GM is looking to offer a small 1.4L turbo engine to a number of cars; possibly even some mid-sized cars. The reason: As always, more power and less fuel. Said Jim Queen of GM engineering, Youre going to see turbocharged four-cylinders in vehicles that no one could have ever imagined that they would be in.
The first cars to get this engine will likely be the Chevy Cobalt and/or the Saturn Astra.
Full story here ...
vvk says:
08:41 AM, 01/28/08
Finally!
firstwagon says:
09:28 AM, 01/28/08
I like the idea of small turbo engines but only in light weight cars (which GM has none in N.A.).
In a heavy car, you would be into the boost all the time just to keep up with traffic and there would be little or no mileage advantage.
orangutan says:
10:57 AM, 01/28/08
I'll take one in a five-door Astra. Oh, with a DSG, too.
ateixeira says:
01:07 PM, 01/28/08
A response to Ford's EcoBoost?
Let's see if GM can tune the engines to run on regular fuel. If you need premium fuel, it sort of kills any real savings.
sabastian says:
01:47 PM, 01/28/08
This is an excellent step forward for GM, and is something that Audi/VW have proved can really work well. I can't wait to see what other GM models will get small turbo fours.
orangutan says:
03:25 PM, 01/28/08
ateixeira: A premium fuel requirement is roughly equivalent to a one mile per gallon difference in fuel economy. So, while it's not preferable, it's not that terrible either if the fuel economy benefit is greater than a couple miles per gallon.
n_tesla says:
03:32 PM, 01/28/08
My wife's car is a 03 SAAB 9-3 that runs on regular gas, gets 25mpg around town and has more than enough power for a midsize family sedan.
As a matter of fact it feels stronger than my BMW 330 because it has so much low end torque.
GM has access to good turbo engineers. I'll bet they get enough out of a 1.4 to move an Impala very well.
stovt001 says:
09:46 PM, 01/28/08
Smart move. I wish my Cobalt had a 1.8T, assuming it made similar power with better efficiency. I imagine this will be the trend for entry level engines for midsize sedans.
wenhead says:
06:23 AM, 01/29/08
Sounds like a good move. I wish GM sucess with the small turbos.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
08:32 AM, 01/29/08
sounds good. Let's hope GM can avoid or at least minimize the turbo lag that mars Subaru, VW and most others' turbo engines!
rsholland says:
08:49 AM, 01/29/08
Subaru? Turbo lag?
Yeah, on old 2.0 turbos, but not on my 2.5 WRX, or any other 2.5 turbo.
To be clear here, all turbos do suffer some turbo lag, except maybe twin turbos or twin-scroll turbos which both low- and high-rpm issues are addressed—but it's not an issue with 2.5 Subie turbos.