To make something good even better is a very tough job — and this is definitely the case in developing new cars.  Tens of millions of dollars are spent by car manufacturers in the development of new vehicles.  Money is poured in to the design of a new car not only to make it look better, but to make it much safer and more efficient as well.

There seems to be no limit in how to make cars look better and ride much safer.  However, engineers seem to have reached the end zone of improving on the efficiency of combustion engines.  That is why more and more manufacturers are turning to hybrid-powered cars as the next step in car development.

The production of hybrid vehicles however has been proven to be too costly and does not answer the clamor for attractive, fuel-efficient and safe cars at reasonable prices.

At Mazda, they have found a way of producing better vehicles that will give hybrid cars a run for their money.

During the recent Mazda Brand Forum held in Hiroshima, Japan, CEO and president Takashi Yamanouchi told members of the global motoring media Mazda is revamping its entire powertrain and platform line-up using a revolutionary manufacturing process that will make their cars safer and greener with no added cost.

The development of the physical aspect of their cars has been addressed by the recent introduction of the “Kodo” or Soul in Motion design principle.  In addressing the issue of making their cars safer and more fuel efficient, Yamanouchi introduced their SkyActiv technology—which is an ambitious plan to provide hybrid-like fuel economy through the development of conventional fuel technology.

According to Yamanouchi, Mazda engineers have found a way of squeezing out more from the current combustion engine resulting in a considerable improvement in fuel efficiency. 

Yamanouchi revealed that the new Mazda 2 which will be sold in Japan beginning mid-2010, will have a fuel efficiency rating of 30-kilometers per liter of fossil fuel.  The figure is almost double the current Mazda 2’s reported average consumption of 17 kilometers per liter and is even better than the fuel consumption of a hybrid electric vehicle, which uses a combination of a combustion engine and electric motors.

Mazda revealed that their engineers have found ways of improving on the technology of combustion engines claiming that the new Mazda 2 will run 30 kilometers per liter of fuel, which puts it at par with expensive hybrid cars.

SkyActiv technology is a blanket program that will cover all their cars sold from 2015 onwards.  The program includes the use of stronger but lighter steel in their chassis—that will translate to a 14 percent reduction in vehicle weight; a lighter and more efficient transmission system; and new generation gas and diesel engines.

The new generation engines, called the SkyActiv G for gas and SkyActiv D for diesel will both have a power efficiency rating of over 40 percent.  Present combustion engines only has a 30 percent power efficiency rating as most of the energy is lost.

With SkyActiv, Mazda aims to improve by 30 percent the average fuel economy of all its vehicles.  By doing so, the carbon dioxide emissions of its SkyActiv fleet will also be cut by 23 percent.