Ok, so the rotary engine will be used to range extend the batteries on a crossover SUV, but it's a start.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news...Wmp?li=BBnb4R5

 

It's behind the electric curve. By the time it comes out in 2022, electric vehicles will be so far advanced the mx30 will look stale new

 

It’s a sad compliance vehicle unfortunately. It has as much range with the engine as newest EV’s have without one. It’s sad they are aiming so low, and I’m concerned about the company’s future considering the EV mandates coming up.

 

Towing the rotary line in the electric age is a study in futility. Most car trips are not terribly long, and it looks like more manufacturers are focusing on the most range that can be obtained from a battery (and faster charging) to just eliminate the need for a range extender altogether. Like it was sad above, this is a sad compliance appliance.

 

A lot of hate in this thread for the MX-30.

Personally I don't see how its all that much different than something like the Rav4 Prime (which has much less range than the MX-30 on battery alone) which is currently selling faster than Toyota can pump them out.

With the small rotary range extender, I wouldn't be surprised if the MX-30 is a little less heavy too and I'll be curious if that shows on its empg rating. I guess if you're comparing it to a Tesla you might be disappointed, but it seems like a neat crossover and I'll definitely be checking it out when it is available to the public.

 

There’s a big difference between a gasoline hybrid with a small battery for some ev range and a BEV with poor range and a small gas motor as a crutch. One is an evolved version of a successful concept and the other is doubling down on a failed concept, the extended range ev such as the Volt.

 

Was the Volt a failed concept though? Many factors contributed to its sales numbers from GM's own dealerships to the general decline of sedans in the US, but pretty consistently I remember it having pretty high customer satisfaction ratings. It definitely managed to earn itself a cult following.

Time will tell. I'll reserve my judgement until more data on the range extender they built is available and how much of the vehicle's MSRP is accounts for.

If its efficient, compact, light, and significantly cheaper than the kind of range extenders previously used it may find its place in the world.

 

What if they use the hydrogen rotary? Two clean energy in one.

 

And yet, most Americans still want barges to drive around in. This is a product of our own design.

Also, wrong section.

 

What do you mean by "wrong section?"

 

This is the 3rd gen Rx-7 forum, specifically, not general rotary.

 

I didn't start the conversation on this vehicle here. What am I missing?

 

I don't know about the current one but the Mazda2 prototype was 333cc 38 bhp single. (26hp@2000 30hp@4500 38hp@6000)

I'd love to see tiny 3 and 4 rotor versions

 

It wasn't meant for you.

 

Oops. Yeah that’s because I posted it here and having driven 3rd gens since 1995 I didn’t realize there was anything else.

never posted in 1st or 2nd gen or any general rotary. My bad.

 

I'm interested to see how the engine operates and what kind of gas mileage it gets using gas alone.

Fueleconomy.gov shows 42 mpg combined for the Chevy Volt. I wonder what a modern single rotor could do in this type of configuration.

They could do some cool things with it too since engine rpm isn't tied to the electric motor speed. Imagine a rotary that automatically revs up to keep those carbon deposits down.

 

I don't even see a reason for future gas engine cars when you can just go all electric. Half assing it doesn't make any sense.

 

I get that sentiment, and this mazda example seems middling. I'm not convinced full-electric for everyone or even most people is the future though.

These hybrid or range extender cars seem most practical, especially for renters or people living cities. I read about fully electric mandates and then imagine people snaking extension cords all over the streets in NYC to plug their cars in at night. What would that even look like? Are people going to try to negotiate these charging hookups into their leases? These prewar buildings are going to burn down from the incoming electrical fires.

I can see the shitstorms coming with utility companies too. "ConEd/XYZ utility charged me $10,000 for my electric bill!" Etc.

And then I think that the praticality will follow if enough people buy electric, but when it really is practial for everyone, including low-income people, maybe we'll be living in a radically different world. I don't know.

 

Are we at a point where we can charge fully electric vehicles as easily as fueling up a regular vehicle? Maybe in some areas?

Where I live electricity is very expensive and is mostly produced with crude oil, almost no reneweable energy plants so electric cars environmental benefit is null. Electric vehicle chargers are very few and far between so you have to have home charging. Unless you have at-home solar then Gasoline Electric Hybrids and Range Extended Electrics are the only truly viable options at least in my area.

 

I think not, especially when you also factor in the time required to "fill up" an electric vehicle.

Any road trip beyond about 1/2 of your actual E-car range requires lots of planning to figure out how to get from point A to B in a reasonable period of time. Forget about a spontaneous weekend road trip somewhere. As an example, if I wanted to get from my place to Deals Gap for a long weekend in the mountains, it's about 650 miles each way. No problem with a gas engine car - takes a few minutes to fill up when I need gas, which is readily available along the route, so I can get there in about 8~10 hours, depending on how often I chose to take breaks along the way. If I tried to do the same thing with an E-car, best case there are enough quick charging stations along the way, but that still adds at least an hour or so per charge, so now your 8~10 hour trip takes perhaps 13~18 hours. More likely, you won't find enough quick charge stations, so you're looking at spending at least 1 or more nights somewhere along the way just to charge up the car.

 

You don't have to wait for an electric car to fully charge on a road trip. Pull up to the charging station, start charging, and when you have enough with some buffer to get to where you're going, you are off.

From what I understand you can get a LOT of range in a relatively short time. Like take a lunch break/bathroom break and you're good to go.

Not first hand experience, but I have read/seen videos of some electric car stuff and that's a common misconception they address.

Dale

 

Another factor in the electrification of cars is the cost of the batteries and how long you plan to keep said vehicle.

My sister bought a 2009 Camry Hybrid, battery went out, it was not warranty covered, $5k repair. A few years later and it went out again, car is parked and unused about a year now or more with 180k miles. In contrast, My 2009 gas guzzling V8 infiniti SUV with 120k is still perfect, 2000 Protege was totalled recently with 270k and my mother's Mazda 5 is daily driven with 220k. None of the gas cars have needed major repairs.

 

That $5k repair is the dealer price. Lots of better options.

I had a 2005 Prius as a daily for ~6 years. JUST before I sold it a few months ago the hybrid battery went goofy. New battery from dealer (part only) is about $2000 and change. Used battery (junkyard, Ebay) about $800-1000. Local battery rebuilder, about $700 with warranty.

Or, I ran the Dr. Prius app which showed I had 2 bad cells in the pack. Pulled the pack, got 2 good cells from a buddy (they go for $20 or so each on Ebay), swapped out the bad cells, put a tender on the pack to charge it up, done. Also put on new bus bars and nuts ($20).

In other words, there is more than one approach. Same thing for RX-7's - I can drop my car off at a shop with a check for $10,000 and tell them to rebuild the engine and fix everything, or I can do it myself for less, or some combination of the above.

As electric cars get more common there will be more options.

BTW, you can pull a battery pack out of a Prius in like 15-20 minutes. Super easy. No special tools needed.

Dale

 

Dealer was $7k at the time, the $5k was the better option. Now it's about $3.5k, she doesn't want to pay that. Aftermarket batteries are not readily available in my area and online places won't ship as they are hazardous items. I'm in PR so like Trump said we are an island surrounded by lots and lots of water so a lot of things are more difficult to get and more expensive.

I'll try the Dr Prius app and maybe I'll be taking the battery out myself and see what options I find.

 

I'm not necessarily interested in the MX-30 chassis, but I do like the idea of combining the weight and power density advantages of a rotary with the advantages of an electric drive motor. Imagine building a rotary engine with all focus on a good power/weight ratio in a narrow operating range, and never needing to worry about drivability. The ports, intake/exhaust/cooling system could all be optimized for a narrow RPM range and that would actually be a good thing. I haven't done the math, but I'm assuming a rotary engine that makes 200hp (or whatever) should weigh less (and definitely cost less) than an equivalent battery pack built with today's technology, and should be quicker to refuel. Then give the car just enough batteries that it can drive 50-100 miles at 50-70 MPH without charging, and see how it goes.