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Cadillac and The Disappearing V-8
Eric Peters Autos ^ | Eric Peters

Posted on 10/24/2014 12:13:24 PM PDT by all the best

Mourn with me.

Cadillac – Cadillac! – no longer sells a single car powered by a V-8 engine. Or such will be the case in about two months, when 2014 fades to 2015. Come Jan. 1, all new Cadillac cars will be powered by fours or sixes. Some will be turbocharged. But none will larger than 3.6 liters.

The last of the V-8 Caddys – the (very) limited production CTS-V sedan/wagon – is being retired. There appears to be a replacement on deck for 2016, but the continued politically viability of V-8 engines within the system (so to speak) is shaky. Not because people don’t want the power. But because government demands “economy” – creating an impossible Catch 22 situation.

The 6.2 liter V-8 in the current (2014) CTS-V produces 556 magnificent horsepower – more horsepower than any ’60s-era muscle car (including the halo’d Chrysler 426 Street Hemi). But its Achilles Heel in this misbegotten age – in which government bureaucrats and political hacks decree car design via regulatory edicts as opposed to the freely expressed wishes of the people who buy the cars – is its hunger for fuel. The CTS-V’s EPA mileage stats are the modern-day equivalent of a racist joke caught on mike: 14 city, 19 highway.conan pic

Hear the lamentations of the women.

And so, GM – like every other automaker – is scrambling to “apologize” for its sins – atonement coming in the form of much smaller (but ironically only slightly more economical) not-V-8s such as the 3.6 liter V-6 that will be the mainstay powerplant in future Cadillac “V” (high-performance) vehicles.

Instead of 556 hp, 420 hp. But hey, 21 city and 31 highway will be your reward. Is it a fair exchange? The loss of 136 hp, two cylinders and 2.6 liters’ worth of engine in exchange for a 7 MPG uptick in city driving – and 12 on the highway?


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: cadillac; cafeautostds; cars; epa; nannystate; v8engine
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"Will someone enlighten me where I can find the clause in the Constitution – allegedly the supreme law of the land – that endows the federal government with the rightful power to dictate car design to GM or anyone else?"
1 posted on 10/24/2014 12:13:24 PM PDT by all the best
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To: all the best

Commerce clause? /s


2 posted on 10/24/2014 12:18:37 PM PDT by kosciusko51 (Enough of "Who is John Galt?" Who is Patrick Henry?)
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To: all the best

If you can afford to pay $20-40k more for a little trim and a badge over the exact same vehicle available elsewhere, are you really worried about the gas mileage??


3 posted on 10/24/2014 12:19:03 PM PDT by tcrlaf (They told me it could never happen in America. And then it did....)
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To: all the best

GM Government Motors


4 posted on 10/24/2014 12:19:12 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (The only people in the world who fear Obama are American citizens. KILL THE BILL!)
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To: all the best

“Will someone enlighten me where I can find the clause in the Constitution – allegedly the supreme law of the land – that endows the federal government with the rightful power to dictate car design to GM or anyone else?”

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.


5 posted on 10/24/2014 12:19:40 PM PDT by rsobin
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To: all the best

Why would you even think to search the Constitution in year 2014 a.d.??


6 posted on 10/24/2014 12:20:35 PM PDT by whistleduck
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To: all the best

420 hp isstill more than the 60’s produced. And this is 31 highway versus 12 of the bygone era.


7 posted on 10/24/2014 12:23:38 PM PDT by TexasGator
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To: rsobin

CAFE standards became the law of the land in 1975.

Dig up Jerry Ford and thank him.


8 posted on 10/24/2014 12:25:06 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: TexasGator

99% of the people out there cannot hope to handle 420HP. Much less more.

Perspective has been lost on many I fear. Thats Boss 429 level.


9 posted on 10/24/2014 12:26:45 PM PDT by Norm Lenhart ("Refusing to vote against unprincipled people made Obama President. " - agere_contra)
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To: whistleduck

“2014 a.d.??”

AD?? Seriously? Are you trying to give the libtrolls apoplexy?

It’s “CE”. Get with the Common Core program.


10 posted on 10/24/2014 12:27:56 PM PDT by Stormdog (A rifle transforms one from subject to Citizen)
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To: all the best

Government Motors can do what it wants.

And the taxpayers can pay for it.


11 posted on 10/24/2014 12:28:59 PM PDT by Responsibility2nd (NO LIBS. This Means Liberals and (L)libertarians! Same Thing. NO LIBS!!)
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To: all the best

The government has abused the interstate commerce clause and interpreted it to mean that any interstate commerce is subject to unlimited regulation by the federal government.


12 posted on 10/24/2014 12:31:10 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The cure has become worse than the disease. Support an end to the WOD now.)
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To: Norm Lenhart

My uncle had a Pontiac Bonneville with a 455 in it.

Could not drive that thing under 40MPH, even with my
pinky toe on the accelerator.


13 posted on 10/24/2014 12:31:37 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Norm Lenhart

Ratings have changed ... sae/net. 420 now is like 460 then.


14 posted on 10/24/2014 12:31:39 PM PDT by TexasGator
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To: TexasGator

Not more than the Hemi they mention (425 if I remember). And I think the Chevy had an even bigger HP engine.


15 posted on 10/24/2014 12:31:41 PM PDT by Doctor 2Brains
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To: Blood of Tyrants

Dude! They’ve gone WAY beyond that, and they did it about 80 years ago. The SC has ruled that the G. may legislate on anything that AFFECTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! interstate comm. Look up the “Sick Chicken” case.


16 posted on 10/24/2014 12:33:16 PM PDT by Doctor 2Brains
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To: all the best
NASCAR 2025

Pace car

Crash crew


Safety Enhanced NASCAR 2030


17 posted on 10/24/2014 12:34:40 PM PDT by knarf (I say things that are true .. I have no proof .. but they're true.)
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To: all the best

I have never owned a vehicle that did not contain a V-8.


18 posted on 10/24/2014 12:35:34 PM PDT by outpostinmass2
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To: all the best

Why would anyone buy a Cadillac nowadays anyhow?

Or any car from a US manufacturer?

Didn’t GM go broke and you and I bailed them out?

It’s a shame.

GM cars used to be the best, but that’s 40 years ago by now.


19 posted on 10/24/2014 12:35:35 PM PDT by ifinnegan
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To: Doctor 2Brains

I had forgotten about that.


20 posted on 10/24/2014 12:35:48 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (The cure has become worse than the disease. Support an end to the WOD now.)
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