Automakers once bet big on bizarre ideas—from swirling airflows to variable compression—and the results were as fascinating as they were short-lived. Automotive engineers have invested countless ...

As we face the end of the internal-combustion era, the straight-six has made an unlikely comeback. Well, unlikely might not be the right word for an engine configuration of such fundamental rightness.

It's a technology that's been a sort of Holy Grail in the auto industry for at least a couple of decades. Now Mazda, one of the smallest global automakers, plans to introduce it in a radical new ...