Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer View Post
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That's why Mazda's keeping Wankel rotaries on the front burner [because it's a simpler IC engine]. The rotary engine is very inefficient in stop-and-go city driving, but can be a very compelling option as a steady-state battery generator because of its small size, smooth operation, and efficiency under constant load.
I had a 1974 Mazda RX-2 with the rotary engine; (always a conversation piece at the local service stations). A great car over all but It's fuel economy was terrible. It had 3-speed manual. Mostly it would have got much better mileage with a modern 5 or 6-speed.

My RX-2 looked almost exactly like this one ...