Shared Ride & Drive In A Corvette C8 Defined American Supercar On Public Roads

The belle of the ball during the MPG Drive Day 2022 - the Corvette C8 in front of the iconic Ferris Wheel at Calamigos Ranch Event Center. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)

Shared Ride & Drive In A Corvette C8 Defined American Supercar On Public Roads

The Motor Press Guild hosts many events and meetings throughout the year. Yes! These last couple of years have had their share of protocol challenges, but to have an opportunity to drive many types of cars on everyday roads as opposed to Tracks or Autocross set environments, allows one to judge and share a special experience in drivetime that few other events can hold.

On June 7th, 2022, the Motor Press Guild (MPG) held a long delayed get-together that was originally titled Droptops & Dirt and combined it with the multi-year delayed annual awards meeting that was formally known as "The Dean Batchelor Awards" that now goes by the recognition name of "Excellence In Automotive Journalism MPG Awards" The driving experience meeting was typically held in the Spring and the awards recognition event was normally held as a 2-Fer AWARDS & Holiday Season event around mid-December.

Welcome to the views of longtime friend, colleague, and rounded Motor Culture raconteur Lou Leto on the MPG Drive Day twisty roads of the Malibu mountains in the Corvette C8: 

Corvette C8 Exterior color is listed as Sebring Orange Tintcoat. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)

BEGIN

Handling was excellent in any of the modes that were available at the turn of a knurled selector knob.

And the modes were uniquely felt and heard, as the magnetic shocks changed stiffness and the exhaust note increased with more performance oriented selections. The default Touring mode was efficient. The Track mode the most stiff, of course. Got to be a performance guy to drive in Track mode all the time.

Drive Day Loop Guide for some time on public surface streets. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2022)

As I felt both as a passenger and then behind the wheel, with the available torque of this naturally aspirated engine, this was a second-and-third gear vehicle through the short straights and radical turns. This is no different than my experience at most road race race tracks; third is always the "sweetheart gear."  Paddle shifts are very responsive and quick. The different modes will increased holding a gear longer and at higher revs prior to an upshift while in Drive. Could really squirt the car forward in literal leaps, then the brakes hauled it down quickly and without fade time and time again.

Corvette C8 Interior color is listed as Sky Cool Grey. A really great re-imagining of the 1950's push button automatic transmission has been engineered by GM for this sportscar. This system uses a combination of actions depending on the function needed. Corvette's first push-button shifter - Park is at the top, with a pull switch for Reverse behind it, a button for Neutral behind that, and then another pull switch for Drive behind that. Below Drive is another button for Manual shifting mode. Image Credit: Mid Engine Corvette Forum (2022)

The cockpit makes one feel a bit separated (isolated); more like a capsule, and the engine behind is so very quiet, even in higher performance exhaust modes. The digital dash offers much info, and forward sight is awarded with the small fender peaks (like a C3 'Vette) for cornering reference. Handing is solid and neutral. Vehicle feels lighter and smaller than it is. Until you look in the side mirrors and see the wide rear fenders, and then wonder if the car will clear the the narrow roads hugging the jutting rock-filled corners on the mountain side. The other side is the severe drop-offs without guard rails...   

Rear Camera Mirror is a General Motors safety technology that replaces the traditional rear-view mirror with high-resolution video streaming to a display in the rear-view mirror, thereby improving on the traditional inside rearview mirror by providing a wider, less obstructed field of view. - Display: the in-mirror 1280 by 240-pixel TFT-LCD display with 171 pixels per inch. One may observe that the glass protecting the display catches a diffusive reflection that compromises or distracts from the possibility of a best image presentation for the driver (look at edges of mirror image). Image Credit: Corvette Forum (2022)

The inside rearview mirror is a camera, and the imaging appears as is too... remote and off contrast. I guess that with this much power and handing, that rear view is non-important. Just nail it and go to the opening an eighth mile ahead that comes up in one heartbeat. I did use it for backing up. Works as well as my MINI or the Sheriff's "blind-spot special" Explorers that I drive to the car wash..   

Ferrari Dino 246 GTS - The Dino line was created in honor of Enzo Ferrari’s son Alfredo Ferrari who was championing the V6 engine before his untimely death. The series began with a number of 206 sport prototypes and eventually the 246 road cars. Over 1200 examples were produced over a two year period between 1972 to 1974. Image Credit: Super Cars (2022)

 

The Corvette is a bit too quiet for me. I long for the days [driving] in my Dino 246 GT when I could hear (and feel) the chain driven cams whirring, the three huge dual throat Webers sucking hard for A/F mixture, and the other mechanical sounds at 7,000 RPM+ contributing to the symphony.   

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My reality check that I am struggling with: do I want one with this size, power (and cost) as my intended everyday driver?  At my age, my car-centric evil mind says YES. My other mental gremlins are sneakily questioning; is a 2014-2016 mid-engine naturally-aspirated flat six-powered Porsche Cayman S a better (sized, power, carrying space ) daily driver choice? Rest assured, either will be bright red...

ENDS

Let's be clear, people meeting - in formal association - with like-minded folks is both affirming in cultural values and civil pursuits. We must never loose sight of how important it is to commune with Humanity on these many levels of town and country - in motion.

Thank you Lou Leto for sharing both the day, and these written reflections on our two rides in this American Supercar together - for each, one a ride and the other a drive - at MPG's Drive Day held in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in from Malibu on Kanan Road from Calamigos Ranch Event Center ... truly captured the day.

... notes from The EDJE 

FEATURED ARTICLE >>>

TAGS: Corvette C8, American Supercar, Ride & Drive Reflections, Calamigos Ranch. Motor Press Guild, MPG, Lou Leto, The EDJE

SAE SoCal Presents Engineering For The Blancpain GT World Challenge America

For those of you who watched yesterday’s video stream [from St. Petersburg], you saw what a hard hit the KTM took. The Marco Polo Motorsports crew had a long night but excited that Nicolai was fine and then had a spare chassis to build overnight and roll through tech this Morning! #spgp #srogt4 #sroamerica Image & Caption Credit: Jim Jordan SRO America via FB Timeline (2019)

SAE SoCal Presents Engineering For The Blancpain GT World Challenge America

A presentation by SRO Motorsports America hosted by SAE SoCal Section and Automobile Driving Museum through the support of the Motor Press Guild's Motorsports and Car Culture Committee.

Nicolai Elghanayan Steps Out Of Marco Polo Motorsports No. 71 KTM X-Bow after striking the wall in Turn 3. The accident was caused when a wheel on the left-side of the KTM X-Bow came off as driver Nicolai Elghanayan was traveling through the short chute between turns 2 & 3 at an estimated 85 mph. Track safety and SRO World-Challenge personnel helped Nicolai to the responding emergency vehicles for a physical assessment before transferring to the mandatory visit at the track's medical center. Nicolai was cleared to participate in Race 2 of the 2019 Pirelli GT4 America Sprint Series sanctioned by SRO Motorsports America. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via CBS SRO Motorsports America Live Stream (2019)

The following video is the live stream posted at Facebook of the roughly 90 minute presentation put on by SRO Motorsports America (formally titled the Pirelli World Challenge) entering its 30th season of sanctioning sports car focused racing events.

The 2019 season represents a new era in GT and Touring Car racing for North America now with three distinct series – Blancpain GT World Challenge America, GT4 America, and TC America – SRO Motorsports America offers a wide-range of customer racing based series at top-tier circuits throughout the United States.

The SAE is the leader in connecting and educating mobility professionals to enable safe, clean, and accessible mobility solutions. We promote education in automotive and aerospace technologies for today’s and future engineers.

AUDIO Begins At The 8 Minute Point Of Presentation Video 
Blancpain Engineering Begins At The 24 Minute Point Of Presentation Video

Great to have Robbie Montinola and Honda talk racing with SAE SoCal. Thank you to the SRO for sharing with Jim Jordan and Greg Gill of SRO Motorsports America.

... notes from The EDJE




TAGS: SRO Motorsports America, SAE SoCal Section, SAE, ADM, Automobile Driving Museum, Motor Press Guild, MPG, Motorsports And Car Culture Committee, Dean Case,Robbie Montinola, Jim Jordan, Greg Gill, The EDJE

MPG Meeting - Pennzoil At The Proud Bird

MPG Meeting - Pennzoil At The Proud Bird

Great crowd one and all - (L to R) James Groth, Edmund Jenks, Stefan Pagnani, Lou Leto, Philippe de Lespinay, and Thomas Stahler.

UPDATE:

This excerpted & edited from CleanMPG.com -

At the January meeting of the Motor Press Guild (MPG), Shell brought in Pennzoil and Quaker State experts to discuss and disseminate details regarding the current status and future of motor oil. Within, there was a very serious warning for the consumer and professional auto expert alike. Current ILSAC GF-5 and near future API SN Plus/GF-6a oils will be good for automobiles ranging from the first Model Ts to the latest 2018 Toyota Camry requiring ultra-light weight 0W-16 viscosity motor oil. When the ILSAC GF-6b standard is finally disseminated and becomes available to the consumer as early as 2020, using that oil in your current car could place your vehicles engine at risk of seizure and stranding you on the side of the road with a very expensive repair ahead.

With the ILSAC GF-6bs harsh warning out of the way for future vehicle use, a new API SN Plus and the latest ILSAC GF-6a specifications are meant to add even more protection from a recently discovered combustion event arising from the automotive industry’s use of Direct injection and turbo charging. It is called Low Speed Pre-ignition (LSPI). The new oil formulations will mitigate LSPI, lower friction even further, and increase how far we can travel on a given quantity of fuel.

READ MORE HERE >>>

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: MPG, Motor Press Guild, Pennzoil, QuakerState, Pennzoil, Shell, The EDJE

2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G: The Amazing Mileage Miser

"Best Buy" - 2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G Sedan with 5-speed shift-selectable 6-speed automatic SkyActiv transmission and Grand Touring trim level appointment package is judged to be an amazing mileage miser that delivers on many surprising levels. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G: The Amazing Mileage Miser

A common problem beginning to present itself to many premium sedan owners in this 21st century America is summed up with this question: What Miles Per Gallon (MPG) car can one buy in order to get through a continuing era of increasing fuel prices, increasing number of EPA regulations, and low economic growth expectations - yet retain some of the advantages found in the decade old premium vehicle that is needing replacement?

The overall age of the personal fleet of automobiles careening around the country's roads is the oldest it has been since records have been kept and is reported to be nearly 11 years old. Many of these cars are a proud-but-aging rolling stock of premium sedans that featured rear wheel drive, leather interior, remote keyless entry, electric everything including fully adjustable seats (with heat) for both front bucket riding positions, named manufacturer audio systems with about as many speakers as room would allow, and power to spare from a stout V6 or better (0-60 in under seven seconds or better), at not much better than 20 mpg average, etc.

When one purchased these cars in pre-2001, the selling prices of a new or slightly used vehicle may have begun at around $25,000 and ranged upwards to $40,000 for the most well equipped standard premium quality vehicle with marques of Lexus, Acura, Infiniti, and the like.

2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G with automatic transmission Grand Touring trim level appointments touchscreen interface.  This 5.8" full color touch-screen controls and informs the driver of navigation w/real time traffic thru Traffic Message Channel, Blind Spot Monitoring System, 265-Watt Bose Centerpoint 10 speaker surround sound audio system, HD Radio, Pandora audio application, audio menu voice-command, E911 automatic emergency notification, Radio Broadcast Data System program information, SMS text message audio delivery and voice reply. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

An owner as described above is faced with a decision. It would be easy to continue investing in the current car especially since a direct replacement would set one back with prices starting at around $35,000 and ranging to $50,000+ for any mid-size or better marques … or better, bite the bullet and decide to invest in the reality of a worsening future picture of fuel prices, regulation, and economic growth opportunities social environment.

With this view in mind, one has several options to consider. First, one has to consider if the path to greater MPG and fuel consumption efficiency will be through the current fuel delivery infrastructure or be aided through the evolving electric-power delivery systems (hybrid or all-electric) which may add cost and disposal issues in maintenance-process of the vehicle.

For buyers seeking to purchase a new car that has as its principle value low fuel consumption and current fuel delivery infrastructure, there appear to be only a couple of options that can promise some of the profile functionality of premium sedans. 

 Rearview - 2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G with automatic transmission and Grand Touring trim level appointments. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

After careful evaluation and test, one car sticks out as the best premium vehicle replacement choice to get through the next four years and beyond. That car is the 2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G with automatic transmission and Grand Touring trim level appointments package.

By opting for the Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G ... what one gives up not investing in a new premium vehicle is spending at least $7,000 more for leather seats, V6 engine, rear wheel drive, 0-60 in under 7 seconds, a little more elbow room, a couple of more speakers, fuel consumption that would never exceed 30 mpg, and possibly a little quieter riding passenger cabin.

S L I D E S H O W

What one gains through a strategy of settling with a scaled back expectation in favor of high MPG, is an average MPG of about 34 miles per gallon combined city/highway, 0-60 at just under 8 seconds ... enough to not be run over by others getting onto the freeway or being a little shy on power once one enters the freeway lanes at speed, leather interior, a Bose 10 speaker sound system (with Bluetooth wireless, USB, and 3.5 connector Auxiliary port connection capability), push-button and remote keyless entry, with electric everything including a fully adjustable seat (driver's side) - with heat for both front bucket riding positions.

More importantly, one gains a driving experience that is very surprising for a car that competes with a mix of "hyper-mile" mavens that put all of the other vehicle choice options to shame - Fiesta, Focus, Fit, Accord, Altima, Leaf, Corolla, Hyundai and Kia. The car carves through corners with strength and anticipated (even expected) ease. The ride is less stiff or "road bed imperfection sensitive" than heavier entry level premium cars of a couple of years ago ... as in the Infiniti G35, for example. Sadly, the roadways in Southern California are not as well maintained, therefore stiffness of ride must be figured into vehicle purchases going forward.

Downtown Los Angeles and the Christmas Tree atop the Capitol Records building in Hollywood can be seen in the background of this Mulholland Drive Hollywood Bowl Overlook view of a 2013 Mazda3 in Velocity Red Mica. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

As tested on Los Angeles area freeways and surrounding hills including the twisty Mulholland Drive during the day and at night (thanks to a loaner arranged through Galpin Motors in Van Nuys, CA), the 2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G Sedan with 5-speed shift-selectable 6-speed automatic SKYACTIV transmission and Grand Touring trim level appointment package is judged to be an amazing mileage miser that delivers on many surprising levels, but mostly it delivers a pleasant driving experience for having a car that is rated at near 40 miles per gallon fuel efficiency (Hwy), especially if one is having to procure new rolling stock, replacing an older premium vehicle that has delivered a long, pleasant, useful ride.

… notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as 2013 Mazda3 SKYACTIV-G: The Amazing Mileage Miser on Technorati **

"Senna" Bestowed MPG's Best Of The Year Dean Batchelor Award

John Bisignano, former ESPN motorsport journalist during Senna's timeframe, accepts the Dean Batchelor Award on behalf of Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey for the documentary, "Senna". Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


"Senna" Bestowed MPG's Best Of The Year Dean Batchelor Award

"Senna" ... the critically acclaimed documentary about the racing spirit and history of F1 driver Ayrton Senna just won the overall "Best Of The Year" Dean Batchelor Award - Excellence in Automotive Journalism for 2011!

Established by the Motor Press Guild in 1995, the Dean Batchelor Award recognizes excellence in automotive journalism as exemplified by the man it is named after – Dean Batchelor.

The Award singles out individuals demonstrating outstanding achievement in the profession of automotive journalism. Each year MPG presents the Dean Batchelor Award to the journalist judged to have produced the single piece of work which best represents the professional standards and excellence demanded by Dean Batchelor during his life as an editor, writer, and chronicler of the automotive industry.

The product of years of archival research, "Senna" traces the life and career of Brazilian racer and three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, and his death at Tamburello corner while leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy. The film was released overseas in 2010 and made its U.S. debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2011, where it won the Audience Award. It has also taken awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, and the Adelaide Film Festival, and won the Motor Press Guild’s Best Audio/Visual Award for the Sept. 2010 to Sept. 2011 qualifying period before being bestowed the 2011 honoree as best out of four Dean Batchelor category award winners.

Catagory winners as follows (honored December 13, 2011):

Best Audio Visual: Senna, by Asif Kapadia and Manish Pandey

Image Credit: Working Title


Best Book: "Elva, The Cars, The People, The History" by Janos Wimpffen

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Best Article: "Questor Grand Prix" by Tom Stahler

Image Credit: VINTAGE MOTORSPORT


Best Photography: "Everybody's a Photographer" by Reinhard Klein

Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2011)


Basically, the highest award gearheads could bestow on a work of art and/or communication dedicated to motor culture in these four categories.

All hail "Best Of The Year" Dean Batchelor Award - Excellence in Automotive Journalism for 2011 to the documentary movie ... "Senna"!

... notes from The EDJE


<Article first published as "Senna" Bestowed MPG's Best Of The Year Dean Batchelor Award on Technorati>

A Lamborghini Tale Of Woe In Laurel Canyon

Lamborghini nameplate script displayed on the back of a Gray 680hp Murcielago. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

A Lamborghini Tale Of Woe In Laurel Canyon

Today, January 10, 2010, was a day one Lamborghini Gallardo owner/driver (assumed) went a little off on one of the very tight and winding streets just off of Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills North and West of Los Angeles ... a couple of miles North of the Sunset Strip. The exact street location was not stated in the report posted at Jalopnic, but judging from the photos, the street was similar to Willow Glen (or Mount Olympus) ... way too tight and winding. Not a street to be cruzin' at about 560hp strength and speed.

Upended SAAB with the classic Lamborghini wedge doing the deed. View of the mishap looking toward the Southwest. Image Credit: Aaron/Jolopnic

The driver managed to upend a SAAB 9.5 (judging roofline and back door separator bodywork), throwing it into a Toyota Corolla which then was pushed into a Toyota extended cab pick-up truck with shell.

Upended SAAB with the classic Lamborghini wedge doing the deed. Toyota Corolla was pushed around with the front end off to the side of someone's driveway. View of the mishap looking toward the Southeast. Credit: Aaron/Jolopnic

Most people only dream of being able to ride in ... let alone drive a Lamborghini. At the recent Motor Press Guild's Press Day (actually held over a two day period) two Lamborghini cars were delivered for the gathered members of the Press to drive (the Gallardo) and ride (a Murcielago driven by IRL race car driver, Richard Antinucci). The driving was restricted to about seven to ten miles of street type of driving around Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, whereas the ride in the Gray 680hp Murcielago was three laps at IRL speed on the 1.5 mile infield road track - WOW!

MPG Track Day 2009 Lamborghini contingent nose to tail. The one on the left is the Blue Gallardo and on the right, the Gray Murcielago. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Video and still photo of the 560hp Gallardo "street drive" machine. In the street drive, all road rules applied. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

Interior door jam of the Gallardo Lamborghini. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

The Lamborghini contingent was only available for the first of the two days, so if one was not early on the list to drive or ride ... one was out of luck.

The last three laps of the day with Richard Antinucci, according to Richard ... were the most exhilarating laps he took all day. He was able to reach about 160mph at the end of the short front straight-away each time through, before breaking for the tight right then left-hand turns to begin each lap on the tight infield course.

The Lamborghini tale of woe will end up costing a bit of money and time, but maybe next time the Gallardo pictured in the accident photos will be able to be driven by its owner at full speed on a closed course like Willow Springs International Motorsports Park or up north at the 3.0 mile, 15 turn workout of a road course at Thunderhill Raceway Park.

... notes from The EDJE



TAGS: Crash, Gallardo, Hollywood Hills, Lamborghini, Laurel Canyon, MPG, Murcielago, Richard Antinucci, Thunderhill, Willow Springs, The EDJE

Auto-Culture: Miles per gallon ratings short-circuited by electric power

The Tesla Roadster is a fully electric sports car, and is the first car to be produced by electric car firm Tesla Motors. Tesla claims prototypes have been able to accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in under 4 seconds, and reach a top speed of over 130 mph (210 km/h). Additionally, the car will be able to travel 221 miles (356 km) on a single charge of its lithium-ion battery. The Roadster's efficiency is reported as 133 Wh/km (4.7 mi/kWh), equivalent to 135 mpg–U.S [ctrl-click image to launch YouTube video]. Caption and Image Credit: ebaumsworld.com

Auto-Culture: Miles per gallon ratings short-circuited by electric power

The ratings systems that determine the efficiency of a car's use of fuel output is becoming effectively outdated and unreflective in an alternative power world.

Take, for example, a car that has as a power plant an all-electric engine ... like a Chevy Volt. If one were to use the old standard "Mile Per Gallon" ratings system, the new Chevy Volt electric car has a projected fuel economy equal to 230 mpg.

A more realistic view upon which to comparatively judge the power effectiveness of a car, wither it be gasoline, hybrid, alternative-fuel, or electric would be a new system that focuses on an average monthly cost to a consumer based upon a defined usage parameter.

In an Automotive News (April, 2009) interview, new GM CEO Fritz Henderson, admitted the obvious - that GM will not be able to make their first mass-produced electric car both affordable and profitable for a long time, saying that GM plans to lose money with “Gen-1 and 2″ of the Chevy Volt. “We have been very clear with the task force, particularly in Gen-1 technology, like the Volt, the cost is high,” Henderson said. “And that means, it doesn’t necessarily pay the rent. It actually consumes rent when it’s launched.” Caption and Image Credit: EcoAutoNinja.com

This excerpted and edited from National Association of Convenience Stores -

Electric Cars Muddy the MPG Waters
Alternative-fuel vehicles do not allow for the same miles per gallon measurements as gasoline-fueled cars
NACS Online - Posted: Nov 23, 2009

With more electric, fuel cell and hybrid vehicles on the road today, measuring miles per gallon isn’t as easy as it was in the old days.

Edmunds.com is asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to come up with fuel-cost ratings to assist buyers in comparing the cars. On Sept. 15, the agency asked for public comments on emissions and fuel economy standards for plug-in electric and hybrid cars.

“A consumer could reasonably assume, based on the way that they have been using window stickers now going back to 1975, that the Chevy Volt is over four times more efficient to operate than the Toyota Prius. And [that] would actually be completely wrong,” said Jeremy Anwyl, CEO of Edmunds.com.

Edmunds.com would like for the EPA to stop allowing car makers to promote vehicles based on mpg. “If car companies are building cars with very high monthly costs from a fuel perspective, that’s the sort of information that needs to be out there,” he said.
Reference Here>>

Then there was this comment left at a forum site discussing all electric-powered automobiles ... "I wonder how many miles you'd have to drive one [an electric car] before you become sterile."

... notes from The EDJE

MPG Luncheon - Mazda USA - Hydrogen powered H2 RX-8

Mazda Hydrogen powered H2 RX-8 pictured here in the front of the Proud Bird Restaurant with some high-flyers of an era gone by, the Supermarine Spitfire, a British single-seat World War II fighter aircraft, and further back, a Douglas SBD Dauntless which was a naval dive bomber made by Douglas also during WW II. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

MPG Luncheon - Mazda USA - Hydrogen powered H2 RX-8

Robert T. Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality for Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) presented a detailed technical summary of Mazda’s plan to improve the average fuel economy of Mazda vehicles sold globally by 30 percent by 2015, under the company’s long-term vision for technology development, “Sustainable Zoom-Zoom”.

Previewed was the Mazda Hydrogen powered H2 RX-8.

One of the more useful understandings to come out of the presentation was the answer to the question ... Why Rotary? As it turns out, the heat build-up in the combustion chamber of a standard internal combustion engine (due to the very nature of the "stationary" defined space of each cylinder) is not an issue with the movement of the combustible and compressed air and fuel mixture action of the Rotary engine functionality.

After the presentation, one of the members, Merkel Weiss - Accident Re-constructionist with Stephen Blewett & Assocs. expressed extreme disappointment in the stated advancements and efficiencies put forth by Mazda. He said that 1) There was really nothing new, and 2) He believed that Mazda was just scrubbing down old platforms to make them more efficient and could have pursued this effort years ago, in that, they were stating from a reputation of being one of the least efficient (in terms of gas mileage and pollution) of auto manufacturers.

In aggregate, the fact that Mazda has set a course to embrace what they term as "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom" upon which a long-term course was charted, Mazda and its design, engineering, and marketing departments would create automobile technology that would excite, look inviting to drive, fun to drive enough to want to drive them again, and all of this with the overlay of being improved in terms of a sustainable future for cars, people, and the Earth.

As Mazda's Robert Davis put it in the presentation (to paraphrase), "We are not just bringing our philosophy of a green strategy of automobile manufacturing and function to just one nameplate or platform, we are growing a brand identification."

Mazda's Robert T. Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality for Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) standing photo right, engaged in a conversation with E. Reeves Callaway, Founder, Callaway Cars West (center) and an unknown MPG Luncheon attendee photo left. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2009)

At the luncheon, I met E. Reeves Callaway, the founder of those Callaway Corvettes that run in the 24 hours of Le Mans and have street versions for sale. Reeves got in a conversation with the chief engineer for Mazda's Hydrogen powered H2 RX-8, Tod Kaneko, about putting the rotary engine into a Callaway for a run at Le Mans. Reeves said he had contractual problems with placing a different engine in the modified Corvette platform, so Tod, the engineer, said ... "Why not a whole Mazda, why not a whole Callaway Mazda?" Reeves then said, "Wow, that is a thought ... and we are not even drinking." I chimed in with, "Well, we can give it the working name of the 'CM - Le Mans' ... and if we were drinking I think you all would be doing mark-ups for the Callaway Mazda on cocktail napkins right about now."

... notes from The EDJE