The Monte Carlo name has been circulating.

 

I feel for the Monte Carlo name...it has went through more changes then Michael Jackson's face....

All that is left now is a wagon or SUV....

 

Ah yes, Branden I saw that 6L80E as well...just before you and Nick removed it! muahaha!
Im would be surprised to not see it in the V8 Chevy and Pontiac sedans.

 

The Impala name may be a victim of it's own success with the W-car.

Will GM build on this success...taking Impala to the next level with Zeta, and at the same time building brand equity in the Impala name?

Or.... will they revert back to tried and tested GM doctrine. Squeeze the very last bit of blood out of the W-body Impala...until the name is dead as a doornob...and you couldn't dare use it again for another 20 years.

 

Nope.

A 3.5HO LX car is definitely faster than any NA 3800.

I have a 250hp Concorde and it's a high 15 sec car, no doubt about it. But you got me interested, so I looked up what a car rag could get out of the two.

Well a 3800 Grand Prix GT2 ran a 16.2@85 in C&D Dec '03
And a 3.5L Intrepid(242hp) ran a 16.0@89 waaayy back in June '00

BTW the Intrepid went on up to 139mph top speed. The Pontiac is governed to 109, but I'd bet my house it ain't gonna go to 139.

The Chrysler 3.5 is as every bit as good as the Japanese "super" V6s that world+dog is going gah gah over right now.

 

Since were quoting numbers here.....the Intrigue with the 215hp "Shortstar" V6 ran 16.0---same as the R/T Intrepid but down 27hp.

Like the Wendys commercials form the 80's: Wheres the Beef?

I have to say that the Chrsler 3.5L is not that strong of an engine. GM HF 3.6L wipes the floor with it and it barely stays ahead of a NA 3800.

The Japaneses V6s you mention run in the 14's---way faster. They do deserve sopme praise because they do deliver. So no, its not as good.

But hey.....its way better then Fords lame 3.0 Duratec that they are sticking in the 500!

 

[fordfanboy]BLAH BLAH BLAH, Ford is coming out with the Duratec 3.5 next...2 or so years...BUT ITS GOT AWD!![/fordfanboy]


So we are comparing the 200hp 3.8 to the 250hp Intrepid eh?
How about the 240hp Series II Grand Prix GTP? 10hp down, and I have seen run mid 15's.

 

It's too bad we'll have to wait so long for a V8 Zeta sedan.

If a Zeta Impala with a six speed manual and 5.3 were available within 18 months...you could consider it sold. Within the next 12 months, I'll probably be getting a new daily driver. Right now, one of the LX cars, will be the front runner.

 

What exactly has changed so much about Monte Carlo over the years?

It's always been a mid-lux large, 2 door coupe.

Sure, It was RWD, and right now it is FWD, but that's only one single issue.

You want to talk about a name plate that has changed over time... I can think of nothing that has done more than Thunderbird.

 

The Concorde isn't an LX car. Chrysler 300 with the 3.5L is about as fast as an Impala with the 3800. The 240HP s/c 3800 V6 Impala runs the 1/4mi. in mid/high 14's

 

Yup I meant LH. The 3.5 RWD LXs are definitely slower than the lighter FWD LHs. Plus the FWD is more efficient at transferring power.

You know when I heard DC was going to use the MB 3.2L instead of the Chrysler 3.5 in the Crossfire, I was dumbfounded, 215hp vs 250hp. Then the SC Crossfire SRT-6 comes outand it's pretty good 340hp just like the AMG C32. It saved them tons of money, the drivetrain was already developed.

But if they had gone with the 3.5 with that same intercooled Lysholm, it would have been closer to 400hp. Course then it would be in danger of embarrassing AMGs, and DC can't have that.

 

That platform already supported the 3.2 Mercedes engine, since it is a Mercedes car underneath. Would have been some significant alterations, likely to both the engine and the subframe, to get a Chrysler engine in there. Why bother?

Yeah, the 3.5L powered LH cars are a little better, but they are still right at what a n/a 3800 will do. I remember comparisons with the 3.2 DOHC LH Intrepid (220-ish hp and torque) that got dusted by the 200 hp/225 lb-ft 3800. As for the LX, a 300 with the 3.5 got creamed by the similarly powered 3.6L CTS (like 6.6 vs 8.0 seconds to 60 mph) in the big seven car comparo in Road & Track recently. But anyway... the whole point here relevent to the thread was that I wouldn't go out and assume that a 3.9L, 245 hp (or 3.6L 255 hp) V6 Zeta would be as slow as a 3.5L LX.

 

I have no doubt, the 3.9 motor will be much better.

If I had to explain why the Caddy whupped the 300, I'd first point to the obvious 250lb difference. Beyond that I know my Concorde short shifts the tranny. It doesn't even let it rev to the hp peak! Let alone a proper shift point beyond that. I blame that programming directly on the standard 7/70 powertrain warranty that comes on every vehicle. But it's not the motor, unless DC is flat out lying on the specs. 250hp@6400 / 250lb-ft@3800

 

1. The 3.2 liter V6 was already replaced in the M and S-class by a bored out 3.7 liter labeled as a ML350 or S350.

2. The 18-valve 3.7 liter was replaced (after about one model year) by a brand new 24-valve 3.5 liter which is premiering in the SLK350.

3. It's a pity that Chrysler didn't give the 300/Magnum the supercharged derivitive of its own 2.7 liter V6. The 2.7 liter is far smoother and faster revving than the grumpy old 3.5 liter inherited from the original 1993-vintage LH cars.

4. Doesn't Daimler-Chrysler have way too many V6 motors at the moment? Mercedes is simultaneously producing the 18-valve 2.6, 2.8, 3.2 (NA and supercharged) and 3.7 liter units , but also the entirely new 24-valve 3.5 liter. Chrysler has the 3.3 and 3.8 liter pushrod lumps and the SOHC 24-valve 3.5-liter. Then there's the unrelated DOHC 2.7-liter and the 90 degree SOHC 3.7 liter truck motor that's pretty much a "sawed off" 4.7 liter V8.

On the other hand, Nissan just has the VQ engine family that covers the range from 2.0 liters to 4.0 liters. It makes you think....

 

Good points, redzed. You didn't really need to quote me, though. I was replying to the idea of Chrysler using their own 3.5 in the Crossfire (supercharged or otherwise). Not to why they didn't use the newer versions of Mercedes own 6 (which I still cannot believe is a 90 degree design, while the 3800 is ripped for being a 90 degree "sawed off V8"...).

Perhaps the idea of M-B and Dodge/Chrysler using the same engines at the same time in their respective brands doesn't sit too well in Germany, so Chrysler gets the older version?... shrug