The Mazda RX Receives the Last Nail in its Coffin

2018 Mazda RX-9 Rendering (Credit: © Hodge Ltd)

Those of you who have been waiting to hear news on the rumored return of the Mazda RX nameplate will be sad to learn that Mazda CEO, Masamichi Kogai, has officially nixed any idea of the RX’s return in a recent interview. According to Automotive News, Kogai said that Mazda’s current seven-vehicle lineup is already stretched to its limits, and it needs to focus on creating next-generation variants of its existing lineup and focus on continuing to build its fuel-efficient Skyactiv technology.

When asked about releasing the RX, Kogai responded by saying “we don’t have that kind of vehicle in our future product plan.” Though that breaks all of our hearts, his logic makes sense, as he continued by saying “If you increase the number of segments, then the resources we can allocate to each will decline and that will prevent us from developing truly good products.” Yes, that is a bean-counter type of move, but given the condition Mazda was in when he took over and the fact that the company has just started turning a profit, this type of move is the responsible one to make.

Instead of jumping into the super-sports car segment, Mazda will pool its limited resources and capital into creating the Skyactiv2 line of engines. These engines will reportedly be 30-percent more fuel efficient than the ones available now thanks homogeneous charge compression ignition, which puts the air-fuel mixture under such high compression that it self-combusts without the need for spark.

While this seems like a great idea, there’s one underlying issue with moving to HCCI, and that’s the fact that other manufacturer’s have attempted to do so unsuccessfully — GM, Mercedes and VW all have working models, but have yet to insert these engines into their production lineups.

So there you have it, Mazda’s focus is on one thing: making its current lineup better. While I love the idea of more fuel-efficient vehicles, it pains me to hear that final nail get driven into the RX’s coffin. Fortunately, the MX-5 is alive, well and shows no signs of slowing down.