Mazda reaches new November summit
Mazda Motor Corporation’s facelifted Demio compact car (known overseas as the Mazda2) with the SKYACTIV-G 1.3 gasoline engine, together with its development team, has received the 2011-2012 Car Technology of the Year award from the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (JAHFA). The Mazda Demio 13-SKYACTIV was launched in Japan in June 2011. The result was announced today by JAHFA, a registered nonprofit organization based in Tokyo.
Mazda Motor Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the intent to establish a joint venture production facility with OJSC Sollers.
The proposed production facility is to be established in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District and supply several Mazda nameplates for the Russian market.
Sollers is one of Russia’s leading automotive companies, engaged in the production, distribution and servicing of vehicles.
Russia is Mazda’s second largest market in Europe and sales are rapidly increasing. Mazda sold approximately 28,000 units during the period from January through September 2011, a year-on-year increase of approximately 77 percent.
In line with its mid-term plan objectives, Mazda is expanding its business in emerging markets.
This information was taken from the Official Mazda Australia – www.mazda.com.au
Mazda Motor Corporation has developed the world’s first passenger vehicle regenerative braking system that uses a capacitor. The groundbreaking system, which Mazda calls ‘i-ELOOP’, will begin to appear in Mazda’s vehicles in 2012. In real-world driving conditions with frequent acceleration and braking, ‘i-ELOOP’ improves fuel economy by approximately 10 percent.
Mazda’s regenerative braking system is unique because it uses a capacitor, which is an electrical component that temporarily stores large volumes of electricity. Compared to batteries, capacitors can be charged and discharged rapidly and are resistant to deterioration through prolonged use.
Regenerative braking systems are growing in popularity as a fuel saving technology. They use an electric motor or alternator to generate electricity as the vehicle decelerates, thereby recovering a portion of the vehicle’s kinetic energy. Regenerative braking systems in hybrid vehicles generally use a large electric motor and dedicated battery.
Mazda examined automobile accelerating and decelerating mechanisms and developed a highly efficient regenerative braking system that rapidly recovers a large amount of electricity every time the vehicle decelerates. Unlike hybrids, Mazda’s system avoids the need for a dedicated electric motor and battery.
‘i-ELOOP’ features a new 12-25V variable voltage alternator, a low-resistance electric double layer capacitor and a DC/DC converter. ‘i-ELOOP’ starts to recover kinetic energy the moment the driver lifts off the accelerator pedal and the vehicle begins to decelerate. The variable voltage alternator generates electricity at up to 25V for maximum efficiency before sending it to the Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) for storage.
Mazda is working to maximize the efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles with its groundbreaking SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY. By combining this with i-stop, i-ELOOP and other electric devices that enhance fuel economy by eliminating unnecessary fuel consumption, Mazda is striving to deliver vehicles with excellent environmental performance as well as a Zoom-Zoom ride to all its customers.
This information was taken from the Official Mazda Australia – www.mazda.com.au
This information was taken from the Official Mazda Australia – www.mazda.com.au
Mazda wins amongst the mountains
Mazda has confirmed that the most powerful couple in Australian motorsport will pilot its Targa Tasmania-winning Mazda3 MPS at next month’s Targa High Country rally held around Victoria’s rugged alpine region.
Four-time Australian Rally Champions Simon and Sue Evans, widely known for their blistering speed on gravel, will take to the tarmac for Mazda in its 190kW turbocharged hot-hatch for the second running of the event held around Mt Buller from November 4 to 6.
The couple, currently on a one-year sabbatical from the Australian Rally Championship (ARC), is delighted to have the opportunity to drive for Mazda.
“We’ve watched Mazda’s motorsport achievements with interest over the past few years and have been impressed with their success in the Targa events,” said Evans. “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Mazda3 MPS.”
Between them Simon and Sue also have a number of successful tarmac outings to their name including the Nurburgring 24 Hour, Rally Tasmania and Targa Tasmania.
While driving an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads would be enough to render most tentative, Evans – whose strategy for any event is to take one corner at a time and drive simply ‘to win’ – already has his eyes cast on the rally’s showroom prize.
This is a welcomed determination from Mazda’s latest factory driver, with the company’s outing at last year’s inaugural Targa High Country ending in bitter disappointment. Mazda’s regular Mazda3 MPS driver Brendan Reeves dominated the showroom category until the final stages of the event when he crashed out while trying to avoid a collision with another competitor.
Despite the disappointment it didn’t take long for Mazda Motorsport’s well-oiled race team to get the Mazda3 MPS back on song with Reeves more recently winning the showroom competition, and finishing an incredible fourth outright, at April’s Targa Tasmania rally.
While Reeves would have fancied the opportunity to finish what he started last year, a conflicting round of the World Rally Championship called for a formidable replacement.
This information was taken from the Official Mazda Australia website – www.mazda.com.au
Mazda2 improves safety credentials
