oldshurst442

Not with me, if an engine is a great engine, I would like to see it evolve and be used in multiple roles. The Atlas is one. The Blackwing V8 is another. The Northstar was a good engine. It had some minor engineering flaws that could have been addressed earlier in its production run, and GM did use it it multiple roles. FWD. RWD. Supercharged. Lower displacement. 6 cylinder configuration. In a sports car. The Shelby Series One. As a race engine both as a 4.6 liter and as a 4.0 liter. I wanted the 6 cylinder version to be used in more vehicles though. And I guess this is what I wanted from the Atlas. To be showcased in a special kind of vehicle rather than be "wasted" on BOF SUVs that only lasted 1 generation. Going back to the Blackwing V8... The Blackwing V8 is not like the Atlas family of engines. Only a handful of these engines were produced. It maybe an expensive engine to build, but maybe the Escalade could benefit from it from making it a special kind of Escalade. Maybe not as a V Series, but of an ultra luxurious Escalade to offset the cost of production. And the Escalade itself could be a boutique production personalized luxury only for the elite of the elite. The Escalade could pull that kind of exclusivity even if the CT6 couldnt...

true and true I even mentioned it myself about the different brands using it and saying single usage in the same breath... I guess I wanted to see this engine used in a car that I have failed to see that even if it was a (not so) short production run, it was a successful one. I guess its also because Im used to seeing GM's engines live longer than one generation.

Why spend all that money, time and effort only to get a single usage out of them? Even if these engines were scalable to have base small Canyon pick-up trucks use the 4 cylinder version, the H3 Hummer and the upper level pick-up trucks to use the 5 cylinder and with the various versions of the GMT360 SUV (Trailblazer, Envoy, ,Rainier, SAAB, Bravada and Isuzu) use the 6 cylinder and not being able to use them further in cars? To repeat my point, these engines were seemingly great for sport sedan usage.

Yes, the CTS and RWD STS were engineered to have V configured engines in their engine bays. But that is what is intriguing me. Is there something that I dont know about the Atlas family of inline engines, especially the 6 cylinder one, that makes them ONLY truck based engines? Because clearly GM could have engineered, (maybe NOT a 1st gen CTS, because it was already engineered for a V6) but the 2nd gen CTS and 1st gen RWD STS, (same platform too right?) to have this inline 6 under the hood and thus prolonging the life of the Atlas family. Recycling of these engines as SMK put it above, would have been great for Cadillac's BMW fighting image... I wanna know if the Atlas family of engines were only truck engines. But they were aluminum in construction so technically they were light enough for car usage. Its clear that GM had scalable usage in mind when designing these as the 4,5 and 6 cylinder versions all shared components with each other. They were the same engines basically...

Talking about discontinued engines... Im intrigued with the Atlas inline 6 from GM 20 years ago. It was an aluminium block, DOHC inline 6 with all the 'modern' tech goodies that Eurosnobs drooled over. I understand why this engine never went beyond the GMT360 platform. All successive small and midsized SUVs from GM went FWD and therefore transverse V configuration engines were needed in those applications. Inline 6s dont fit... But, yet again, I dont understand the thinking behind spending years and lots of money (I read that these engines were thought of when the Quad 4 was being created and started being developed alongside the Quad 4 production) only to engineer future platforms not being able to use them. Its great that the GMT360 got full use of these engines, but GM did NOTHING special with them. They were in utilitarian, BOF SUVs. Its great that the Oldsmobile version got the refinement from an inline 6, but Chevy and GMC versions were not marketed to be suave. These SUVs were in the middle concerning family hauling duties and heavy duty sport utility usage. The engineering of this engine, when one was reading the engineering specs of it, and that person missed the part where it said that these engines were to be found in General Motors, BOF sport utility vehicles, that person would think these engines were BMW's latest and greatest put into their 3 and 5 Series sport sedans. Inline 6 Aluminum block and cylinder heads DOHC, 4 valves/cylinder with VVT (maybe not the Vanos system, but would a eurosnob BMW "enthusiast" know the difference?) coil-on-plug ignition system electronic throttle control (20 years ago...) How cool would have it been if THIS engine as a base powerplant, powered a 1st gen CTS and an (eventual RWD) STS? 270 HP and 275 ft/lbs torque at its initial launch and later getting close to 300. But was this engine meant for cars? Because the 4 and 5 cylinder versions of these were pick-up truck and SUV (Hummer H3) engines. At a time when Cadillac was figuring out what it needed to do to BE a BMW fighter, maybe THIS engine should have been used in their sport sedans rather than these engines be truck engines... And THIS is why Im intrigued by the Atlas. What could have been keeps popping up in my mind...

I would call the cancelation of the Blackwing a fail on General Motor's part (and Cadillac's) because billions of dollars of R&D went into it with the idea to make it an exclusive V8 for Cadillac. To elevate Cadillac's image with a 'modern' V8 (no in-block cams, OHV and pushrods) only to offer it in a 1 year only, high performance sedan that billions of dollars of R&D also went into, just to kill them off both with only a handful being sold. The REAL stupid thing about that is that the CT6 V Blackwing was sold out within minutes of it being on the market changing Cadillac's mind and making another limited but short production run of them. Sold out within minutes yet again... Another stupid thing about the Blackwing V8, not with the engine and engineering itself, but with the engineering of the consequent vehicles after the CT6. The Blackwing V8 does not fit into the CT5. The engine is too high and too wide to fit inside of the CT5's engine bay. OK...an argument SHALL be made in that why do people think cam in-block, OHV, pushrod V8s are old and inferior tech? Shytty biased automotive journalism and self hatin', fake car enthusiasts could be blamed. So...a 'lesser' V8 continues to power the Cadillac super sedan negating the supposed need for a 'modern' DOHC, 32 valve, hot vee turbo engine. The LT1 V8 aint so bad after all watching all the real and fake automotive journalists and youtubers and enthusiast sport car drivers swoon over the CT5 V Blackwing AND wishing the LT1 ALSO powered the CT4... IF billions of dollars of R&D money went into the Blackwing V8, and the Escalade had too many expensive upgrades to initially launch the Escalade with a Blackwing V8 under the hood, that also eludes to the Blackwing V8 being a mistake and a fail. GM and Cadillac didnt count on canceling the CT6 program that early.

I just found that article to be just full of hot air really. Nothing but hopes and dreams. Promises, but nothing real of how or when all those hopes and dreams will come true. Empty words... It will be this and it will be that. It will do this and it will do that. It will end the gasmobile's death grip and it will save the planet. It will be better than lithion ion. It will charger faster and offer more range. It will save grace for OEMs by giving OEMs another angle of saving the planet. It will be produced cheaper and faster and it will be packaged smaller and lighter. But nothing technical about solid state batteries was mentioned. Well, if you consider a sentence or two comparing solid state and electrolytes with swimming in water versus swimming in concrete as technical...then Im wrong and misunderstood... No timeline of production. No actual solid state battery powered EV tested to prove all that was said. Just empty words of it will be this and it will be that. It will do this and it will do that....

I never saw those kinds of wheels before. Lookin' at the '70 GS Spyder rims. I like 'em! "Aerodynamic" jelly bean / pill / used bar of soap shapes have ruled car design since the 1990s. It wont change much, if any, with EVs. Its a bummer because aerodynamic shapes need not be that way to be aerodynamic. Rounded surfaces do help, but the overall design doesnt need to follow that form all the way through. But that is just an opinion, I really dont know much about aerodynamic flow so... Here, let me take a jab in posting 1 or 2 beautiful cars instead of talking about shyte I have no knowledge about... (Proceeds to post "aerodynamic" blobs )

A possible 70th anniversary model Z06? With 2 new colours to commemorate 70 years of Corvette?

I couldn't take it any longer Lord I was crazed And when the feeling came upon me Like a tidal wave I started swearing to my god and on my mother's grave That I would love you to the end of time I swore that I would love you to the end of time! So now I'm praying for the end of time To hurry up and arrive 'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you I don't think that I can really survive I'll never break my promise or forget my vow But God only knows what I can do right now I'm praying for the end of time It's all that I can do Praying for the end of time, So I can end my time with you! Well I can see myself tearing up the road, faster Than any other boy has ever gone And my skin is raw, but my soul is ripe, And no one's gonna stop me now, I'm gonna make my escape But I can't stop thinking of you, And I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late And I never see the sudden curve until it's way too late Then I'm down in the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun, Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike, And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell And the last thing I see is my heart, still beating, Breaking out of my body and flying away Like a bat out of hell Then I'm down in the bottom of a pit in the blazing sun, Torn and twisted at the foot of a burning bike, And I think somebody somewhere must be tolling a bell And the last thing I see is my heart, Still beating still beating Still beating still beating Breaking out of my body, and flying away

Nothing is written in stone, but in Nov of 2019, the report was that the Blackwing 4.0 V8 was not going to power the Escalade. Cost cutting measures were to be implemented on the Escalade as the cost of independent suspension development for the Escalade used up all the allocated development money for the Escalade and therefore the cheaper SBC V8 was to used instead. But that was in 2019. Its 2022 now... Listening to the video, and maybe I need to clean out the wax from my ears, but the sound of that engine coming from the Escalade V did not sound like how a Corvette usually sounds like. https://gmauthority.com/blog/2019/11/report-blackwing-v8-wont-appear-in-cadillac-escalade-ct5-v/ In the case of the Escalade, the source told the publication that the SUV’s new independent rear suspension has sucked up a lot of the development funds allocated to the program, so GM has decided to settle for one of its pushrod V8s instead of the DOHC V8. GM may use its 6.2-liter L87 V8 in the SUV, which produces 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. We also know a high-performance Escalade variant is under development, but if this new report is accurate, that variant will likely use the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8 from the C7 Corvette Z06 and Camaro ZL1 rather than the Blackwing V8.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/03/cadillac-chief-engineer-hints-at-high-performance-escalade-v/ Reason why Escalade does not get Blackwing designation is that Cadillac engineers and marketing folk want to reserve that for vehicles that will be the pinnacle of performance and track capabilities. And an Escalade, due to weight and high center of gravity, will not have that. From March 7, 2021 when Cadillac head engineer Tony Roma was hinting at an Escalade V. He said that not all Cadillac vehicles need to be Blackwings and proceeded to explain that statement.

Ok...Ill concede and retract my post to @smk4565 and admit that I am wrong about Cadillac not needing a V Series Escalade (a decade ago) I see the point of view of making additional money from a platform that needed not a whole lot of engineering to make it work. Like @ccap41 said, an AWD system to handle the HP and torque. Independent suspension would have had to come a decade earlier as well though. The only thing I see as a flaw is that a decade ago, GM was fresh out of bankruptcy and maybe GM didnt necessarily have the cash at hand to do this. The SBC V8 was always part of Escalade therefore adding the supercharger should have been standard issue as Corvettes, Camaros and Cadillac sedans have it... Magnetic ride suspension has been part of GM since the late 1990s... Yeah...all the pieces to the puzzle were right there a decade ago. I will still hold on to my opinion though as to say that buyers of the Escalade never really craved for a V version. That and bankruptcy were probably the reasons why Cadillac took that long to offer a V version. And hence why Blackwing isnt part of the Escalade lexicon. Because people are not asking for one... But then again, Ive given Chevrolet crap for not creating a brutish Camaro before Dodge ever created the Hellcat. I said that a Camaro is a follower rather than a leader and let Dodge define the horsepower wars and take the pony car reigns. Therefore, Cadillac also, might have missed an opportunity to create something lustful before AMG or M or Hellcat with a V Series Escalade waaaay before anybody else...

And the (almost) behind the scenes video

St. Louis is considered a city from the "South"? I thought St. Louis is considered to be mid-western but does that also mean that St. Louis has Southern ties? I thought St. Louis historically had closer ties to the "North".

If Im not drooling over a '59 Eldorado Convertible, Im drooling over a '57.

and 2 other Cadillacs when Cadillacs ruled the world that are in my collection. (with a Fatboy in the middle)

Then Cadillac should up the ante then. WTF Cadillac??? Seriously though, that goes to show you how unimportant horsepower wars are to the Cadillac Escalade. A Silverado though, does need a Raptor/TRX competitor.

^^^ Thanx. I knew it had a detuned LT1 @ 420 with the previous gen, but I wrongfully thought with the new gen that they upgraded its power to match the Camaro's.

It looks like MLB in Montreal will have to wait a little longer as the collective MLB owners changed their mind on allowing a shared season between Tampa Bay and Montreal. It was a crappy solution, I must admit. Nothing good could come out of it. Especially for Tampa Bay. But then again, Montrealers would also be fed up with that kind of set-up. I honestly do think baseball in Tampa Bay is finished. I also see that baseball in Oakland will also come to an end pretty effin' soon. For me, it looks like Las Vegas AND Montreal will be getting MLB teams in the very near future. Its not 'when' that is the question, its more of 'how' will these cities be getting a team. The 'when' is just a matter of time. Its the 'how' that complicates things.

High performance and high handling like a CT5 V Blackwing. I dont think an Escalade V Blackwing will set the world on fire like how a Hellcat powered anything caught the world on fire. An Escalade is not thought of in that way. An Escalade was always about the bling. Not about the horsepower and how well it drifts. It WILL be a GREAT performer as Cadillac engineers have really set the bar for performance sedans. And I think Corvette engineers are also involved with Cadillac's V Series cars too. But I doubt performance geeks will be geeking how fast it is. Not like how they geek out with anything Hellcat... No, a vehicle like this is not about volume. It will be a special model, that is for sure, and they will sell everyone they build, but an Escalade V Blackwing will do nothing to move more Escalades or Cadillacs out the dealership door as the Escalade is as big of a Kahuna as is. I thought it was 455. Like the Camaro's LT1. It is detuned...

https://www.autoblog.com/2022/01/20/2023-chevy-corvette-z06-markup-price-protection/ It wasn't even two weeks ago that Ford's VP of sales for the U.S. and Canada decided he needed to tell the dealer body to stop squeezing 2022 F-150 Lightning buyers for more reservation money. The shenanigans risk alienating the very important new customers of a very important new truck. Corvette Action Center reports that now Steve Carlisle, General Motors' president for North America, has done the same thing with the Chevrolet dealer body to stop the same kinds of antics happening with the 2023 Corvette Z06. The problem according to Carlisle is "a small number of Dealers [that] have engaged in practices that do not support a positive sales experience for our customers." Those dealers who don't end such practices will risk losing their Z06 allotments. The letter identifies three unwelcome tactics. The first is dealers insisting customers pay more than the $1,000 reservation fee that GM set for the Z06. This problem is already years old, with some dealers opening up their own reservations lists in 2019, more than two years before GM announced the car. While some dealers only took $1,000 for a reservation, a dealer in New Hampshire claimed to have more than 1,300 potential buyers who had put down $2,000. The second game Carlisle wants to take down is the dreaded market adjustment, dealers having "requested customers to pay sums far in excess of MSRP in order to purchase or lease a vehicle." We're not sure what recourse GM has against this. We're sure Ford isn't happy about F-150 Lightning markups, either, but Ford specified in its letter that it wouldn't tolerate gaming the reservation system as opposed to ADMs. Carlisle insists that these methods can be "harmful to the reputation of Dealer, General Motors, or its Products," and "puts our collective interests at risk and generates negative press that reflect poorly GM's brands and your dealership." The third offense is dealers reselling vehicles to brokers; having a broker volunteer fat sums over MSRP is an easy way for a dealer to sidestep having to ask for more money. Carlisle notes that this practice is explicitly outlawed in the dealer's sales and service agreement with GM. It will be interesting to see how dealers respond. With the prodigious sums on offer, we expect some dealers will continue to explore where the line is and whether it can be nudged further into the black. Surcharges have been around as long as there have been more buyers than product, and in a market where a dealer feels justified asking a $38,000 ADM on a regular 2022 Corvette — which GM hasn't said anything about, remember — stopping all of these practices could be a mighty challenge. GM has to put up a fight, though. Just like Ford, it has additional, crucial new products arriving soon that are trying to attract crucial new audiences, and it needs to be seen doing its best to provide the best experience.