RESTRICTED -- Kenichi Yamamoto, Father of Mazda’s Rotary Engine, Is Dead at 95

In an undated handout image, Kenichi Yamamoto, the president and chairman of Mazda. Yamamoto, who as a mechanical engineer led the development of a commercially viable rotary engine, an innovation that helped Mazda distinguish itself for decades, died on Dec. 20, 2017. He was 95. (Mazda Motor Corporation via The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH STORY SLUGGED OBIT-YAMAMOTO BY SANDOMIR FOR DEC. 30, 2017. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. --