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Luxury cars switch to V6

General Motors has yesterday announced through GM Powertrain spokesman Tom Read that the new advanced double overhead-cam V8 engine project is canceled. Back in January GM still vowed they would invest USD 300 million in the project which was supposed to be build in GM's Tonawanda, N.Y., engine plant. The Tonawada plant will be developing a new diesel V8 for GM trucks and SUVs.

This of course makes the future of V8 powered luxury cars, especially the Cadillac range, very unlikely. Most likely the luxury cars will instead be propelled by the higher powered V6 engines instead of the Northstar V8. The direct-injection V6 from the 2008 Cadillac CTS produces 304 hp versus the 275 hp Northstar V8 in the 2008 Cadillac DTS.

Cadillac spokesman Kevin Smith said, “We’ve really seen the V6 become the predominant engine in sales on the (2008) STS because it’s so close in power to the V8.” The V6 also weighs 150 to 200 pounds less than its bigger V8 brother.