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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Sep
17
Written by:
Martin Ward
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Oberusel is a thirty minute drive from Frankfurt and is the European research and development centre for Mazda. It has been open for many years, primarily designing and developing vehicles for the European markets.
 Seita Kanai has been with Mazda all of his working life and now has many challenges in front of him. He told me that he believes that if consumption of fuel continues at the same rate then fossil fuels will run out. Increasing Co2 emissions are damaging the world and contributing to global warming. He says that a reduction in fuel use and Co2 is necessary but as more vehicles take to the world’s roads, this is almost impossible. He and his team are working on new technology to help reduce fuel use and Co2 emissions. This includes developing hybrid, electric and hydrogen powered vehicles and these forms of power within vehicles will increase in numbers. He is working on updating current engines and says that by 2011, Mazda will see a reduction of around 20% on Co2 and fuel use making them cleaner and more fuel efficient. In 2010 there will be a hydrogen/petrol/hybrid car available and in 2011 the RX-8 will have a new rotary engine that operates just on hydrogen. This engine will be called the 16X and may also be fitted into other models in the future.
A new stop/start feature will be available on their new 2.0 litre petrol engine next year; this will be initially available on the Mazda 6 with a six speed manual gearbox. During the day we had a chance to test this system on a Mazda 3 and found it to be extremely quick to start up when the clutch pedal is pushed. This stop/start technology will also help reduce fuel bills and lower emissions. Mazda currently call it the SISS (smart idle stop system) but people within Mazda think it needs a name change so it is more clearly understood.
He told me that it is not just engine technology that will be the only feature to help reduce fuel use but the weight of the car also plays a huge part in savings. He said he is determined to reduce the overall weight of the car by a minimum of 100kg and explained where these weight savings would come from. The body shell will be reduced by 22kg, suspension by 7kg, door panels by 2kg - the list went on but by making some small savings all over the car, it all adds up. He said new technology on the radio speakers would even save another 1kg per car.
Seita Kanai is also passionate about safety and says that road deaths are increasing around the world so something has to be done to reduce these numbers. He told me that active safety technology is essential and collision avoidance is necessary. He says that a Mazda has to be fun to drive but also be as safe and environmentally friendly as possible.
 After the day was over and we had learnt so much during our time there, it teaches you that there are lot of clever people in the background at manufacturers who are working on our behalf to create vehicles that are safe for us to use, that save us money on fuel and that they are trying to make them as clean as possible.
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