Mazda stopping production of rotary engines

[Diesel_Dave]

I always thought the Wankel engines were kinda cool. I was a little sad to see this news:
Mazda ends production of rotary engine | Fox News

[serialk11r]

No worries, there's still R&D going on. With fancier technology and materials a lot of the drawbacks can be addressed, but the compression ratio limit is a bit of a problem :/

[niky]

Though I love the electric zing of rotaries, the fact that Mazda was making them was cool merely from a technical point of view... sort of like Stanley Steamers and Chrysler Turbines... but from a practical point of view, to continue putting them in production cars is a lot like persisting in producing two-strokes despite the monumental hurdles in making them emissions-friendly.

[Tamn]

Originally Posted by niky

Though I love the electric zing of rotaries, the fact that Mazda was making them was cool merely from a technical point of view... sort of like Stanley Steamers and Chrysler Turbines... but from a practical point of view, to continue putting them in production cars is a lot like persisting in producing two-strokes despite the monumental hurdles in making them emissions-friendly.

Well their more of a race engine anyhow. I'm totally sad about it...

[gone-ot]

...so they YANKED the WANK(LE)>

[PaleMelanesian]

Rotary racecar! So awesome they had to change the rules and ban it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_787B