Follow the Leaders
02/23/2007
By Woody W.
March of the penguins - perhaps we have heard the story. The premise is simple - stay with the group and the path they follow, or suffer the consequences. A few manufacturers seem to have a hard time understanding this key lesson.
Take for example Mazda. Down to this day they continue to produce the "sounds-good-on-paper" yet infamous rotary engine. The "sounds-good-on-paper" part comes from its theoretical simplicity and efficiency. The infamous part comes from its atrocious reliability and longevity. Thankfully, the rotary engine is confined to only one model in the Mazda lineup (RX-8). Besides Mazda, the number of manufacturers producing rotary engines: 0. Either Mazda is refining a fundamentally flawed design that will continue to be ignored by all other manufacturers, or they were right and eventually others will follow. Hmm...
Next we have the "keep-the-faith-in-the-5-cylinder-engine" group. Fundamentally, odd-number of cylinders do not balance as well as even numbered ones, resulting in peculiar noise and vibrations. This has been noted in several reviews, like New Car Test Drive's review of the Volvo C70 or Edmunds review of the Chevrolet Colorado and more recently the Volkswagen Rabbit. Mix in the improved power and economy of the 4 and 6 cylinder engines, and you have a sandwich effect that leaves little room for the 5. Audi was the first to mass-produce them in the 1970's, but eventually phased them out. The same phase-out seems to be occurring now at Volvo. Honda, considered one of the top engine designers, gave it a shot with the Acura Vigor, but that effort lasted only 4 years. In fact, out of the top German and Japanese manufacturers (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Toyota, and Honda), the number of 5-cylinder vehicles produced: 0. The message is clear - don't waste time with 5 cylinders, a message Volkswagen could have taken more seriously as the latest manufacturer to give 5 cylinders a try. The Volkswagen Jetta, for example, generates virtually identical power and mileage numbers as the similarly weighted 4 cylinder Toyota Camry.
The shrinking crowd of "hybrids-may-not-be-the-future" has whittled down to one beleagured manufacturer - General Motors. Introduced to the mass market right before the turn of the millenium, hybrid powertrains initially were weak, expensive, and only coupled to small vehicles. But top manufacturers were not fooled - hybrids are the future. Capturing lost energy that can be used for engine power is a concept that will not go away, and the cost-to-efficiency ratio keeps getting better. It is no wonder German manufacturers scrambled, realizing that Toyota and Honda got them on this one. Even Formula 1 racing, which focuses on trickle-down technology, has embraced such a concept. General Motors chairman Bob Lutz, however, is one such person that still hasn't got it. As recently as the middle of last year, he said that "hybrids are technologically of doubtful benefit". Nissan leader Carlos Ghosn also expressed hybrid doubts, but reluctantly conceded that the technology was promising.
