Not the case. When Ecoboost and Skyactiv first debuted, they were described at length in company press material and in magazines as doing all kinds of special things we'd never seen before. The end point of the press releases was that these were to give extra power and higher mpg's, above what the common averages were. Never panned out. Not fulfilling a promise or making a claim that isn't true is the definition of a scam.

 

The engines do in fact have unique qualities. My Mazda 6 & CX-9 produce 310 lb ft of torque at just 2000 rpm. How many gasoline engines do that? There's a number of unique design elements. I don't understand where the "scam" is. That's a strong word that just doesn't apply to these branding labels. A scam is if they specifically told you the car would average 40 mpg but actually only got 20, far lower than any normal variance.

 

From the article previously posted:

"Mazda says the ’12 Mazda3’s new 155-hp 2.0L Skyactiv gasoline 4-cyl. consumes 15% less fuel than its same-displacement predecessor, making mileage roughly equivalent to a conventional 2.2L diesel. Other improvements include 15% more torque, especially in the low-to-mid-rpm range, a 10% weight reduction and 30% less internal friction."

"Compared with the competing Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra I-4s, "The Mazda3 stands taller...with a free-revving vigor directly attributable to its best-in-class torque peak of 148 lb.-ft. (201 Nm) at a reasonable 4,100 rpm."

Seems like it panned out (and is continuing to pan out) just fine.

 

SkyActiv is Mazda's brand name -- like TNGA is Toyota's brand name -- for a number of related technologies that include internal combustion engines, transmissions and platform/body.

There are spark-ignition gasoline SkyActiv-G, diesel SkyActiv-D, hybrid SkyActiv-Hybrid (which uses Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive hybrid system), natural gas SkyActiv-CNG and the new compression-ignition gasoline (as opposed to compression-ignition diesel) SkyActiv-X engines.

SkyActiv-G comes in 1.3- and 1.5-litre engines, which we are not familiar with in North America; and 2.0-, 2.5-litre and 2.5-litre turbocharged engines, which are familiar to North Americans. They are all high-compression (to increase power and efficiency) 4-cylinder engines, and no 6-cylinder engines, which explains the high-torque-at-low-rpm turbo engine.

SkyActiv-D comes in 1.5-, 1.8- and 2.2-litre engines; the 2.2-litre engine will be available in the CX-5 this summer. Mazda has been promising a diesel in a North American vehicle since it first introduced SkyActiv almost a decade ago. Mazda thought that designing a diesel with a lower-than-normal compression ratio (14:1 as opposed to 20:1 or greater) would make exhaust after-treatment not necessary, but the new diesel engine coming this summer will have urea injection exhaust treatment to meet North American emissions regulations.

There are SkyActiv-Drive 6-speed automatic and SkyActiv-MT 6-speed manual transmissions. The automatic transmission is a normal planetary gearset transmission but with torque converter lockup in all gears. Mazda decided against CVT and DSG transmissions.

Mazda is a very small (and still independent) automaker with few resources so decided to invest its resources into (small) internal combustion engines rather than electrification.

When introduced nearly a decade ago, the SkyActiv-G engines were definitely more efficient than the Mazda/Ford Duratec engines that they replaced, but a decade on, they (with the exception of the turbocharged 2.5-litre engine) are no longer that impressive in power output nor fuel efficiency.

 

"Skyactiv" "EarthDreams" "Northstar" "Hemi" all just marketing speak.

 

I read it as, Mazda has a new engine, but not really because you can’t get the engine. So it’s like a bait and switch. Whether or not the new engines are available I am not sure as I truly do not like Mazda enough to do the research.

But yes, the names are marketing speak. Some sound interesting while other do not. Dynamic Force is lame, iForce in my 4Runner but mysteriously absent in my old LX470 is lame. So is the awful TFSI from Audi. But meh, whatever, gives us something to chat about

 

Skyactiv-X is the engine. Skyactiv is Mazda's strategy/marketing term/philosophy behind developing -G, -D and -X engines, the exterior/interior design language, etc. It's not a bait and switch, people just don't understand the difference.

 

"Hemi" was based on hemispherically-shaped cylinder-heads that increased combustion efficiency and power production. In the 1960s, when the concept was first put into production on large Chrysler V8s, it was more than just marketing speak. Hemi-powered Dodges and Plymouths dominated drag-racing for several years, and Richard Petty drove Hemi-Plymouths in NASCAR to several titles.

Northstar V8s were among the first V8s to be adaptable to a FWD/transverse layout, but had significant reliability issues.

 

Yes, it is marketing, specifically, branding. Being in sales yourself, I would think that you would appreciate good branding and good marketing.

 

For sure, so where is the Skyactiv X engine?

Ironically, this just came out on Autoblog
https://www.autoblog.com/2019/04/24/...ll-come-to-us/

 

Actually, a typical automotive diesel engine runs closer to 20:1 compression (18:1 is about average). But, yes, the point is taken is that these ratios are still higher than average for a gasoline engine....and the internal temperatures and pressures involved will necessitate strengthening of the engine block, bearings, pistons, crankshaft, and connecting rods. This is something that is critically important in an engine of diesel-type compression. Most of the time, you can't just re-work an existing gas-engine block.....it has to be designed from the bottom up to be a diesel (or capable of diesel-like compression) in the first place. We've seen, in the past, the tragic consequences of when this practice was not done...either out of ignorance on the part of the designers or simply to save money on development costs and production. The notorious 4.3L and 5.7L GM diesels are arguably the best examples, but there are others.

 

But that is turbo? 250hp with 93 octane, 227 with regular fuel.

I think the scam is that Mazda has been talking about the X engine, but it is not available.

 

Actually this is false.

https://www.mazda.com/en/innovation/technology/env/ev/

 

My point was that Mazda's makes 310 lb ft of torque at a remarkably low 2000 RPM which feels fantastic under normal driving (and spirited driving). Way more responsive than a V6. For comparison, Ford's i4 Ecoboost makes 310 lb ft at 3000 RPM. Most competing turbo 4's don't even approach 310 in the first place.

IThat's like saying a concept car is a scam. They're just previewing what they're working on.

Another analogy to this branding is the use of the ubiquitous "Limited" moniker. Limited? The automaker makes as many as will sell. If we were to take the word literally, is that a "scam"?

 

So, I don’t disagree with anything you said. I don’t even know if it is a scam for sure, but, the OP brought to my attention at least that the X engine has been talked about but is unavailable.

As for limited. Can you elaborate on that? I am not sure what you mean