heyitsme

LeftLaneNews:

"General Motors is gearing up to lobby NASCAR to consider switching to ethanol fuel, according to the Associated Press. Late last year, GM and U.S. democratic Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa privately asked the racing organization to make the switch. Because NASCAR has resisted the change, GM is preparing for another round of lobbying, the report said. The Indy Racing League has already begun a transition to the alternative fuel. Next year, all IRL cars will run on pure ethanol. “It fits the racing mode, and we would definitely be in favor of any move that moves us away from dependence on foreign oil,” said GM’s Brent Dewar."

biker

Who needs restrictor plates - just dumb down the fuel the cars use.

charliemike

LOL ... "Please let us get some ROI on E85"

derrick

I'm surprised it didn't say, "ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) is lobbying NASCAR to switch to ethanol." ... They are a huge ethanol producer ... check out their stock:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=adm

I agree that the cutting edge people should try out new technology so it'll trickle down to the average joe. Isn't that what Formula 1 supposedly did?

SpeedyV6

Actually the move to ethanol may be a boon to Water-S.

CLsuperhero

I thought ethanol makes cars get less mpg.... will this mean more pit stops?

Moog-Type-S

NASCAR - Now with 20% more pit stops for fuel per race.

mr5parkle

iTrader: (1)

the pitstop is just about the most exciting part of NASCAR sadly.

dozorca

Couldn't agree more. I tried to watch it numerous times, and I fall asleep after the 3rd lap.

F1 is where it's at!

clorich

I can't imagine a group that won't even move to fuel injection is going to have anything to do with ethanol.

Sarlacc

Lets pretend to be eco friendly using a fuel alternative that almost takes a gallon of oil in the manufacturing process of making a gallon of E85 anyway......Ethanol is bullshit, plain and simple. It just brings the money to US farmers.

LuvMyTSX

IMO, this is just a move for GM to promote their new E85 vehicles that they are building. Ethanol is crap and will do nothing to help the gas crisis, this is all about self-promotion for them.

RWalker2

gavriil

MT mag's latest issue talks about a very secret overhead cam V8 that GM is working to replace the expensive Northstar currently. The codename is Ultra. It's expected to start being produced in 2009, which means that the next STS will probably receive it first. The mag does not have any info about the displacement but they figure that if currently the 4.6L Northstart is engineered to go up to 5.3L, they predict that the new engine will probably start at 5.0L and have the potential to be enlarged to 6.0L in order for Cadillac to go against the competition from Germany, specifically Mercedes Benz. The engine will get all the latest tech from GM, like VVT on all valves and more. The mag finally claims that GM's Powertrain division can focus on this engine because their development work on GM's four and six cylinder gas engines and all diesel work has been finalized.

EPS CL

Sounds quite lucrative. If they stop using Playskool plastic in the majority of their cars, the could pull off a winner.

csmeance

titan

They can't get this new engine out soon enough. Caddy (and perhaps detuned versions for Buick) really need this engine to compete with Mercedes's new bread and butter 5.5L V8, and 5.0L V8 from BMW.

fsttyms1

Its about time they do something to replace the expensive northstar engine. And its about time they Re engineered it to be able to go larger than 5L

gavriil

This new engine is two years late is my opinion.

Ken1997TL

Absolutely

AlterZgo

Other than marketing that they have a 32v DOHC engine, I never understood why GM would need a "modern" V8 when the pushrod V8 has been so well developed. 400 hp 6.0L motor in the vette and the 500 hp 7.0L motor in the Z06 and the various lower power variants should be sufficient for whatever cars they have that require a V8 engine. Despite having old school technologies, these motors are compact, fuel efficient, and can actually rev pretty high too. The best thing is they're cheap and reliable having been developed and proven over many decades.

GM needs to take cost cutting page from Nissan and start sharing more major components between their various brands if they want to return to profitability - or avoid bankruptcy for that matter.

SpeedyV6

Why is the Northstar so expensive and why should I beleive that a larger, presumably less expensive DOHC V8 will be any better?

titan

The N* was one of GM's first cracks at DOCH V8 tech. It's over a decade old, and no longer relevant. Technology has come along way, and this new engine will get all of the latest tech available. A larger, more sophisticated engine is just what the doctor ordered for GM. Larger means more horsepower, and less expensive is due to way better manufacture and engineering techniques.... why do you want an LS460? After all, it's new 8 spd is lighter, uses fewer parts, shifts faster, and is cheaper than the 6spd it replaces. Why do you want Benz's new 550 HP 5.5L V8, as opposed to the old 5.0L unit; it's not just an enlarged engine, it's totally new; again, larger, more powerfull, more fuel efficient, and has more tech... that's why you want the new V8 from GM. If GM wasn't developing a world class V8, we'd all be bashing them for lack of vision and initiative right now...

fsttyms1

Also

aesir11

Care to explain how its 2 years too late? Sounds like the CTS-V might be able to get it too since likely a V model won't be out in 2008.

Edward'TLS

GM is really betting on the gas price to come back down to pre-911 level.

SpeedyV6

Why would someone buying a $50 - 80K car care about the price of a gallon of gas?

heyitsme

I don't think they do need this because they said they aren't going after the BENZ high end. The STS caps it off and can do that fine with the power they have available now. New engines will only refine that, not go after larger targets.

titan

Though I don't think they'll be introducing a car positioned above the STS tomorrow, I think it's foolish to think that they're future plans don't include one. Eventually, Caddy will go after the Benz high end.

gavriil

Yes, but the OHV engines vibrate a lot. And for marques like Cadillac that's unacceptable considering how they want to compete now. Even for Buick.

gavriil

Because 2009 minus 2 equals now. The competition from Germany makes upwards of 360HP from 5 and 5.5 liters for about a year now almost.

titan

Precisely.

Maximized

Ain't that the truth. By the time GM gets this engine out, the competition will have more powerful engines. It will be interesting to see what technology GM packs into this new DOHC engine.

Titand19

It sounds like by the time this engine comes out and has no kinks, the prius will have 300hp

titan

I don't think so. True, GM will be late to the game, but just as Mercedes' 4.3L and 5.0L V8s lasted for many, many years, so will it's new 5.5L V8. Also, I don't see Lexus upping the power or displacement of it's new 4.6L V8 after just a couple of years. When this new GM engine debuts in two years, neither Lexus or Mercedes won't be bumping power out of spite or some HP war. Leave that for Infiniti.

Maximized

BMW has been bumping power frequently(ex: 545 to 550) and so has Mercedes (Ex: E500 vs E550). GM is late to the game.

titan

Again, Benz's 5.0L V8 was an old engine with relatively old tech; the new 5.5L is fairly new, and it'll be around for some time.

Maximized

The E class has seen a lot of engines in the last few years.....E430, E500, and currently the E550.

The 5.5L is a newer engine, but don't think that the engineers can't pump more hp out of it fairly easily. This new Cadillac engine comes out in 09', while the S550 will be out for 3+ years. Gavril's statement was 100 percent correct.....GM is late to the party.

rmpage

Not really an issue, at least not here in the US. Despite increased fuel prices, bigger vehicles with powerful engines are selling better than ever. However, the Gen IV LSx engines get pretty freaking good fuel economy as it is. The C6 Z06 has 7 liters and no Federal gas guzzler tax, but still manages to crank out 500bhp. Hell, I can average ~24MPG in my LS2 GTO on long trips, and mine's a 4 speed auto. It is really amazing how far GM has been able to push the OHV architecture.

I'd love to have something like the legendary Lotus-designed and Mercury Marine-built LT5 from the old ZR-1 'vettes. Revving a 350cid geared cammer to 9,000 RPM is the dictionary definition of mechanical music (cue Red Barchetta...) but I know they're not going for balls-out performance this time around. Also, I have no idea why OHCs are always thought of as a "modern" valvetrain. They've been around since 1912...

titan

I"m not saying that GM isn't late to the party. Again, they are. Ofcourse the HP from these new engines can be upped... But don't think these current engines from Mercedes', etc., be upgraded because of the debut of GM's new V8.