I agree conceptually. But in the world of print media and internet shopping and incorrect opinions (heh), where perception is reality, it is often considered as fact that OHC > OHV, OHV is "antiquated" ( ), etc.

So even if the 3900 meets the 3.6L in power, torque, fuel economy, and smoothness, it will get eaten alive by the idiots in the press. "GM STILL can't get it right, etc. etc., blah blah". *sigh*

I agree that the 3900 is a nice engine. I recently spend a couple of days in a rental Impala LT with the 17" wheel option and the 3900 (to my happy surprise). It runs quite strong, and sounds good too. And it is indeed very smooth.

However, Road & Track recently got a 6.1 0-60 and a 14.5@99.9 (?) mph from a Camry with the 268 hp 3.5L and six speed auto. The Impala I drove was quick, but not quite that quick, I believe. I'm hoping the Aura with the 3.6L and six speed will be similar in capability to the new Camry powertrain.

This thread is pretty much moot, though, because the original post was wrong.

 

Even if one of the engines in the Aura is OHV, that's wrong. It's like the Lucerne, too many people are going to review the OHV variant and make their judgements based on that, and that's what's going to stick in people's minds. There should not be a pushrod motor within 200 yards of a Saturn dealership.

Think of it this way: what auto companies are most admired today? Toyota, Honda, BMW. How many pushrods can be found in those companies' inventories? If GM wants to be thought of as being in the top tier of automakers again (especially with their upscale aspirations for Saturn), they should consider things like OHC the basic price of entry.

 

With V8s that isn't an issue (Hemi, LS1, LS2, LS7) but I agree, until GM can either make or market a OHV V6 so that it is better or the public thinks it is better then they should stick to DOHC V6s in the premium cars.

 

I agree. Make it an Import fighter.

I agree that technically (size, mpg, power) an OHV engine is great. Thats not what customers care about, though. OHC engines just "feel" more luxurious. My mom just switced from a 3.0 OHC in her hyundai to the 3.5l OHV in her G6. As much as I want to stick up for the OHV 3.5, after driving them back to back, it just doesn't "feel" nearly as nice, and thats what counts to the consumer. Whether its the higher RPM power band, vibrations, whatever, OHC's just "feel" more luxurious.

 

Joe,

I completely agree with your post...its just a shame that the 3.9 doesn't get better props...because it really is better than your run-of-the-mill OHV GM V6s...

 

My Grand Prix 3800 used to feel better than my dads Ford DOHC V6 and a DOHC Rav4 I drove for a week.

My DOHC Colorado doesn't feel any better or worse than any other pushrod GM engine I've driven. You really can't tell what kind of engine your driving, you just know it isn't an LS1

 

I have trouble believing this. How'd the 3500 get a 19hp boost to 230hp?

And wheres the 2.4L 170-172hp Ecotec? I heard that was in the cards. To go against Camry/Accord you need a stong base 4 cly.

I hope the 3.6L shows up. Saturn needs all DOHC. With DI the 3.6 should kick some ***.

 

So they ended up with 224 for the 3.5. I wonder what Saturn did to find the extra horsepower compared with the Impala. The 252 for the 3.6 is 16 behind the Camry, but torque is slightly above the Camry. As long as weight is 3500 pounds or less, it should be fully competitive with Camry, Passat, etc., from an accelerative standpoint.

I assume the 3.6 will still use regular, which is a nice advantage over the Camry which needs premium. I wonder what the 3.6 would make if optimized for 91 octane instead of 87 octane.

I fixed the title in the edit!

 

Its a bit over 3600lbs. However, that is not a deal breaker for me. I'd rather be dead then caught in a Camry

 

Hmm. 3647 pounds. That's a bit chunky. A bit heavier than the new Passat even. Well, there's more to life than being thin

18/27 EPA for the 3.6l V6. Compares to 22/31 for the Camry with 16 more HP but 91 octane. Part of the difference is probably the extra weight. But the rest is likely down to the DI on the Camry engine.

I think I'd probably go for the 3.5l OHV VVT instead. Give up 28hp and 31 torque, but also lose 120 pounds and gain 2-3MPG. I wonder how much of that 120 pound weight difference is from engine versus transmission versus and increased standard equipment.

The car looks really good. They really did a nice job on the exterior.