mikeavelli
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http://www.autonews.com/article/201...a-delays-skyactiv-diesel-launch-in-u.s.-again
Maybe some of you remember the highly anticipated Mazda diesel engines and how they continue to get postponed. It just popped in my head to do some back reading on the issue. Some good reading if you google around.
Maybe some of you remember the highly anticipated Mazda diesel engines and how they continue to get postponed. It just popped in my head to do some back reading on the issue. Some good reading if you google around.
A key technological difference Mazda hoped would set it apart from competitors' diesels was that its Skyactiv engines would be engineered to meet U.S. emissions requirements without the added cost and complexity of exhaust after-treatment systems. Other automakers use the systems to reduce the nitrous oxide output of their diesel cars in the United States.
"There are challenges with meeting the emissions standards without after-treatment systems," Barnes said. "We believed our Skyactiv technology can meet it -- and it can -- but the challenge is engineering a car that delivers the kind of performance that a Mazda needs to have and we're unable to do that given where we are right now."
Following the delays, Barnes said Mazda engineers are now looking at re-engineering the Skyactiv diesel engine to include either a nitrous oxide-reduction catalyst or a urea after-treatment system to cut NOx emissions. The company is also looking at ways to continue without after-treatment, Barnes said.