interesting reading material
05-23-2008, 11:27 AM
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interesting reading material
By: Chris Terry
GMnext Team Member
A few months back, Bob Lutz discussed the possibility of offering a four-cylinder turbo Camaro in addition to larger V6 and V8 options. While some small-block pony car purists cried “foul”, other enthusiasts warmed up to the idea of compact, turbocharged motors for performance cars (and passenger vehicles in general) in an age of $4/gallon gasoline.
The case for turbos in 2008 (and beyond) is very, very compelling, especially for gasoline vehicles in North America. As some pointed out after the Motor Authority piece above, the 2.0 Ecotec (of Pontiac Solstice GXP, Saturn Sky Redline and Chevrolet HHR SS fame) makes more power than some variants of GM’s 3.6 V6.
As Europeans have known for the better part of a decade, turbos are tomorrow’s “replacement for displacement” (although Europe’s inclination towards the turbo has to do with emissions laws and fuel taxes that favor diesels, almost all of which have turbos). And like most things in the last quarter century, turbos have become vastly more efficient/durable/responsive over the years.
Even the folks at http://www.hybridcars.com/ have called turbocharging “The New Hybrid” because both work towards the same end: allowing significantly smaller engine size without penalizing performance. Funny thing is, turbos aren’t exactly new, they were invented in Switzerland in 1905. Look for more turbos in coming years as an affordable way to maintain performance in an era of increasing fuel economy demands.
The enthusiast in me says, “If this is the future of motoring, I’m all for it.”
GMnext Team Member
A few months back, Bob Lutz discussed the possibility of offering a four-cylinder turbo Camaro in addition to larger V6 and V8 options. While some small-block pony car purists cried “foul”, other enthusiasts warmed up to the idea of compact, turbocharged motors for performance cars (and passenger vehicles in general) in an age of $4/gallon gasoline.
The case for turbos in 2008 (and beyond) is very, very compelling, especially for gasoline vehicles in North America. As some pointed out after the Motor Authority piece above, the 2.0 Ecotec (of Pontiac Solstice GXP, Saturn Sky Redline and Chevrolet HHR SS fame) makes more power than some variants of GM’s 3.6 V6.
As Europeans have known for the better part of a decade, turbos are tomorrow’s “replacement for displacement” (although Europe’s inclination towards the turbo has to do with emissions laws and fuel taxes that favor diesels, almost all of which have turbos). And like most things in the last quarter century, turbos have become vastly more efficient/durable/responsive over the years.
Even the folks at http://www.hybridcars.com/ have called turbocharging “The New Hybrid” because both work towards the same end: allowing significantly smaller engine size without penalizing performance. Funny thing is, turbos aren’t exactly new, they were invented in Switzerland in 1905. Look for more turbos in coming years as an affordable way to maintain performance in an era of increasing fuel economy demands.
The enthusiast in me says, “If this is the future of motoring, I’m all for it.”
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