MattMPS

Just one question about H2:

Why Countries, Big Auto makers, Research Centers in the whole world insist to spend HUGE amounts money on H2 if is not a viable energy carrier for transportation and other purpose?


Second Question:

Are we sure that THE WORLD can work ONLY with batteries?...the whole world i mean not only cars, TRUCKS, AIRPLANES.......

Rotary Soul

in an awesome fairytale world, hydrogen technology would evolve to the point where nobody ever needs fuel, we just take hydrogen from the air and use the kickass power of cold fusion to generate way more power than necessary for anything we can conceivably use it for.

who knows... with enough innovation anything's possible i guess... i mean the japanese are on their way to making gundams. i'm serious.

CyberPitz

If a Gundam falls from the sky, I'm calling it quits. Next up, an Evangellion will show up.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't mind if Rei falls from the sky

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

oh, and Mr. Fusion will be the power source of the future, lol

ferrocene

There are certain laws of thermodynamics that can never be broken. Hydrogen is just like a battery. Electrons power the battery, and some external energy source creates the hydrogen (while incurring a loss, no less). Oil is free energy - it comes out of the ground with an energy surplus. No other material on the planet, except for plutonium/uranium, does this.

As far as gas mileage, you guys are more optimistic than I am. What worries me is that in 2004, 24 MPG was pretty bad. In 2009, 24 MPG is really bad (SUVs and Hummers are now dead, basically). In 2012, 24 MPG will probably be outlawed or close to it.

I have gotten single digit MPG in my 8 during short-distance only driving (where electric vehicles/hybrids shine). The only segment of the population that won't care about MPG in 2012 will be rotorheads and enthusiasts, making the new rotary a niche market.

That being said, I can't wait to be proved wrong.

LionZoo

Coal and wood? Granted not realistic alternatives, but they do exist.

The only way hydrogen is feasible is if we get cold fusion worked out, but cold fusion seems to be quoting a perpetual "30 years until we're ready" so I'm not optimistic.

robrecht

Cold fusion is just a modern variant of the mythical perpetual motion machine.

zoom44

From Mr. Barnes Relevant bit for this thread

pdxhak

iTrader: (2)

So no rx7 or rx9 but that does not mean they will not use another name

zoom44

yes

Marklar

Sounds like a true second generation of RX-8, with the 16X? Or did I read that wrong?

Spin9k

...well...as always...it's a word puzzle that leaves a lot of wiggle room.

...no RX-7, RX-9...ok. ...but perhaps RX-16x? ...or is that redundant? ...perhaps RX-16 ..or why not the R16x

...as Mr. Barnes says ..."engine development is continuing" ...so no new car ...just an engine upgrade would be cheapest and easiest, not to mention lowest development cost choice.

...perhaps they consider the chassis/body already updated ala the 2009 series II RX-8 changes, and the last piece is the 16x engine?

...just drop it in for '10 ! That has a nice ring to it!

...but oh yea ... they have to somehow drop 100 kilos off the car ...how can they do that?

...uuummmmmmm?????

...more questions than answers as usual.

robrecht

LOL, yeah remember this thread?
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-media-news-11/2009-rx-8-8yr-100k-warranty-extension-press-release-q-jeremy-barnes-147753/

Spin9k

Yea, listening to Mr. Barnes is pretty futile. You'd think he spill something once in a while...but he just talks in riddles a bit, then dissappears and never gives further light to the questions his words provoked.

neit_jnf

so how do you drive it?

huh? gas and brake? or 2 clutch pedals? lololol

i know what it is but is funny the way its written

Mazmart

iTrader: (12)

Mazda is the most tight lipped popular auto company in the world. I try not to ask the folks that I know there too many direct future product questions, as it spoils the surprize for me as well .

Paul.

rotarygod

That's a perfectly good question but I guess it would also be relevant to ask why would auto manufacturers be willing to keep developing more and more complex transmissions such as DSG, 8 speed automatics, ect only to have them being slowly phased out in the near future to be replaced with no transmissions when electric motors are the norm? Within many of our lifetimes, transmissions will be a thing of the past.

zoom44

well the chassis still requires changes read from post 38 onward here

skeeler

Zoom44,

Forgive my ignorance, but, from the above post and another in a different thread, I take it that Mr. Barnes is your contact at Mazda. Is that correct? What is his posisiton, exactly? I see that you've broken up his letter to you into at least 2 threads. Can you post the entire letter, if there is more to it than those 2 comments? Or, can you point me to the other bits?

If he is indeed an authoritative source, his first sentence---"Don't bet on it."---would certainly indicate that the article that spurred this thread is baloney. Other than that, he doesn't say anything that is not already public knowledge: Mazda is working on a new RE called the 16X.

I see that he also says no changes were made to the RX-8's chassis:

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-media-news-11/mazda-sells-156-rx-8s-nationwide-january-166957/

It's not clear to me whether the chassis of the RX-8 (or that of the MX-5, for that matter) could be strengthened---with members welded on at the factory, perhaps---to pass the upcoming offset side-impact tests going into effect for MY 2011. If Mazda can't do that, then an entirely new unibody will have to be designed, and we will see a new RX car. Of course, due to the cost of designing, testing, and retooling for a new chassis, there may be some break between the current model and the next. As has been mentioned, there is some precedent for such a hiatus in Mazda's recent history. For Mazda's sake, I hope they can modify the current unibody to meet the standards, although that will mean some weight gain for the car.

I hope Mazda drops the 16X into the current RX-8, rather than waiting for the next RX car, which may not come for a while. It would certainly be cheapest way to get the 16X on the market. Cross your fingers.

Michael

skeeler

Since Inside Line's article went up, I've seen numerous articles published elsewhere, essentially paraphrasing the same content. (I have a Google alert for "Mazda 16X" set up.) Today, I found a post that seems to have much of the same content, but with additional information:

http://www.7tune.com/new-mazda-rx-7-next-rx-8-rx-9/

The post appears on 7 Tune, and it claims Holiday Auto as its source. The post rehashes what the IL article said, but claims that only a single RX model will be produced. They refer to this as the RX-9, which directly contradicts Mr Barnes' comments.* In the rest of the post, however, more detail is given about the RPM adjustment of the dual-clutch transmission and the means by which weight is planned to be saved. The article also says that a development mule clad in an MX-5 body has been spied, which is news to me, if true.

I'm skeptical about this information, but it is certainly interesting to ponder.

By the way, at least in this post, they acknowledge that the image they are showing is from a magazine. The do claim, however, that it is magazine image closest to what the car will look like. I'm doubt it's very close, however.

* I also don't see why Mazda would need a new model name. If the car has 2 seats, call it the RX-7. If it is a 4-place coupe, with 2 or 4 doors, call it the RX-8. A name like RX-9 suggests the car is getting bigger, which, according to all indications, it isn't.

Michael

zoom44

Lets see Jeremy's current title is "Director, Product and Corporate Communications for Mazda North American Operations" and he's also a member of our forum and an avid car nut who races a spec Miata He is one of my contacts with MNAO. I think ive shared all the relevant bits of the email exchange- a quick look at my posts from yesterday will find a 3rd.

He usually doesn't let anything slip in print but when he says "NO" you can bet on it. But he didn't say " there is no car like that described being worked on at all" he said no rx-7 or rx-9.

In the link he says no changes were made to the MX-5 chassis although he did previously say there was no change to the RX-8 chassis. Most of the motoring press world believes as mentioned in the 7tune article that the chassis will not meet the new US rear offset crash standards that J did not comment on.

That means some change to the design of the rear of the chassis is necessary. if its something as simple as extending the width of the rear crash bar or other more intensive measures i wouldn't guess at. but it means some change must happen for the 2011 MY which would probably mean at least some exterior facade changes as well.


I'm sure the mule was spotted at the Mine test track they upgraded a little over a year ago




http://www.zercustoms.com/news/Mazda...est-Track.html

Its not unusual to have people testing stuff out there- they get paid to test stuff and thats why they have their own track out there- but the trick for the journo's is figuring what the mule is for.

I wouldn't doubt the sketch that's been floating around actually is from a description of someone that saw the real mazda drawings. that seems to happen more in Japan than here- someone lets a journo get a glimpse of a sketch and then they re-create it back at the office. go back and look at the drawings that were around before kabura and notice how they got progressively more like what actually was shown.

that just means its a sketch of A mazda drawing not the necessarily the final one chosen

zoom44

if i was brenda priddy super spy id have some folks perched in the woods around that track with some biiiiigggg lenses about right now

pdxhak

iTrader: (2)

Yellow line = property line?

BTW good info!!

Floyd

Any local board members up to the task?