V-8 engines fading into the past as GM ramps up V-6 production
I exaggerate only slightly with the headline here, because V-8 engines will still be around for a long time to come. There will remain some demand for larger trucks well into the future, although the segment will be dramatically smaller than it has been in recent years. In mainstream cars however, the presence of V-8 engines will be increasingly uncommon. About six months ago, General Motors canceled plans for a new generation high feature V-8 to replace the Northstar currently used in many Cadillacs. The latest evidence of a shift away from V-8s is GM's plan to increase production of the high-feature V-6 by 59 percent.
The company will expand the engine plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico to increase production from 590,000 units a year to 940,000 annually. The next-generation version of the V-6 that is currently used in a variety of GM cars and crossovers will be more powerful and likely more efficient. The new versions will most likely be exclusively fitted with direct injection. The Ramos facility also produces 6 speed automatic transmissions which will be rolled to replace most of the current 4 speed applications.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave 1:37AM (6/11/2008)
Its likely that the reason for this increase in high feature V6 production has little to do with GM's V8s.
GM may finally be reducing its V6 family count from four (high feature, 3800, 4.3, 60 degree) to reduce R&D expense.
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Bman 11:19AM (6/11/2008)
Baby steps GM, just take baby steps.
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66coronet 5:29PM (6/11/2008)
If only they add cylinder deactivation to a smaller motor than the 3.9L for the smaller vehicles. Both would be nice with the 2 mode hybrid system.
Adding the VM 2.9L crd to most all the GM line up would be nice. H-3, all vans, silverado 1500, colorado, impaula, malabu, all Buicks, a few pontiacs, ect...
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ernesto pineyro 11:44PM (10/28/2008)
A solution to the gas crisis: Smaller engines with slower transmisions and stronger shifts. Shorter firsts and seconds and a total of six shifts. Could it be?
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ernesto pineyro 12:06AM (10/29/2008)
Could it be possible, for the sake of insurance companies, the well being of the consumer public and the responsibilities derived fron a car accident that a "black box", the type used in airplanes to determine the causes of an accident, to be developed and installed on very new and old car? This "black box" may account for at least ten variables present in a car accident, such as: speed, condition of the brake system, date and time of the accident, weather present in site of the accident, state of the traffic signals, (red, amber or green), by mean of a sensor or a tv camera installed in the front of the car, distance to the next car, front and rear, etc. I think that in this manner the insurance companies and the consumer will be able to settle agreements in a more amicable form. Ernesto Pineyro Pineyro
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