Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Cars, Dates, and Home Theaters

It had, perhaps deserved, reliability problems when it initially launched. So the other manufacturers, like Mercedes, and Chevy (for the Corvette), scrapped their plans to use it. Ironically if there were more people using it, the advances needed to make it more reliable would have come quicker. But it was up to Mazda to go it alone.

There's also the fuel economy. People saw 1.3L and expected it to get 30 MPG, but it got closer to 15-20. The 70s wasn't a good time to launch such an engine, when everyone was changing mode from power to economy.

Aside: Sure the rotary engine displaces 1.3L total, but unlike a 4-stroke piston engine it displaces that full amount on every revolution, instead of between two combined revolutions. So a 5.0L V8 really should be a 2.5, since that's what it moves in one revolution. And then there's the redline, even the old rotaries were turning 8000 RPM. Take that 1.3L and fill it 8000 times in a minute vs. 4000 per 2.5L revolution of a V8, and you'll see why they burn the same amount of fuel. People knew the rotaries made a lot of power for their small size, but didn't equate that you need to burn fuel to make power.

Mazda was the only company to stick with it, and have had at least one rotary for sale almost continually since 1976. But since they are so rare people are afraid to go near them, and because people are afraid to go near them, no one puts them in cars.