The history of automotives biggest failure, the rotary engine
About this episode
Exploring the fascinating yet tumultuous history of the rotary engine, this episode dives deep into its origins, notable applications, and the challenges it faced over the years. From Felix Wankel's revolutionary design to Mazda's RX-7 and RX-8, the hosts share personal anecdotes and insights about their experiences with these unique engines. They discuss the rotary's performance, reliability issues, and its eventual decline in the automotive market, while also touching on modern innovations and potential future applications. A mix of humor and technical detail makes this a compelling listen for anyone interested in automotive history.
Elliott tells us all about the storied history of the invention of Felix Wankel
Volkswagen Beetle
"... Well, they had something like that in Volkswagen Beetles, the weird automatics they had that was similar."
Suzuki Samurai
"...n. Obviously the Japanese and they are big on the samurai thing. Toiled and toiled and they got it going."
Toyota 2000 Gt
"...n, there's no where. I mean, they're not like the Toyota 2000 GT, you know. They're a six-figure carburetor."
General Motors Ev1
"I tried to hide your mistake. GM did that with EV1. It's not a corporate like,"
American Motors Corporation (Amc) Pacer
"...a and they were supplying the engines for the AMC Pacer. So they were like, this is perfect."
Chevrolet Corvette
"...xciting, but they did make a couple of mid-engine Corvettes with rotary engines, which I thought was really c..."
Porsche 944
"...r some reason, they were actually compared to the 944, which I guess would have been the closest compar..."
Toyota Supra
"...s like, am I gonna buy a Porsche, a Corvette or a Supra or this? And this had a weird engine that had bee..."
Mazda MX-5 / Miata
"I honestly would. Well, Mazda had the Miata too, that was just a game changer, I feel like th..."
Pontiac Firebird
"...reddy and all these guys were running Camaros and Firebirds. They've got all those cars out there"
Chevrolet Camaro
"... Mario and Dreddy and all these guys were running Camaros and Firebirds. They've got all those cars out the..."
Jeep Wrangler
"And this could get girls. I traded a 2004 Wrangler Rubicon with axles, locking axles and all that st..."
Cadillac Escalade
"You didn't know. The Eldorod from the Escalade. We're gonna be talking about that next week."
Mitsubishi Eclipse
"it's a girl buying between a Mitsubishi Eclipse and this. I think it was 14 city, 15 highway."
Mazda Mx30E
"and it's in a production car. It's called the Mazda MX-30E Skyactive R-EV, which is too long of a name."
Mazda Cx30
"which is too long of a name. It looks like our CX-30, kind of. But this is basically like a Volt."
Toyota Mirai
"...ry, but obviously as we're seeing with the Toyota Mirai, it was ever only rolled out in California"
Gmc Sierra
"...ell, nice work, Elliot. Now I'm gonna go look for GMC Sierra Quadrasteers. Thank you, welcome."
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