Engine Question

[Sage]

I’ve seen several articles that describe the Mazda 3’s engine as “electric-motor operated”. What does that mean?

 

[backspace]

Just a guess, but something I read mentioned that the power steering pump was operated by an electric motor rather then being powered by the engine to reduce drag.

 

[retsmah]

Do you have a link to any of these articles? Might be useful to see one of them.

 

[Sage]

Here’s the only one I can find right now (I keep getting results for the electric power steering):

…it doesn't convey that sense of quickness to its pilot, due to the combination of a quieter cabin and the electric-motor operation of the 2.3-liter engine, which is devoid of any peakiness, pulling smoothly and steadily right up to its 7100-rpm redline.

I noticed this lack of “peakiness”, so I consulted this issue of C&D and noticed that line, referring to an electric-motor operation. As backspace mentioned, I already know that the car has an electrically-boosted power steering system, but I wasn’t sure if that’s what’s being referred to here, since they say electric-motor operation of the engine.

 

[niky]

Maybe they're poor translations of "electric throttle motor controlled"... errh... drive-by-wire, basically.

EDIT: if that's C&D, I have no idea, then... maybe they're just referring to the smoothness? The electronic throttle and engine management act together, I guess, to ensure you won't bog the engine or lug it with a sudden full-throttle application at low revs, as you can with regular engines.

 

[the Interceptor]

…it doesn't convey that sense of quickness to its pilot, due to the combination of a quieter cabin and the electric-motor operation of the 2.3-liter engine, which is devoid of any peakiness, pulling smoothly and steadily right up to its 7100-rpm redline.

The way I understand this, they just mean that the engine operates so smoothly and constantly, it almost feels like an electric motor.

Regards
the Interceptor

 

[Wolfe]

"Electric-motor operation" is being used as a descriptor, referring to the engine's smoothness, as the Interceptor said.

 

[Sage]

Oh, ha, silly me. Well then, move on, nothing to see here…

 

[neanderthal]

seesm self explanatory. read the whole thing.

talks about quiet seemless power. just like an electric motor.

they really need to emphasise english comprehension in schools dont they?

 

[Sage]

I’m not an idiot – I’ve taken AP and Honors English for three years, and I read The Elements of Style when I’m bored. I read “electric-motor operation” as a noun instead of an adjectival unit, because I knew the Mazda’s power-steering was electric-boosted, so I thought this was something similar for the engine. I’ll plead ignorance for engine knowledge, but I don’t care to be belittled for an honest misreading.

 

[Wolfe]

Yeah, that was rather harsh, neanderthal.

I'm sure it happens to everyone at some point when they're learning about cars -- I once got tripped up by the phrase, "that engine is bulletproof"...I wondered why someone would worry about their engine getting shot at. I felt dumb a moment or two later, when I figured out what it actually meant.

 

[the Interceptor]

I "extracted" what they meant with "electric-motor operation" from the whole sentence. If you ask me, there's an "almost" or some similar fill-word missing, like:

…it doesn't convey that sense of quickness to its pilot, due to the combination of a quieter cabin and the almost electric motor operation of the 2.3-liter engine, which is devoid of any peakiness, pulling smoothly and steadily right up to its 7100-rpm redline.

That would have pointed out what they were on about in the first place.

Regards
the Interceptor

 

[Wolfe]

I would have hyphenated the "electric motor" part, and added a "-like," like so --

…it doesn't convey that sense of quickness to its pilot, due to the combination of a quieter cabin and the almost electric-motor-like operation of the 2.3-liter engine, which is devoid of any peakiness, pulling smoothly and steadily right up to its 7100-rpm redline.

 

[a6m5]

I agree with the Interceptor and Wolfe........... still laughing at Wolfe's "bulletproof" engine. 👍