Drew Dowdell

Everywhere you see a DOHC engine that just barely fits, you could put a CIB engine of a over a liter displacement greater or more. The pushrod 5.3 was able to fit, transversely in the engine bay of the W-body. The DOHC 3.6 was squeezed in there just barely.

This Just In: 2010 GMC Acadia SLT-2 Interested in the GMC Acadia? Take part in our Interactive Review of a 2010 GMC Acadia SLT-2. Now till February 23rd.

This Just In: 2010 GMC Acadia SLT-2 Kicking off our next interactive review, today I received a 2010 GMC Acadia SLT-2. My first impression was at how big this vehicle is. As a former Avalanche owner, I doubt anyone stepping down from a Tahoe or Yukon would miss anything size wise. It feels like a big vehicle, but it drives much smaller than it is. It's an elephant doing it's best Fred Astaire impression. The wheels are freaking huge and probably give me a heart attack when it came time to replace them. This particular Acadia came loaded with nearly every option and stickers at an eye popping $49,700. I leave tomorrow for a run to Columbus Ohio... so compile a list of questions for me to answer. In other news, filled out the paperwork today to be added to Ford's press fleet, so if you have a FoMoCo vehicle you want me to request, let me know.

None of that answers the question of why go with a DOHC over a pushrod. Vehicle weight, styling, and price all being equal, which is the over all better engine?

Appropriate... since my observation is that when a gay guy graduates college he generally trades his Jetta in on a BMW.....

So to those who support fully funding NASA, is the idea we allow Darwin to take care of those on earth who are sick and without healthcare while we go off searching for new life elsewhere?

on it's way here in the next year. Though in that regard we should probably add Fiat. Alfa Romeo returning to the US

Added Alfa

The Buick easily. Looks far more upscale, not everyone and their mother has one, 10k fewer miles, and of course uses the clearly superior Oldsmobile body shell.

SMK, why does this rather simple concept baffle you? Horsepower per litre displacement is stupid. Give me horsepower for overall package dimensions and get back to me.

A DOHC 6 liter will NOT fit in the space that a Pushrod 6 liter can.

OR, chances are, YOU are wrong and there is no single right answer to the valvetrain question.

Can you PM me some contact info?

wait, which one is the ROPOS?

Are you plowing for cash this year?

Try to stay on topic SMK. We're talking pushrod V8s, not V6es, though I personally think the pushrod V6es would have been fully competitive in horsepower and torque given the proper development. The 3800 and the 3900 are very different engines. The 3800 was a 90 degree V6 while the 3900 was a 60 degree V6. Just switching the cylinder angle made a huge difference in "refinement". Your argument that pushrods can't be whisper quiet and refined on the highway is laughable on it's face. The LT-1 in Buick and Cadillac applications had plenty of balls, was quiet enough for a library, and super smooth to boot. The 3.9 in the Lucerne I had was so smooth and refined that I didn't even realize I had mistakenly put it in 3 instead of drive until I noticed the instant MPG read out was unusually low. 66Stang and I took it for an experiment the next day where I took the Lucerne up to 80mph and dropped it into 3. There was no shudder, no increase in noise, no visceral difference in the feeling of the car. The Germans like to make things complex. It's kinda what they do. Having DOHC doesn't guarantee refinement.

I'll add that the pushrod, whether from GM or Chrysler, has a sound that is distinctly American. This is a characteristic that GM should be proud of an not massage to sound more like the German or Japanese counterparts.

The cladding makes it much easier to take care of as a work truck.

Since I've been shopping for these lately, I frequently run into ads for trucks in the 190k to 230k range that'll say "Some wear in the interior, tear in rear seat, but the truck runs fine." They seem to old their value fairly well, so if you can get a slightly used CPO model you'll do fine on trade in at some future point. My aim is for an Avalanche with heated seats and 4WD for less than 15k and less than 120k miles. I'd prefer at least a 2004 since they'll burn E85, but if I end up with an older one, I'll just keep it as a transition till I can get a much newer model.

What's the point of a 2WD Avalanche? Even with a G80 diff, you've done nothing to improve your winter travel prospects. In the Avalanches, the 4WD can be turned off and you just run in 2WD mode. On the highway, my old '03 would get 18mpg no problem. The newer ones with AFM do better. As a former (and hopefully soon to be again) owner of an Avalanche, you just can't beat the versatility of these vehicles. You describe it as "lumbering", and compared to a G8 it very much is, but I found that an Avalanche drives around town like a much smaller vehicle than it really is.

Not even the Roadmaster Estate second row fold perfectly level. The Equinox seats fold close enough to level for most people.

Not to cut in on you guys, but last night I located this: 112k miles, but I plan on beating the $h! out of it anyway. Price is right at $10k Leather, heated seats, sunroof, 4x4, 6-disk changer..... pretty much the same one as I had before but a different color exterior. Might go take a look on Monday.

Didn't that eventually become the Northstar? One of the telling signs for me that it was at least an early test variant is the second pulley belt on the rear of the engine.