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Autonews: GM cancels V-8 program for luxury cars

3K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  megeebee 
#1 ·
AUTO NEWS EMAIL ALERT:GM cancels V-8 program for luxury cars


Richard Truett and Jamie LaReau


DETROIT -- General Motors has canceled plans to build a new advanced double overhead-cam V-8 for its luxury cars.
The move means the future for Cadillac’s V-8 car engines is unclear.
In January 2007, GM said it would invest $300 million in its Tonawanda, N.Y., engine plant for the new V-8 engine, which was scheduled to start production in 2009 and be used in luxury cars.
GM Powertrain spokesman Tom Read said Thursday that the project is dead. That engine likely would have replaced Cadillac’s long-running Northstar V-8, which is scheduled to end production in 2010.
Cadillac could switch to high-powered V-6s in its cars, except for the Corvette-based XLR.

FOR MORE, WELL . . . LETS JUST HOPE THAT MEGEEBEE POSTS THE REST
 
#3 ·
I hear and I obey the words of SOBE:

WWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I suppose, in the good ol' days, a 300 million dollar project would have been considered chicken feed when looked upon as a "big-picture" issue. That is to say, having a globally competitive super-V8 to rival anything, anywhere, would be worth the expediture as a corporate "halo" product.

Times have changed.

I also hate to think that the time and money already expended will come to nothing. But perhaps what has been done or learned in the last year or so can be applied to other projects.

This has, I feel, postponed any global acclaim for Cadillac. And, probably past my lifetime. As I tried to post over at GMI (the server over there is about to melt with this news, as you can imagine): There is still and always will be a large population of people on this planet who couldn't care less about the cost of a gallon of gasoline. It is their attention and regard that gives any product an unassailable legitimacy in the eyes of the larger public.

And, maybe, there is a back up plan that hasn't been announced. Maybe. Fortunately GM has a highly regarded DI V6. There is still the Northstar. Perhaps it can be enhanced. Again, maybe. But it ain't the same.
 
#9 ·
DI is not enough. Boosting and DI allow much more. Ford is about to proliferate that dual tech in a big way - not with just a limited run 2-seater.
The the high feature V6 used by GM is the same basic architecture accross the board. The Saab twin turbo V6 used in the 9-3X is the same basic architecture used in the Cadillacs Buicks and Holden.
I doubt that GM is already not testing Turbo charging a direct injected V6. Its kind of a no brainer. Its also naive to think that Everyone is not paying close attention to their brethren intentions
 
#10 ·
For what it's worth, here's the rest..




GM cancels V-8 program for luxury cars



Cadillac could switch to high-powered V-6s in its cars, except for the Corvette-based XLR.

The new direct-injected V-6 in the 2008 CTS develops 304 hp, while the current Northstar V-8 makes 275 hp in the 2008 DTS.

Cadillac spokesman Kevin Smith said, “We’ve really seen the V-6 become the predominant engine in sales on the (2008) STS because it’s so close in power to the V-8.”

He added that the V-6 is about 150 to 200 pounds lighter.

The cancellation of the new V-8 comes just days after President Bush signed into law new fuel economy standards that call for a 40 percent fuel economy improvement by 2020. The new standards start phasing in in 2011.

The Tonawanda plant still gets at least one new engine, an all-new 4.5-liter diesel V-8 engine that starts production in 2010. That engine, GM said earlier, will be used in light pickups and SUVs.



Source: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/ANA02/713461822/1190&template=printart



And as a point of detail, the Northstar name is "long-running". The RWD version of this engine dates to the Fall of 2003. It shares nearly nothing with the FWD version still powering the few Lucernes and DTS's that find buyers. The FWD version dates to the fall of 1992 in the Allante.
 
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