17:
94:(GMRCE) was fixed when responsibility for the power plant's manufacture was turned over to General Motors Hydra Matic Division in August 1972 – two rotors displacing 206 cubic inches (3.38 L), twin distributors and coils, and a switch to aluminum housing construction. Iron couldn't match the heat-dissipating qualities of aluminum. In addition, there was also a rotor tip-seal problem in the cast-iron configuration, especially after 15,000 miles (24,000 km). RC2-206 Wankels were installed in 1973 Vegas for cold weather testing performed in Canada.
217:
development. Pete Estes succeeded Ed Cole as GM President and never showed any special interest in the Wankel or in the perpetuation of Cole's ideas. As
General Motors managers were cancelling the Wankel project, the R&D team partly released the results of their most recent research, which claimed to have solved the fuel economy problem, and reliable engines with a lifespan above 530,000 miles. These findings were not taken into account when the cancellation order was issued. The General Motors' abandonment of the rotary engine affected
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77:
209:
89:
magazine in the May 1972 article "GM Rotary Engine for the 1974 Vega", an illustration of the Wankel installed in a 1974 Vega hatchback showed a different grille, a lower, more sloped hood line, and a "GM Rotary" badge and Wankel crest on the rear quarter panel. They stated the Vega-rotary would be
188:
walls of production tooling requirements and the need to freeze a design to begin emission certification. Ed Cole and his top engineer Frank
Winchell, had taken personal charge of the project and had stopped work on all other GM-rotaries to focus on the problems of the Vega RC2-206 Wankel. A month
93:
The Wankel had so far proven more reliable than four, six, and eight-cylinder engines – GM-rotary engines were run up to 500,000 miles (800,000 km) showing only minimal wear, and the engine's fewer moving parts assured its reliability. The final design
General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine
216:
On
September 24, 1974, Ed Cole postponed the Wankel engine, ostensibly due to emissions difficulties. He retired the same month. The rotary's emissions problem was mentioned with no specifics. GM admitted fuel economy for the rotary was sub-standard and postponed production in favor of further
199:
in April 1974 predicted the outcome: "If the GM rotary engine hasn't made a place for itself in the company's lineup by fall, and if by then it hasn't been locked into the '75 model range - somewhere - the odds will increase that it may never go into production."
35:
which uses a rotary design to convert pressure into a rotating motion instead of using reciprocating pistons. In
November 1970, GM paid $ 50 million, ($ 392,287,918 in 2023 dollars ), for initial licenses to produce their version of the Wankel rotary engine, and
153:), according to GM, but with the fuel breakthrough came related side-effect problems. Durability under the "hot" set-up began to deteriorate. Higher temperatures and pressures affected both apex seals and the chrome-on-steel-on-aluminum coating of the
114:. To meet those standards GM had to scrap the design theory of widely spaced dual spark plugs and move them closer to the rotor chamber, Mazda fashion. That helped lower emissions but did not improve fuel economy, and GM was unwilling to face
189:
later it was clear the Wankel would not be ready for either production or emissions certification in time for the start of the 1975 model year. A new model had now been planned to showcase the engine; The 1975 Vega-based
129:
relaxed emission standards for '75, and GM tuned the engine to provide better mileage at a sacrifice to exhaust emissions by reverting to the earlier layout. Other refinements improved mileage to 20
60:, but Ed Cole would leave his office in Detroit twice a week for the trip to Warren, taking charge of the program. The engine was initially targeted for an October 1973 introduction as a 1974
165:
magazine, in the July 1973 article "The '75 Vega Rotary" quoted: "GM saw the rotary engine's future as probably much greater than they do today...mileage will be in the 16–18 mpg
516:
184:
By
November, 1973 the side-effect troubles were intense. No immediate solutions were being revealed by engineers working all but around the clock, their backs to the
509:
303:
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a
Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda
157:
surface. The surface plating tended to crack and flake away around the exhaust port, blamed by GM engineers on sudden cooling after hard, hot running.
16:
181:), the whole rotary deal begins to look just a little less attractive, with what the price of gasoline skyrocketing, but that's another matter."
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56:, as well as Ed Cole worked on the Wankel. Bob Templin was the chief executive in charge of rotary-engine research at the GM Tech Center in
1056:
21:
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193:. On December 21, 1973, when GM paid another $ 10 million against its rotary licence fees, the company announced the first postponement.
110:
Early in 1973, progress on the generation I Wankel engine had progressed to the point where GM felt it had a good chance to meet '75
627:
447:
323:
How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a
Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States
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126:
135:
720:
647:
330:
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543:
266:
Power per required space: Wankel - 27 hp/cu ft (710 kW/m) / V8 - 5.7 hp/cu ft (150 kW/m)
144:
140:
130:
797:
637:
260:
Net torque @ rpm: Wankel - 125 lb⋅ft (169 N⋅m) @ 4,000 / V8 - 230 lb⋅ft (312 N⋅m) @ 2,400
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Hp per lb / kW/kg.: Wankel - 0.59 hp/lb (0.97 kW/kg) / V8 - 0.28 hp/lb (0.46 kW/kg)
90:
sold as a package with performance items, including mag-styled wheels, radial tires, and rally stripes.
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Space requirement: Wankel - 5.5 cu ft (0.16 m) / V8 - 23 cu ft (0.65 m)
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Net power @ rpm: Wankel - 150 hp (112 kW) @ 6,000 / V8 - 130 hp (97 kW) @ 4,000
111:
840:
710:
705:
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was designed to utilize GM's new rotary engine, however AMC was forced to market the car with an
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221:, who had an agreement to purchase rotary power plants from General Motors. The 1975
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Weight: Wankel - 255 lb (116 kg) / V8 - 465 lb (211 kg)
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expire, another Cole project — well before the celebrated attacks of
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173:) range. Compared to the normal piston (engine) Vega's 20 to 26 mpg
449:
The Big Book of Car
Culture: The Armchair Guide to Automotive Americana
41:
119:
101:
15:
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option. Its mediocre fuel economy and the ill-timed Arab
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were contributing factors to end the GM rotary program.
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125:In April 1973, the Environmental Protection Agency
415:Motor Trend, International report, p.24-April 1974
177:(11.8 to 9.0 L/100 km; 24 to 31 mpg
98:Fuel economy vs reliability and meeting emissions
241:. 307 cu in (5,030 cc) V8 engine
44:initially projected its release in three years.
80:1972 GM Rotary engine cutaway shows twin-rotors
29:General Motors Rotary Combustion Engine (GMRCE)
510:
8:
406:Motor Trend, Mar. 1975, v. 29, n. 3, pg. 53
237:206 cu in (3,380 cc) Wankel
735:
517:
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248:Number of parts: Wankel - 698 / V8 - 1,103
358:Automotive News Article date:May 21, 2001
169:(15–13 L/100 km; 19–22 mpg
446:Hinckley, Jim; Robinson, Jon G. (2005).
424:Estes had previously decided to let the
207:
75:
339:"Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–"
288:
20:A General Motors rotary engine at the
337:Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
251:Moving parts: Wankel - 154 / V8 - 388
7:
22:Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum
14:
394:quote-Motor Trend-July 1973-p.52
452:. MBI Publishing. p. 122.
376:Popular Science May 1972 p. 100
1:
331:American Antiquarian Society
311:American Antiquarian Society
1057:Products introduced in 1972
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385:Motor Trend-July 1973 p.52
31:is an internal combustion
367:Popular Science-May 1974
106:1974 Vega RC2-206 Wankel
490:How Wankel Engines Work
1062:General Motors engines
658:Single-acting cylinder
591:Double-acting cylinder
233:Rotary vs GM V8 engine
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72:History of Development
24:
526:Engine configurations
484:U.S. patent 2,988,008
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204:End of rotary program
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628:Oscillating cylinder
48:, with impetus from
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623:Intake over exhaust
112:emissions standards
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638:Overhead camshaft
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33:Wankel engine
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1022:Split-single
808:Flat / boxer
668:Swing-piston
463:. Retrieved
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436:, April 1974
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344:February 29,
342:. Retrieved
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711:Five-stroke
706:Four-stroke
663:Split cycle
601:Free-piston
544:Atmospheric
434:Motor Trend
430:Ralph Nader
315:1700–1799:
295:1634–1699:
197:Motor Trend
162:Motor Trend
122:withstood.
116:gas mileage
66:oil embargo
1051:Categories
716:Six-stroke
701:Two-stroke
618:Heron head
576:Cam engine
465:2011-12-11
283:References
227:inline six
179:‑imp
171:‑imp
143:; 24
50:Pete Estes
40:President
223:AMC Pacer
191:Monza 2+2
175:‑US
167:‑US
139:(12
46:Chevrolet
648:Pentroof
596:Flathead
586:Compound
564:Rotative
320:(1992).
300:(1997).
271:See also
229:engine.
155:trochoid
856:V / Vee
673:Uniflow
606:Stelzer
581:Camless
559:Cornish
426:Corvair
148:‑
134:‑
42:Ed Cole
1017:Radial
1007:Deltic
653:Rotary
571:Bourke
456:
1000:Other
683:Wedge
549:Axial
327:(PDF)
307:(PDF)
127:(EPA)
120:Mazda
678:Watt
613:Hemi
554:Beam
537:Type
528:for
454:ISBN
346:2024
52:and
27:The
991:W30
986:W24
981:W18
976:W16
971:W12
938:V24
933:V20
928:V18
923:V16
918:V14
913:V12
908:V10
896:VR6
884:VR5
846:F16
841:F12
836:F10
798:I14
793:I12
186:two
150:imp
145:mpg
131:mpg
1053::
966:W8
961:W6
956:W3
903:V8
891:V6
879:V5
874:V4
869:V3
864:V2
831:F8
826:F6
821:F4
816:F2
788:I9
783:I8
778:I7
773:I6
768:I5
763:I4
758:I3
753:I2
748:I1
432:.
399:^
329:.
309:.
239:vs
136:US
38:GM
1032:X
1027:U
1012:H
948:W
518:e
511:t
504:v
468:.
348:.
333:.
313:.
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