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So Long V8 Cadillacs

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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 04:14 PM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
This is what I've said many times before. You don't really need a V8 if the V6 is designed well enough. The Acura RL, despite the low sales, proved that.....so did a number of Nissan/Infiniti cars with the excellent 3.5L and 3.7L V6s.

I do expect to see GM V8s, though, stay on for the big, full-size SUV's and trucks.
i would disagree as well. the 3.5 v6 can be a good engine, i don't doubt that, but that won't make a car fly just like that. putting that engine in the acura flagship and that will never put acura together with lexus, mb, and bmw. the sales shows exactly that

for 2nd lineup, etc... i agree that smaller engines could be used to help sales and provide variations, but on certain platforms for manufacturers, larger engines speak.

and yes, i also don't think v8 will go away any time soon. the market for larger engines in top of the line cars (especially luxury) is still there
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Mike, sorry I disagree. BMW just dropped some new TT V-8s. Lexus V-8s are all new. Benzes have new V-8s.

They are not the majority of sales but the majority of the halo. No one takes V-6 only cars serious. You NEED a V-8.
Yep... Sounds like Cadillac has joined the Acura crowd with the "don't need a V8" argument.

I think a refined version of that arguing: "We don't want to spend $300 Million on a new V8" makes sense. But not a "no V8 for Cadillac" argument.

My $0.02
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by rominl
i would disagree as well. the 3.5 v6 can be a good engine, i don't doubt that, but that won't make a car fly just like that. putting that engine in the acura flagship and that will never put acura together with lexus, mb, and bmw. the sales shows exactly that
Darn it! Didn't see your post before I sent mine.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr Johnson
Darn it! Didn't see your post before I sent mine.
lol, we all think alike that's all
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:20 PM
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love the northstar, but on another note, i just hope the factory in tonowanda stays open, my dad's office is very near there, and many of his patient's /friends work there, and the last thing this area needs is more jobs lost, sorry if this was a little of topic
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:28 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by vraa
Since you know the nissan engines, do they still have V8's?
Nissan HAD a V8 in the Infiniti Q45....that car was dropped in the U.S. market because it simplty didn't sell. In fact, it sold WAY less than the V6 Acura RL that some of you like to pan for not having a V8.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Mr Johnson
Yep... Sounds like Cadillac has joined the Acura crowd with the "don't need a V8" argument.
Look at the demand for the new V6 CTS. Dealers can't keep them in stock.........even without a V8.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:34 PM
  #23  
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the orig article is kinda vague and inflammatory; I can see Caddy using the V8 architecture from the Vette motor in certain models. Just cuz they don't want to invest in a new DOHC V8 doesn't mean they'll forego 8's entirely, at least while the Vette, new Camaro, etc are using them.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:35 PM
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guys, I dont think mmarshall is saying a V6 will sell the car like camrys and accords. He even mentioned that by acknowledging the low sales figure. What I think he's trying to say is that the V6 performs well enough for the application, which is true. If people buy cars for what they are and not for image and status, the RL would sell. But since the luxury world is driven by image, a V8 engine provides the halo-effect the car needs to sell.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 05:37 PM
  #25  
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Originally Posted by rominl
i also don't think v8 will go away any time soon. the market for larger engines in top of the line cars (especially luxury) is still there
The market, yes, will be there for some extent, but without radical new technology (which we may still see yet) the new CAFE laws will prevent the marketing of a lot of traditional V8's.

Make no mistake about it.........this CAFE stuff is SERIOUS buisness. Most of you are younger than I am and weren't around, like I was, when the first CAFE laws were done back in the early-mid 70's, and for the earlier emissions laws when the high-powered cars of the 1960's were forced out of production. I saw first-hand what happens when laws like this are passed. The V8's that did survive did so only by loopholes and in effect were V6s. The auto industry as we knew it back then was changed radically, never to return. We are in for some (hopefully to a lesser extent) of the same stuff now......all over again.

Last edited by mmarshall; Jan 3, 2008 at 05:43 PM.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Look at the demand for the new V6 CTS. Dealers can't keep them in stock.........even without a V8.
It's not in a class that needs a V8. The IS-F is getting a V8 because it's a high performance model, same with the M3. This segment needs nothing larger than a V6.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 06:48 PM
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My impression is that they will further develop the LSx engine in the Vette and use detuned or retuned designs in their V8 cars. Whether they drop the XLR or not, that and their V-series cars will probably use engines derived from this motor. I take this as a stop in design in a more technologically advanced DOHC V8 that would have directly replaced the Northstar. Their trusty pushrod small block designs will likely power more vehicles.
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 06:50 PM
  #28  
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Just because GM has put a new V8 engine on hold doesn't mean they're going to stop selling V8s any time soon.

Also, GM is probably just looking at realities of the future CAFE situation. Lexus will actually face this too, although I don't know how CAFE 'fleet' calcs are done, whether for Lexus as part of Toyota, or whether Lexus has to meet CAFE by itself. But if Lexus has to meet it by itself, you can expect an IS150 soon.

As for the 6's doing what the 8's used to do, it's pretty much true, the GS350 is no slouch, the IS350 is quite fast, the RX has never had a V8.

I like the V8 smoothness though - usually V6s just can't match them in NVH.

Funny, I just realized I own two V8 vehicles and one 4 cylinder!
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 06:51 PM
  #29  
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so were going to see v6 esclades?? weird
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Old Jan 3, 2008 | 06:56 PM
  #30  
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A V6, flagship sedan contradicts itself.
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