V8 and RWD dead again?

[Lucky7]

In the March issue of Motor Trend they talk about Ford dropping all its V8's, I am assuming except for pickups due to fuel economy issues and of Chevy dropping its Ultra V8. Then on torquereport.com they mention the Camaro is getting a hybrid engine as well as its V8 and the news that the plan to use the Camaro platform for the RWD Impala, Buick Lacross, and Pontiac G8 has been scraped. They mention Chevy looking at dropping V8's as well. Cafe 35 MPG by 2020 looks to have doomed the V8. Or is this just scare tactics?

Did Chevy and Chrysler come to the party too late with their Camaro and Challenger? Is the El Camino we have been seeing also never going to see the light of day due to this?

Don't look to poorly on this. Just because they drop all of the V8's, doesn't mean they aren't going to redisgn them. The technology will evolve as the need for mean machines increases. When infiniti redisigned the g35 motor for the g37, they were able to squeeze out 33 more horspower and increase the fuel economy by 5 MPG, making it right under 30 on the highway. That is a six cylinder, mind you, but the technology for the iconic 8's will probably follow some sort of overhaul in order to meet regulations and keep performance.

[TheB1GDude]

I agree with Surgeon on the matter but just in case they start cracking down on V8 owners I'm keeping my mint condition 07 Mustang GT garaged and covered so that way in 20 years time when everyone is driving stupid hybrids or electric cars I can keep tearing up the streets!

[Lucky7]

Originally Posted by TheB1GDude

I agree with Surgeon on the matter but just in case they start cracking down on V8 owners I'm keeping my mint condition 07 Mustang GT garaged and covered so that way in 20 years time when everyone is driving stupid hybrids or electric cars I can keep tearing up the streets!

LOL
What was that movie with Lee Majors in it where he had the last gas powered car in the world? In the 70's. Also starred the guy who played the Pengiun in the Batman TV series. Anyway. My question is do you think there will be gas to drive that 2007 Mustang GT in 20 years? I remember 2020 being a date mentioned a lot as far as when gas runs out. And if we still have gas do you think it will be prohibitively expensive to run a car on it? Gasoline is a finite resource which we will eventually run out of. Whether it is in our lifetimes who knows.

Of course you may get a surprise when your V8 stang gets owned by a Telsa electric. LOL 0-60 in 4 seconds on electric power.

[blue504life]

you have a point there about the no gas in 20 years i have a 1988 mustang with the v8 and because of the gas stuff i have a mustang with a 4 cylinder (40+ to the gallon cant beat that) but im putting a conversion kit on both cars to run on ethanol or pure alcohol because of this stuff

Originally Posted by Lucky7

LOL
What was that movie with Lee Majors in it where he had the last gas powered car in the world? In the 70's. Also starred the guy who played the Pengiun in the Batman TV series. Anyway. My question is do you think there will be gas to drive that 2007 Mustang GT in 20 years? I remember 2020 being a date mentioned a lot as far as when gas runs out. And if we still have gas do you think it will be prohibitively expensive to run a car on it? Gasoline is a finite resource which we will eventually run out of. Whether it is in our lifetimes who knows.

Of course you may get a surprise when your V8 stang gets owned by a Telsa electric. LOL 0-60 in 4 seconds on electric power.

At one time, it was predicted gasoline would run out by the year 2000.....

There are other fuel alternatives, even ones that run fine in gasoline cars with little to no modification... there hasn't yet been the market for development.

The problem is: hippies. That is right hippies; bongo beating do-gooders, who believe mankind causes all of earth's problems. Global warming is a joke, it exists but there has been no definitive proof we are responsible. Vastly more harmful gasses are emitted by volcanoes, fecal matter and decaying organisms than from motor vehicles.

The other real joke about the MPG strictness is the lack of compensation for motorists. With the dwindling death rates and urbanization of third world countries there will be an exponential amount of motorists, so there will always be more emmissions. Even if it works out and we are at 35mpg, we will putting more emmisions in the air than the 1970's with 12 mpg. Just more people driving.

I wouldn't even fret or think to hard about it, we will find a way around the system, people are good for that.

[TwitchyVirus]

Originally Posted by Surgeon

Global warming is a joke, it exists but there has been no definitive proof we are responsible. Vastly more harmful gasses are emitted by volcanoes, fecal matter and decaying organisms than from motor vehicles.

Global warming isn't a joke. Dont get me wrong. i enjoy V8 power as much as any other red-neck, i drive a 79 Chevy 4x4 as well as a 96 Jeep Cherokee 4x4, both with straight exhaust and no emission control, but polution is happening and people are at fault. Carbon monoxide and other gasses that are fumigated through car tail-pipes are far worse than that of volcanoes, fecal matter, and decaying organism combined.

Originally Posted by TwitchyVirus

Global warming isn't a joke. Dont get me wrong. i enjoy V8 power as much as any other red-neck, i drive a 79 Chevy 4x4 as well as a 96 Jeep Cherokee 4x4, both with straight exhaust and no emission control, but polution is happening and people are at fault. Carbon monoxide and other gasses that are fumigated through car tail-pipes are far worse than that of volcanoes, fecal matter, and decaying organism combined.

Seriously? You need to do some research. Hey how about another thing you are going to deny.... remember the Jurassic era? Remember how 90% of land inhabitants were cold-blooded reptiles? The average teperature of the world was 115 degrees? Global rainforest?

Then there was the ice age. The dinosaurs died out, mammals emerged.... Wouldn't, in a larger perspective, global warming be a return to normality? People cry about the polar bear and penguin, but what of the Sabre tooth tiger? Giant Sloths? T-rex? Adaptation is the key to survival.... Thus far in the blink of an eye we have been around we've been doing pretty well, but if you think in a hundred some odd years we have made that much of a change.... globally..... to the planet.... With all these millions of years of change.... It sounds rather silly.

edit: Also research "the year without summer." It should give you a perspective of volcanoes and natural gasses effects on the planet.

[TwitchyVirus]

Originally Posted by Surgeon

Seriously? You need to do some research. Hey how about another thing you are going to deny.... remember the Jurassic era? Remember how 90% of land inhabitants were cold-blooded reptiles? The average teperature of the world was 115 degrees? Global rainforest?

Then there was the ice age. The dinosaurs died out, mammals emerged.... Wouldn't, in a larger perspective, global warming be a return to normality? People cry about the polar bear and penguin, but what of the Sabre tooth tiger? Giant Sloths? T-rex? Adaptation is the key to survival.... Thus far in the blink of an eye we have been around we've been doing pretty well, but if you think in a hundred some odd years we have made that much of a change.... globally..... to the planet.... With all these millions of years of change.... It sounds rather silly.

edit: Also research "the year without summer." It should give you a perspective of volcanoes and natural gasses effects on the planet.

Yeah... but did Dinosaurs have Cummins, Duramax, Catarpillar, Power Stroke, Vortex, Triton, Nismo, Mopar, SRT, Rousch, Shelby, ect? NO!... they walked around and ate, s**t, and slept. They didnt put more gasses in the air then they used. Likewise for the mamals and such during the ice ages. Volcanoes, like i said are natural. they spread ash, which then fertalized the soil. Dead organisms also fertalized areas of soil. and fertile soil produces what, More oraganisms! I think you need to do some research yourself! It's not natural for the globe to be in a state of consistancy then have man go and f**k it all up! i know what im talking about!

Originally Posted by TwitchyVirus

Yeah... but did Dinosaurs have Cummins, Duramax, Catarpillar, Power Stroke, Vortex, Triton, Nismo, Mopar, SRT, Rousch, Shelby, ect? NO!... they walked around and ate, s**t, and slept. They didnt put more gasses in the air then they used. Likewise for the mamals and such during the ice ages. Volcanoes, like i said are natural. they spread ash, which then fertalized the soil. Dead organisms also fertalized areas of soil. and fertile soil produces what, More oraganisms! I think you need to do some research yourself! It's not natural for the globe to be in a state of consistancy then have man go and f**k it all up! i know what im talking about!

Did the whooly mammoth, sabre tooth tiger, giant sloth have Cummins, Duramax, Catarpillar, Power Stroke, Vortex, Triton, Nismo, Mopar, SRT, Rousch, Shelby, ect? NO!... The earth heated up.. didn't it? How does that go into your theory?


Here is your neutral volcanoes working:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Year_Without_Summer


There is a gas caused methane that destroys the ozone. Ever wonder why your poo stinks? Did you know that the bacteria that breaks down organic matter including plants, animals, fish, birds etc. excretes methane gas? Ever wonder why corpses bloat and float? Why flatulance was flammable?

I'm guessing you rented "the inconsistent truth" by Al Gore....

In any accord, this is getting off topic. If you would like to start another global warming thread be my guest and we can debate there, or you could send me a PM, or we can agree to disagree. I am sure you really believe in what you are talking about, but please research it on a bigger picture. Also look up Bruce West and Nicola Scafetta's research on the inconsistency of the sun, with variation of temparatures.

[monsterhunter]

Originally Posted by TwitchyVirus

Yeah... but did Dinosaurs have Cummins, Duramax, Catarpillar, Power Stroke, Vortex, Triton, Nismo, Mopar, SRT, Rousch, Shelby, ect? NO!... they walked around and ate, s**t, and slept. They didnt put more gasses in the air then they used. Likewise for the mamals and such during the ice ages. Volcanoes, like i said are natural. they spread ash, which then fertalized the soil. Dead organisms also fertalized areas of soil. and fertile soil produces what, More oraganisms! I think you need to do some research yourself! It's not natural for the globe to be in a state of consistancy then have man go and f**k it all up! i know what im talking about!

alright your going on abotu random crap that yes, harms the ecosystem but not its definably not that bad, or this world would be in a major crises from what all these cars have done, remember bake to the late 60's early 70's the "muscle wars" those v8s are putting out a lot of power and thus a lot of harm full gases, they weren't worried then now were they? no they weren't so why worry now, you know those hybrids, oh they are so helpful to this planet, funny thing there, they factories that produce them batteries are more harmful to the environment then a god dang hummer. and cost more to put on the road each year. and also this crap its just earth cycle global warming is a **** joke the same thing happened a some odd time ago is a **** cycle nothing we can do to stop a cycle the planet goes through every three or so decades or so now can we?

[xmodkidd 3-3]

You can easily make more horsepower and torque with a turbo'd V6 than a V8. Not to mention more fuel economy. What I don't get is that the government is cracking down so hard on the car companies when cars only contribute 4% of the air pollution. Factories should be getting cracked down on, not the poor defenseless autos!

RWD is the essence of sports cars, why the hell would the stupid-arse car companies scrap them? Ludicrous.

[texan_idiot25]

Originally Posted by Lucky7

In the March issue of Motor Trend they talk about Ford dropping all its V8's, I am assuming except for pickups due to fuel economy issues and of Chevy dropping its Ultra V8. Then on torquereport.com they mention the Camaro is getting a hybrid engine as well as its V8 and the news that the plan to use the Camaro platform for the RWD Impala, Buick Lacross, and Pontiac G8 has been scraped. They mention Chevy looking at dropping V8's as well. Cafe 35 MPG by 2020 looks to have doomed the V8. Or is this just scare tactics?

Did Chevy and Chrysler come to the party too late with their Camaro and Challenger? Is the El Camino we have been seeing also never going to see the light of day due to this?

WOW, please cite your sources from the automakers. For one, the hybrid Camaro was merely a rumor. Not to mention, it would happily use the current two mode hybrid tranny if anything, and a V8.

#2, the G8 is not scrapped, it comes out later this year. The Impala has never been official, nor has the Buick. The ute is on the way too.

#3, GM has only dropped plans for a DOHC V8, but the LS series is still in production. Remember how the big bad 7 liter LS7 can pull 26+ MPG easily. Direct injection for the small block is in the works as well. The "Ultra V8" currently is the LS9/LSA, the supercharged 6.2L V8 used in the ZR1 and CTS-V respectively. Nope, both cars are not dead either. A small block V8 can easily surpass 35mpg with the right parts.

#4, the Ute has also been confirmed many times already as coming out under the G8. The G8 uses the platform that the Camaro will use, not the other way around. The Camaro sits on a shortened Zeta chassis. Which is being used in Australia already.

Those are all a batch load of rumors. GM has the 4.5 diesel in development (fits any car with a small block V8), and with it's two mode hybrid tranny (also bolts to just about any car or truck with a V8, minus the Impala SS), and such. The Tahoe/Envoy/Escalade/Silverado/Sierra are not the only cars to get the two mode hybrid tranny, it's just the start of it.

Those went from a mere 14 or so MPG in the city (in real life) to an astonishing 20mpg. And thats on a 5000+ lb truck!

[taiwanesekid05]

Global warming is probably true, but so is the fact that our Earth might be going through one of it's stages again. It could just be global heating just like global cooling.

[AJB32690]

Wow... so many immature people on this forum argueing about the stupidest things.

Anyway, if they do away with V8s and RWD, you could always buy an aftermarket V8 and swipe a drivetrain from a junkyard.

My car's a V6, and it gets like 16-17 mpg and I know there are V8s that get better mileage than that.

I heard that Chrysler is working on a 4 cyl that will make about 250hp stock, not bad for a 4 banger.

[texan_idiot25]

They only real (easy) way to get a 4 banger to 250 hp is with forced induction (for the most part from the factory), which they already have for the SRT4.

Global warming, there is no solid proof, the end. Al Gore claims he can tell the weather from millions of years ago. I claim I can make chickens fly. We're both talkin' out of our *** on those fronts.

But, as far as CAFE, look at it this way. The 70s was supposed to be the end of V8s.. The Catylitic converter was going to kill power.. Fuel Injection was going to be a sham.. Oh, wait... We came out fine.

The V8 says "I'm not dead yet... In fact, I'm feeling better. Think I'll go for a walk". Ford dropped the ball if they just plan to go with Turbo-6s.. Lamely named "Ecoboost". Who knows anything about Chrysler LLC's future. GM is risky, but V8s, Diesels, and RWD still float in the distance.

[Lucky7]

Originally Posted by texan_idiot25

WOW, please cite your sources from the automakers.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/blog/?p=759
"As for other planned GM rear-drivers–a new Chevrolet Impala, Buick LaCrosse and the replacement for the Pontiac G8 due this spring–all have been dropped along with a new V-8 engine GM was contemplating building."


It was the March edition of Motor Trend where they mentioned Ford dropping V8's.


I have no inside sources at Chevy or Ford so I get this info where others do, Magazines and the Internet. Of course a lot may simply be rumor. If anyone has anything solid go ahead and post.



"The new fuel-economy rules, however, have basically forced GM to reconsider its extensive plans for rear-wheel-drive vehicles. Rear-wheel-drive trucks and SUVs are safe for now because the new federal rules will allow some wiggle room for trucks. GM, though, is not in a position to absorb the roughly 1-mpg fuel-economy penalty that comes with building rear-wheel-drive passenger cars, GM insiders said in the wake of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

However, GM’s decision to scrap the other rear-drive models is putting an enormous cost burden on the new Camaro.

GM officials are saying they should be able to recover some of the investment costs in the new rear-wheel-drive platform by selling the vehicles in places such as Australia, the Middle East and China. Australia, however, has a new government that takes global warming very seriously. China is imposing new fuel-economy standards that are as tough as those found in the United States and one of the largest vehicle markets in the Middle East, Iran, is off limits to American car companies."

[texan_idiot25]

Sorry to come off that bad, anyhoo..

I'm more ****ed with some these decisions with automakers. Why the hell did GM introduce the two-mode hybrid tranny for all their SB-V8s if the time to shine, they scrap it...

Makes no sense. But, for certain, it's way too early in the CAFE fret to be calling it all dead. Why RWD seems to be the bottom of all this, I don't know.. It's not like that is really costing any mileage.

**** Hippies.

[tripnips]

i just think its a scare tactic to be honest because i mean think of how important the V8 has been both to ford and chevy!
the small block 350 is probably the most popular, loved, and respected engine of all and for them to just drop it would be ridiculous.

i do agree that they will surely refine the economy of them but even then, my 92 k blazer has the 350 and is 4x4 and if i dont beat the living crap out of it i can get around 20mpg which isnt bad for a 92(16 year old technology) or a V8.

[RallyWRX]

Screw Ford, all I wanted was a 2nd Gen Focus ST and they wouldn't give it to me, they sell it in all the rest of the world, including Mexico, but not here, because it'll hurt the pride of the US engineers/designers to have the Euro designed new Focus instead of the garbage they put out.

The new Hyundai Tiburon is rear wheel drive, it looks mean.