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aldw

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Everything posted by aldw

  1. I heard "No, we're not going to make 4-door coupes, S-M-L-XL-XXL CUVs/SUVs, X6 fighters, or 5 Series GT fighters." But that could be my optimism flaring up again. That's closer to the truth than "no S-class fighter."
  2. What about using a gasoline fuel cell replacement for IC engines instead?
  3. Cadillac would be penalized for engine sharing much more than Toyota with, especially since there's a greater perceived difference between a Chevy and Caddy than there is between Toyota and Lexus, and the market acts accordingly. That's one reason why having an extra $1000 charge for engine exclusivity may be necessary to win over the target customers. On the engine cover thing, definitely agree 100% that GM needs to do much better.
  4. aldw

    This one's nice

    How hard would it be to build one from scratch btw?
  5. Then the Omega should be a winner being purpose built for Cadillac...
  6. Benz has built pushrod engines before, in fact one of their engines was used to win the Indy 500 back in the 90's before it was promptly banned, so it isn't a lack of ability for them to build CIB engines. In the end however, marketing muscle will overpower mere technical ability, from the 1930's to today (just look at Marmon, Duesenburg or Doble for example).
  7. Actually they did use the DOHC configuration for V8 engines. Twice actually. Once in form of the DOHC 5.7 liter V8 in the Corvette ZR1 and once more in form of the Northstar 4.6. They were discontinued because they were generally inferior to the Pushrod alternatives. As far as "faith" based takes go, one can just as easily assert that "sooner rather than later, the superior performance and economics of Pushrod V8s will force BMW, M-B and everyone else to develop a pushrod engine or face market oblivion. However, given that they are all using DOHC configurations rather than pushrods and continuing to develop such, empirically DOHC is winning the marketing war far more clearly than pushrods.
  8. Given that Bentley is giving up the Pushrod for DOHC for future engines, my take is that GM will sooner rather than later be forced to used DOHC for V8s or face market oblivion.
  9. The LS and Continental (w/suicide doors) always defined for me the best vehicles of Lincoln, and anything that brings back a modern equivalent can only be a good thing if Lincoln is to survive.
  10. As long as the Alpha CTS keeps the double A-arm front setup I'll be happy...
  11. Why not develop a constant speed diesel mated to an electric transmission system? This would get rid of a lot of combustion issues (since the engine will always be operated at its peak emissions and fuel efficiency level), while eliminate gearing issues with the electric drive system.
  12. The ability to say that you outperform the competition is a very powerful marketing tool and one that is pretty easy to wield. Sure as hell easier to wield than having to recite the number of valves, turbos or intecooler systems while justifying why you make less power than M3 or C63. Let's put it this way... for the technically inclined audience, the merits of your engine does not need any convincing once you post your power, torque, fuel consumption, weight and/or acceleration times. For the technically challenged, it won't matter if you cite acronyms like DOHC, DI, VVT or IBC. They don't know what these mean nor do they care. To these types of crowd, you simply tailor the add to convey the message that it's a pretty car and it is very fast. That's assuming all other things being equal, but if the competition is willing to spend more on lightweight alloys and greater refinement to boost overall performance (chassis-wise), extra power alone wouldn't be enough to make the difference, particularly since GM has been shown to be reluctant to spend for the same level of refined quality.
  13. Noise, Vibration, Harshness will be no worse than an DOHC powerplant of equivalent displacement. It is only worse because pushrod engines tend to have larger displacement and higher reciprocating mass. But is really not bad at all. If you believe it's bad you probably haven't driven a Vette or CTS-V. Actually, the 3.6 DI V6 sounds harsher and is noisier than a pushrod 3.5 V6 -- really. Fuel economy can actually be equivalent or better. CO2 and displacement taxes do not apply to the USA, and generally does not sway buyers of this category of cars. BTW, a Pushrod V8 is not what I have, but it is what I'll prefer in an ATS-V over a DOHC V8 or a bi-turbo V6. My current cars are a M-B C55 AMG with an SOHC 5.5liter V8, before that it was a Bi-turbo Audi S4. GM thought the Pushrod was cheap in the 90s. They never strove to make their pushrods state of the art. This has nothing to do with the configuration, it has everything to do with the bean counting mentality. If they put a Pushrod V8 in the ATS-V it will have a more unique powerplant and better performance than a twin turbo V6. Everybody has a twinturbo, DOHC DI V6. No other luxury compact has a Pushrod V8. The better marketing in this case will be the key determinator in seeing which products win out, of which the TT DOHC V6 has the advantage for all intents and purposes. Technical excellence alone is not enough to win, and the history of the automobile has plenty of examples of such occurrences.
  14. It's speculation at best, and I think they are wrong. My guess is that the ATS-V will get a Normally Aspirated Pushrod V8. This alone puts differentiates it from the bigger and more expensive CTS-V. The Gen V Direction Injected Pushrods will make about 450~470hp out of 6.2 liters. This is less than the 556 from the LSA, but it'll be adequate to trump the M3 and the C63. The Pushrod V8 will have the additional advantages of being lighter, smaller and cheaper to build. Fuel Economy probably won't be that different and may actually be better since you are not dragging along 32 valves, four camshafts and all their drive parts. If the choice is between marketing and simplicity for the same level of power, marketing will trump this one.
  15. The MKR and Continental are two must-builds, along with a SL-level Mark IX type coup along with that. The current V-6s would be better than the old iron-block straight-6 though.
  16. GM was supposed to be developing a dry dual-clutch transmission, so something of that sort needs to come out anyways.
  17. The Luxury vehicle consumers I know think along those very lines, which is why I feel that Cadillac has to take those things into consideration when developing new vehicles, and why having parts like the Ultra V8 or TTV6 is so important also. For me, if the ATS-V gets a 3.6 TT I would buy one as soon as I possibly could.
  18. That's a very interesting concept, if GM were to do that it would be a really sweet engine for a luxury vehicle and be a technical one-up on the Germans.
  19. Seeing the latest comparo between Mustang and Camaro on Road and Track covering the GM and Ford V-8s, they do list the benefits and drawbacks of both, but it also helps clarify why the DOHC engine would be preferable over the pushrod regardless of issues such as head width or parts complexity, especially for the consumer. That's also why reviving the Ultra V-8 would better for Caddy than the Gen 5.
  20. There's still the in-between crowd that thinks in terms of HP/L and '4-valves good, 2-valves bad' that is also pretty sizeable and spreads things via word-of-mouth, that's also something that marketing should take into account too.
  21. The persistent thing that's bugging GM is that no matter how good technically a pushrod design may be, it will still cost less to sell a DOHC-engine vehicle than a pushrod equivalent thanks to all the momentum the DOHC designs have been getting over the last 20 years, something that GM doesn't have the money or the time to overcome. This is also why I expect Ford to be able to sell more 5.0 V8 equipped vehicles of whatever type compared to their GM counterparts.
  22. Wrt luxury vehicles the more important issue is having more exclusivity in the product especially the powertrain and not just the power output, Unless GM is willing to invest the time and money to change perceptions (which they don't have), DOHC is the only viable route.
  23. I'd still prefer to have a 6-cylinder for the mid-level versions, and I for one wouldn't like to have to purchase a BMW just because someone decided to leave that out.
  24. The latest issue of Automobile magazine I saw had a nice rendering of the ATS in the preview section, if it turns out like that I would definitely be in line for one.
  25. Been saying that for a long time too, seems that the media prefers to box things in simplistic fashion for the unwashed masses to gulp down.
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