An internal source is indicating that Cadillac and GM are couching a bit on the upcoming 2008 CTS. Everyone knows that the base engine will be the current 3.6 motor making 255 horsepower. Likewise, Cadillac and GM have announced that the uplevel motor will be the same engine with direct injection making about 300 HP. What hasn't been unveiled yet is that Cadillac will be receiving an exclusive High Feature variant with a 4.0 litre displacement for model year 2009, slotting above the 3.6 DI engine. It will make about 350 horsepower and will be a placeholder until the Ultra V8 can be slotted into the CTS as it moves upmarket to battle the BMW 5 Series.
What does this mean?
It means that someone has their head on straight at GM. The 2008 CTS is a porker and a half. This should help immensely.
**UPDATE**
The current 3.6 HF V6 is a sleeved 3.8 liter engine, and that would have been the obvious easy upgrade path for Cadillac in terms of getting this new motor out the door. However, an internal decision was made to move beyond the 3.8 liter size because of past associations that would come up with the soon to be extinct 3800 V6 which dates back to a time when many were still a twinkle in the eyes of their father. The same reasoning was used to preclude a 3.9 upgrade, which could possibly be confused with the 3.9 OHV found in the G6, Impala and Malibu.
1 comment:
No problem with the 4.0 liter or its estimated output - it's good news if its economy is similar to the 3.6 DI's. This just proves that GM had to many V6s in the past - amazing what can be done when development dollars are allocated to a single good, competitive engine rather than to five or six non-competitive ones (3.4 Chinese, 3.4 VVT, 3.5, 3.5 VVT, 3.6 HF, 3.8 3800, 3.9 VVT). I'm so tired of hearing how "bulletproof" the 3800 is/was. Great, but as fat and heavy as new cars are, we don't need cast iron blocks and engines that wheeze beyond 3500 RPMs.
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