Mazda Motor Corporation

Nobuyuki Ikemoto

Shirou Nakatani

Kazue Sumida

Yukiichirou Shimada

Hirokazu Yamasaki

Yasuhiro Kohara

Masaaki Koto

Takao Maruko

Taichi Kobayashi

Akifumi Ohno

A tunnel-expansion portion is provided at a front portion of a tunnel portion. The tunnel-expansion portion projects upward greatly and widely so as to provide components of an exhaust system that extend rearward from an exhaust manifold therein (outside a vehicle compartment). Accordingly, there can be provided a front structure of a vehicle, in which an engine is laterally disposed in an engine room at a front portion of the vehicle, an intake pipe is disposed in front of the engine, and an exhaust pipe is disposed in back of the engine, which can improve an exhaust efficiency and a vehicle safety against a vehicle crash, without providing an improperly-large longitudinal space between the engine and the dash panel.

Front structure of vehicle

An automobile rear body structure capable of allowing a space created between a rear bumper reinforcing member and a line connecting respective rear ends of a pair of rear side frames to be effectively utilized. In this automobile rear body structure, a rear end cross member () has an expanded portion () formed to expand rearward relative to respective rear ends () of a pairs of rear side frames (), and a rear floor pan () has a rear edge including a protruded portion (). The protruded portion () is formed to protrude relative to the rear ends () of the pairs of rear side frames () toward the expanded portion of the rear end cross member () and connected to the rear end cross member (), so as to allow a luggage compartment space to be enlarged rearward relative to the rear ends () of the pairs of rear side frames ().

Automobile rear body structure

A transfer case operation mode shifting apparatus used on a vehicle equipped with part-time four-wheel drive which having a center-differential shiftable between a differential-locked and differental-free drive mode of operation and between a two-wheel and a four-wheel drive mode of operation and a transfer shiftable between a high-speed range and a low-speed range drive mode of operation. The transfer case is shifted in its drive mode of operation by an operation mode selecting member for selecting a desired drive mode of operation. A power drive operation mode shifting device is provided in cooperation with the drive mode selecting member and a controller to actually shift the transfer case from one drive mode of operation to another. The controller is adapted to detect that the center-differential gear assembly of the transfer case is in a differential-locked four-wheel drive mode of operation so as to inhibit a transition of the center-differential to a two-wheel drive mode of operation.

Operating apparatus for four-wheel drive vehicle

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Nobuyuki Ikemoto