Stump The Best And Brightest: What Car Had Its 6.2 Liter V8 Pulled By Dan Akerson?

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

In his Detroit News interview, GM CEO Dan Akerson revealed a minor mystery, which I present for your consideration and discussion:

In a recent meeting with engineers, for example, Akerson pressed them to explain the logic behind putting a big 6.2-liter engine in an unspecified car whose competitor has a 4.4-liter turbocharged engine. The engineers replied: “Well, we want to be able to beat the other guy.”

Akerson responded: “I don’t think the average buyer is going to buy an eight-cylinder, 530-horsepower (car).” His point: Decisions must be supported by a solid business case, and not just for bragging rights or as a marketing tool.

The Cadillac ATS-V seems like the most likely candidate, but then there’s also this to consider:

Akerson, who became CEO Sept. 1 and board chairman Jan. 1, already is weighing in on new vehicles. He recently greenlighted the next generation of the compact Chevrolet Cruze, but vetoed a new engine for a sports car set for production in 18 months.

The ATS is a sedan, not a sports car… so is this a different cancelation, or what? Over to you, B&B…


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Rpol35 Rpol35 on Jun 07, 2011

    Cadillac made a 4.4 litre 469 HP, supercharged Northstar V8, so they've beeen there and done that. They don't make it any longer, for whatever reason, and now they need a bigger engine to compete since they are using a two valve, pushrod architecture. As an aside, GM supposedly has a 3.0 litre OHC, supercharged, V8 coming for the C7 'Vette; maybe that will scratch the itch. Seems like a dumb question on Akerson's part..........

  • Ajla Ajla on Jun 07, 2011

    Displacement is not the same thing as physical size or shipping weight or cylinder count.

  • Speed_3 Speed_3 on Jun 09, 2011

    So correct me if I'm wrong but we narrowed it down to basically the ATS-V, Corvette, or Camaro? Would a twin-turbo V6 ATS be that bad though? I'd need more info to know whether or not it was a good decision, sadly I don't think we are going to get that.

  • Adub Adub on Jun 12, 2011

    Now I see other news sources quoting GM bigwigs as saying they want to go with a 3.0 turbo V8 to chase Porsche and Ferrari, as if the engine is the deciding factor for those buyers. Bah!

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