Mazda Cars…and Windmills?
View the Sport Durst website and you will see a whole slew of worthy Mazda vehicles with plenty to offer prospective buyers. The Japanese automaker has, after all, become a byword for sporty, fun cars that have, in recent years, become more and more wallet-friendly, with value pricing and improved fuel economy so that getting where you need to go costs you less. As if to underline this point, Mazda announced their latest innovation: windmill technology to boost fuel economy. So what does that mean and how does it work? It’s not as quixotic as you might think.
i-ELOOP
The windmill technology components will be used to improve Mazda’s new braking system, which they have named i-ELOOP, an abbreviation for the phrase “intelligent energy loop,” which is the concept touch-phrase for the system. The idea is that i-ELOOP will capture and use energy from the inertia of a moving vehicle and bring in alternator power when the throttle is closed. The energy is captured in an electric double layer capacitator, technologically that is commonly found in wind turbines.
Eco-Boost?
How much in fuel efficiency is that really going save me, you might be wondering. Mazda projects it could give the vehicles an eco-boost of up to 10 percent; drivers will probably see, in real world application, an improvement of about 1 mpg. That doesn’t sound like a lot, does it? But it’s all part of the broader Skyactiv system, Mazda’s latest and greatest efforts to create the most fuel efficient non-hybrids on the market, a goal some might say they’ve set the bar for with their innovative Mazda3s, which get up to 40 mpg on the highway.
Coming Soon
This wind turbine-inspired innovation will make its debut in the braking system of the 2014 Mazda6. See new and used Mazdas in Raleigh now by visiting the Sport Durst website, and check back in upcoming months for the debut of this exciting new technology.