[Mr. Wyndham]

http://www.caranddriver.com/carnews/...-gms-v-8s.html

The title is a bit misleading, because even Bob says that there will still be V8's around, and it's primarily an article about GM's cancellation of the Northstar replacement family...but I posted it because there are some interesting points involved.

(It also touches on the Ute)

GM kills V-8 family and, like Ford, embraces powertrain downsizing.
BY ALISA PRIDDLE,
January 2008

The ubiquitous V-8 engine under the hood of full-size SUVs and big cars could go the way of the eight-track tape deck in a modern world where fuel-efficiency and emissions standards are redefining the cars and trucks of tomorrow.

New regulations that will require U.S. vehicle fleets to achieve 35 mpg are responsible for General Motors’ decision to kill plans for a new double overhead cam V-8 engine for luxury cars to replace the aging Northstar V-8, Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman, says in an interview at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

“The replacement of the Northstar, that cancellation was the direct result of the 35-mpg fuel legislation.” GM chairman Rick Wagoner says when the new V-8 family program began, “there was more optimism than we have today,” that V-8 engines could survive in today’s regulatory climate. The engine was to go into production next year, prior to phasing out the Northstar V-8 that is found in many Cadillacs, that is scheduled to be phased out in 2010.

Don’t expect new V-8 families in the future, Lutz says. Rather, look for V-6s tuned to provide low-end torque to power large vehicles.

Ford has been publicizing its EcoBoost powertrain strategy to provide V-8 power with a family of turbocharged V-6 engines with direct injection, starting with a 3.5-liter V-6 in the Lincoln MKS, followed by the Ford Flex, and eventually rolling out to 500,000 vehicles in the next five years.

Ford F-150 Gets V-6 for 2010 The new 2009 Ford F-150 full-size pickup is launching with an all-V-8 lineup for 2009, but a V-6 with EcoBoost will join the lineup for the 2010 model year, says Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.

Lutz says he agrees with the EcoBoost (direct-injection, turbocharged) approach, one which Volkswagen has been using for years, as has GM in Europe. The variable valve-timing and turbocharging for the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, and Chevy HHR SS employ similar technology, he says.

And the concept is perfectly valid for big vehicles, in his opinion. “You can tune the turbo differently for low-end torque where you need acceleration in a heavy car and the turbo fades out once the vehicle is in motion and sustaining. With sustaining, a little four-cylinder engine in a big car is perfectly sufficient.”

Wagoner wonders if the average customer cares how many cylinders are under the hood if the performance is satisfactory, suggesting without a badge, many consumers would not know how many cylinders are under the hood.

Less is More Under the Hood
“So we’re going to see a lot of engine downsizing,” Lutz tells Car and Driver. “What has been V-8 will become V-6, and what was V-6 will become fours. That is a relatively inexpensive ($1500–$2000) solution.” Even with the investment, “it will not get you from 25 mpg to 35 mpg. It will get you part way there.”

Many existing V-8s will remain, Lutz says, “but I don’t see anybody investing a ton of money into families of all-new V-8s.”

“I would predict pickup trucks in the future, and full-size SUVs, will have a lot of diesel engines and unquestionably the mix will shift to V-6 engines in full-size sport utilities,” he says. “You can make a small V-6 behave just like a V-8. All it takes is money.”

Another Round of Ethanol
If the industry were to make a full-scale adoption of ethanol (GM used the Detroit show to announce a partnership with Coskata Incorporated of Warrenville, Illinois, which claims it has a process to produce low-cost ethanol from a variety of waste materials as opposed to just grain), the vehicle mix could be exactly as it is today, Lutz says, complete with large cars and trucks.

Without the ethanol solution, the industry will see an array of expensive diesels, expensive hybrids, semi-expensive extended range electric vehicles, super-expensive fuel-cell vehicles, and some conventional gasoline engines whose fuel-economy numbers have to be compensated for by vehicles that get beyond the 35 mpg with expensive alternative powertrains, Lutz says.
“Without a shift in fuel, there is going to be a change in the complexion of vehicles offered by the auto industry in the future.”

Otherwise, Lutz says it would cost $6000 per car, on average, for GM to meet the 35 mpg requirements with the current vehicle-size spectrum. Even still, “we must make some choices,” he says, such as whether to make the next-generation Chevy Impala rear-drive with both a V-8 and V-6.

Make up your mind on Impala, please.
That was the original plan for the Impala, to better differentiate it from the front-drive Chevy Malibu. That decision has flip-flopped many times, and still is up in air, Lutz says, but the current thinking (note the date, it could change again), is that moving to rear-drive with a V-8 would be unwise. “We are trying to preserve the size of vehicles Americans want to buy,” he says.

Meanwhile, Lutz says a decision has been made on bringing a version of the Holden Commodore VE Ute to the U.S. as an El Camino, of sorts. While he would not spill the beans, other reports have said it is a go to round out the Pontiac G8 family that has a sedan, but may not include the wagon. Complicating the decision to import the Holden from Australia has been the high Australian dollar compared with the U.S. dollar. Lutz has said if it does come to the U.S., it will not be badged a Chevy.

Speaking of the Wagon, it isn't directly said here, but Bob also told another mag/media that there is virtually NO buisness case for the G8 wagon. Therefore, it shall not be imported.