bashing the rotary is common, especially by people who never owned one. Which Mazda with a rotary did you own? I had a 1st gen RX-7 and had *zero* issues with the engine. yes, they consume oil (as designed), in order to lubricate the seals, much like a 2-stroke (oil in gas). so meeting emissions was/is tougher. MPG was meh, but at the time, when gas was cheap, no one cared. First Japanese car to win Le Mans outright was a rotary Mazda. Mazda will use a rotary here: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42433264/mazda-plug-in-hybrid-mx-30-rotary-engine-announced/ As for Government Motors?...well enough said.Actually its a stretch to call the Mazda rotary a "good" engine. Early engines had a history of seal failures and gas mileage was subpar. The new RX8 redesign had major issues too, and engines had to be replaced under warrantee. And it lagged behind conventional reciprocating engines in power and mileage. Kudos to Mazda for giving it a go, but there is a reason why no models today are equipped with the rotary engine. At one time, Popular Mechanics predicted it would replace the reciprocating engine, and GM had already scheduled it into their production runs. GM pulled the plug when they couldn't achieve the same mileage as the reciprocating engine (this was during the 70's oil embargo). Today with normally aspirated reciprocating engines making 600+ HP, the rotary has an uphill battle. Is it cool, YES, and that is why enthusiasts like it and the fact it is unique and rare.
Sponsored