

By: longshot

longshot — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:19:17 +0000

Good decision by Mazda. I still think hybrids and these early EV attempts are nothing more than a transition to something far better that may not have even seen the light of day yet, but will be feasible long before every car on the market becomes a hybrid or EV.

Might as well let other countries bankrupt themselves pursuing expensive technology that probably doesn’t have a long-term future beyond the next decade or so.

By: Borat

Borat — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:47:25 +0000

johnny, with more torque every nitwit will be able to drive it. Wait, they already drive it with a slush box.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:36:55 +0000

Of all the cars that could use the added torque from an electric motor the RX-8 would go straight to the top of the list.

By: zeeck

zeeck — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 15:07:41 +0000

Yay Mazda, now start looking into Hydrogen fuel cells like Honda, that is the ultimate direction to go.
Also, another good reason they are staying away from the batteries: the production of those batteries does more damage to the environment than any regular gas or diesel vehicle, people need to be informed before they decide that they are “saving” the planet.

By: HoosierHero

HoosierHero — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:40:57 +0000

Shut up NMOFGM. The Volt isn’t even on the market yet. Who knows? Maybe GM will have another Chevy Vega on its hands. Yippee!

As for Mazda- good! Electric doesn’t solve the problem. You are still wasting resources even though you are polluting less.

By: 05Z88Path

05Z88Path — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:33:03 +0000

Good for Mazda…glad to hear of a car company not signing onto the hybrid craze. More weight, more complexity and less performance is never a winning formula for those who look for enjoyment out of driving. (And that of course that is what hybrids offer just for some extra mpgs that can often be matched by existing diesel technology…)

By: golf4me

golf4me — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:09:10 +0000

Thank god there is at least one voice of reason left in the car industry.

By: mulletmaster

mulletmaster — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:06:09 +0000

Shut up f4gzor.

I find it funny they talk of sporting manifesto and show the micro van

By: Need more oil for GM

Need more oil for GM — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:53:59 +0000

No surprise, Mazda doesn;t have the talen nor the ability to build something as complex as an EV. So far the Chevy Volt is the only vehicle that has proven a successful EV can be made. GM is the only company out there who can pull it off.