last901

Methinks thou worries too much. Unless things have changed recently, the CAFE standards apply to a manufacturer's total production. CAFE being an acronym for Corporate Average Fuel Economy. In other words, for every vehicle produced by a manufacturer that falls below the CAFE standards, the manufacturer must produce multlple vehicles that exceed the cafe standards in order to meet the "average"

So, let's say - and I don't hold this to be the actual ratios - that for every Corvette produced, Chevrolet needs to produce, say, 3 Cruzes.

But let's also consider that I'm wrong and that the CAFE standards don't apply to the entire fleet of vehicles produced. Big Deal. It could only make the cars we presently have become more rare. Ferrari was so long considered to mean a V-12 engine that later production versions with V6 and V8 engines weren't even called Ferraris at first. Yet, now these engines comprise the bulk of Ferrari production.

As others have already stated, technology is so advanced that even if they did decide to put a V-6 in a Corvette, I don't think GM would allow the performance to suffer. Hopefully they learned that lesson in the late 70's.

If the quality continues to improve with each new generation I might not care of they put an electric engine in the Corvette. You can only milk this V-8 pushrod front engined concept so far.

I think it's going to be interesting, maybe not fun, to watch and see what happens.

laconiajack

The point is low rolling resistance tires don't use any technology that is remarkedly different than other tires; they are simply tires in which engineering decisions were based on maximizing fuel efficiency. And by the way, they are not simply a "fad" as you stated, but the type tires that will become more prevelent as fuel costs increase. One of the main reasons besides low weight and aerodynamics that todays base Corvette can pull 30 MPG cruising on the highway has to do with the fact their tires have very low rolling resistance compared to tires of decades past. So to say this is a "fad" shows it is you who needs to learn not only something, but a whole lot.

30YR W8T

Probably not going to happen in a production car. The aftermarket already has some monster BB out there exceeding 500-600 CI. and the LSX cast iron block can be be built supposedly well North of 1000 HP. The problem is not just regulations, the market must also support and provide the demand for an engine like this. I know we all think "build it and they will come", but the facts are we are a small section of the overall automotive market. What is primary on the vast majority of buyers minds right now is rising fuel prices and the impact that could have on them. The fuel efficient economy car market is growing in leaps and bounds and is becoming the bread and butter of the automotive industry.

Truck sales are actually slipping a little compared to prior years and I really do think that has a lot to do with peoples fears of a large fuel price spike. I bring this up because even the diesel market is experiencing slowing sales and most of those trucks are deliver more HP and torque than ever before, most are now delivering in excess of 700 ft lbs of torque, which could just about de-slab your home. However, even with those improvements sales have not really taken off. If I were guessing the same would happen eventually to cars with a modern 454 or 500 CI BB, they would be hot for a short period of time but as soon as gas prices started to sky the dealers would have a hard time selling those cars.

Bill Dearborn

He doesn't get it. No use arguing with him. Probably the true comparison would be with the C4 ZR1 engine which was an all aluminum 5.7 Liter DOHC engine. It added a lot of power to the C4 in the early 90s but the car also weighed about 150 lbs more than the standard C4 most of that in engine weight. That engine like the old small block is on the same bore centers of the LS engines. If updated with today's technology it may be able to match the Z06 power level but it would still be heavy and complicated. Even now I doubt it would run any higher rpms than the Z06. Then just think about trying to cram that engine into a C5/C6 engine compartment.

Bill

phileaglesfan

If they put a V6 in the Corvette I wouldn't be surprised if sales suffer, even if they put it as a "base" engine.

Electric cars are a fad that will probably pass once the government figures out how much toxic waste they produce when they are in the junk yard.

30YR W8T

Shhhhh, your not suppose to bring that up, that would be a complete contradiction to the go green fad. I guess the folks who continue to push for this legislation don't worry about things like that because dumps and junk yards are not allowed in their neighborhoods.

vettedoogie

I always have to laugh at this one because nobody here or anywhere gives a rats patoot about "toxic" batteries in the landfill until it relates to hybrid or electric cars.

Lets remember, no real lead to speak of in any of the hybrid batteries AND Toyota has had a recycling program in place for many years related to their hybrid program.

30YR W8T

Lead won't be the issue and neither will recycling as long as the batteries are worth something substantial. New battery technology brings different concerns versus what we dealt with in the past. One examples is new legislation in regards to transporting batteries by Air or in large quantities over the road. These new generation batteries when not properly packaged for shipment to recycling locations become a major fire hazard and once they combust, they burn extremely hot. That effect alone releases a chemical cocktail that you would not want to be anywhere near. Lithium battery technology was a wonderful thing in that it brought a lot of power in a small package so to speak, however, the issue with combustion is now a major concern. Do a little digging on this one and you will find what I am talking about.

in regards to Hybrid technology, still not where it needs to be and is an expensive endeavor for the buyer once power cells need to be replaced. That cost is substantial and is one of the hurdles this future form of transportation needs to overcome. Some food for thought, what do you think most do with the old battery in their cell phone when replacing with a new one? I don't have a clue what the total number of cell phones in use would be, but I am positive it is a staggering number to say the least. Yes there is a real concern for the number of batteries ending up in our landfills. The concern for Hybrid vehicle batteries ending up there is just the tip of the iceberg....

vettedoogie

Yeah, my "ideals" aren't really clouded. I worked in/around the nuke, chem, and oil industries for years...I'm not dreaming about any of what industry does being "clean" and I can name you a lot of them that are really dirty...including nukes. My point in mentioning it is that suddenly we hear about battery toxicity here ONLY when it relates to hybrids. They at least have a recycling program which is more than I can say about a lot of companies.

I'm have one because I get a larger vehicle that gets fantastic gas mileage and is as reliable as any car I've ever owned.

GS-Zero

I don't know about less weight. The LSX motors are featherweights, due largely in part to the OHV design.

Anyways, isn't horsepower per liter just ricer math?

68/70Vette

For God's sake, just install direct injection on the current LS3 engines.

Also, about that overhead cam engine...GM Corvette has long maintained that for a given engine volume (volume of the entire engine, just not the volume of the cylinders) .....you can make more HP with pushrods for a street engine. The overhead cams make an engine volume a great deal larger and at the 6500 to 7000 rpm range, you can avoid this growth in engine size with pushrods. To repeat, I think the GM mantra is something like, if you stay below 6500-7000 rpm, pushrods will work just fine.

68/70Vette

For God's sake, just install direct injection on the current LS3 engines.

Also, about that overhead cam engine...GM Corvette has long maintained that for a given engine volume (volume of the entire engine, just not the volume of the cylinders) .....you can make more HP with pushrods for a street engine. The overhead cams make an engine volume a great deal larger and at the 6500 to 7000 rpm range, you can avoid this growth in engine size with pushrods. To repeat, I think the GM mantra is something like, if you stay below 6500-7000 rpm, pushrods will work just fine.

vettedoogie

This is why they came up with the Solstice/Sky...what I think of as the "VetteMini". Wouldn't surprise me if they came back with something like this at some point that could be more of a pocket rocket with a large turbo six. They'll never put a six in the Corvette.