[quote author=TEXNTHREE link=topic=134566.msg2893656#msg2893656 date=1233077880]
[quote author=danielj link=topic=134566.msg2892774#msg2892774 date=1233033582]
It was EPA rating for fuel efficiency, not for power.
Mazda has a history of misstating their cars actual output, then correcting. So significantly in fact that several years ago, Mazda offered an incentive to those who purchased Miata's with the misstated power output.
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Daniel, I hate to correct you a little. You are correct on the revised EPA standards. Yes, Mazda did mistate the power rating on the Miata (I believe just the Mazdaspeed version though).
There was a revision in SAE ratings of power as well...around 2005, SAE International's J1349 Certified Power Standard. This affected other vehicles, not just the Mazdas. Several Japanese brands were rated lower than previously stated...while not actually losing power. Several domestic motors, especially large-displacements, had a higher rating! Great article, albeit biased coming from Detriot News:
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0508/17/A01-283759.htm
2/10s of a liter aren't going to yield a much higher PEAK horsepower rating, but a more useable powerband. People need to get over just looking at PEAK horsepower ratings, they only tell a fraction of what the car is capable of.
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Okay, that explains why so many Japanese cars "lost" HP sometime around then. I noticed several RSX, Camry, Matrix, Corolla models all "lost" HP. Thanks for the info.