dav305z

Anyone know what's happening to the Grand Prix, particularly its engine lineup next year? Someone on GMInsidenews said the Grand Prix will be dropping the 3800's and switching to the Impala's engine lineup next year. I take most of what I read from random posters on GMI and C&G with a grain of salt, so I thought I'd ask here.

If true, it's too bad. The 3900 is no replacement for the 3800 S/C. It's by no means a bad engine, but not powerful enough to be make the midrange GP a Maxima competitor (which I feel the current Grand Prix GT certainly IS).

Jason E

Its funny, I was just thinking about this on the way to work this morning (I know, its scary), and planned to post the same thing you just did!! I don't care about the 3500 replacing the 3800...11 more HP, just as smooth probably, and gets a little better mileage (22/31 in Impy vs. 20/30 in GP base for '06). Works for me.

The one that kills me though is replacing the 3800 s/c with the 3900. That will suck. I love the fact you have TWO real performance engines for the GP, for the first time ever. It really helps Pontiac stand apart, not only from GM but from other car lines as well. Put it this way...if the 3800 is really dead for '07, the 3.9 will be taking the spot. I cannot picture GM continuing to make ONLY the s/c 3800 for the GP...its the only place the engine is even used anymore

BTW, a tidbit. A certain person mentioned in a certain conversation that never took place at a certain car show I never attended that the 3800's death timeline is "18 months." Lets think about this for a minute. 18 months would have put the 3800's death at approximately March '07. That is when "buildout" would take place for the '07s anyway, meaning thats when the dealers will put in their last orders for '07 cars. OK, so GM builds up a stockpile of s/c 3800s to carry them through the rest of '07.

Now, we know around '08 is when things tend to get a little sticky. Will a "G8" debut? Will the GP continue as-is? My thoughts???? This is PURE CONJECTURE...

'08 will yield that good-ol Zeta Pontiac sedan. The 3800 s/c won't even make its way into the new car, and who knows what spicy motor GM will have at that point for an equivalent GP GT. Bottom line? The 3800 SHOULD be here for '07, and will probably follow the current GP out the door...I think.

FWIW, go buy an '06 GP GT for anyone who wants a decently styled car with a great ride, solid handling, and a bulletproof engine you can mod into the 12s on a budget The interior even looks pretty damn good now, too!! I love GPs

Z284ever

Wonder what ever happened to the HV 3.5 S/C engine that was going to be part of the G6 GXP?

JakeRobb

It's really too bad. The 3800 is one of the best engines ever made.

Threxx

Is a s/c 3900 not an option? What about a hybrid 3900? Both of those would help quite a bit in the performance department. Heck, just the 5.3L V8 seems fine to me.

IREngineer

I would kind of like to know where the hybrid V6's are going with GM. I know that I4's are all set with the ecotecs, but what route is GM going with V6? I am going to assume HF since that allows better valvetrain control. Maybe I need to get to work on this one...

OctaneZ28

I would wonder too if a S/C 3.9L is in the future.

1990 Turbo Grand Prix

Not a bad idea, but I see this being overlap with the GXP's 5.3 V8 in the GP. If the 3900 with a S/C gave the same hp gain as the 3800, we'd be talking a 300hp S/Ced V6 and a 303hp V8. Doens't make much sence in the GP, but maybe in the G6.....

Z28x

How about a DOHC 3.6L that the LaCrosse uses for the mid-range engine. Give it a more agressive exhust than the Buick and it should be good for ~260HP

PacerX

I will never understand why 4 engines could be viewed as a good thing.

3... tops.

ESPECIALLY since the 5.3 is available.

Then again, I may be the only one thinking about it in terms of investment.

SSCamaro99_3

We just lost a 3800 Series II in a 1998 Bonneville with 125,000 miles. I have found a replacement 1997 Olds 88. The shop says the 3800 can be troublesome, and the rebuild shop says they get a lot of 125-150,000 mile rebuilds. I had always ben under the impression (and still am) that the 3800 was better than that. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Gold_Rush

3800's time is up. Nice engine, but it was really old. I like the new 3900 and think it is a nice replacement.

And imo, the 3800 S/c'd won't be missed because now there's the Ls4 positioned as the performance engine. With the 240hp 3.9L covering base performance, and 303hp 5.3 Ls4 covering high performance, there really is no need for the S/c'd 3.8. Just my opinion, but i'm sure that's how GM's looking at this matter, and it does make sense.

Btw: Whatever happened to the rumors about there being a possible 270+hp 3 valve varient of the 3900? That would have been nice.

Jason E

3800s? Welp, I have 2 trades ready for wholesale on the lot right now...'97 GP SE with 147k and a '97 GP GT with 128k. Both are running beautiful...the GT I took out and hammered the crap out of it, to see what my car will drive like years from now. Full throttle at 6,000 RPMs was as smooth as my car.

3800s needing more than normal rebuilds? Not that I've seen. Go check over at clubgp.com, and see how many people have high 100ks, and how many are nearing 300k!!!!

Big Als Z

I think that GM should get used to the 3.6 more and more. Offer it with 250-260hp to match that of the Maxima, and then have the GXP still pack the 5.3 making 300hp. Pontiac is to be the performance brand, then it should act like it. Charger had a 250hp V6 standard, so should Pontiac, thats how I see it.

Gold_Rush

Would be really nice to have the 3.6 Dohc across the board within Pontiac (and i would even argue Chevy). That is an excellent motor. Especially for Pontiac since they're said to be moving a bit upscale. Have Pontiac get a 250hp version with Cadillac getting a higher tuned 280-300hp version.

About Nissan's 3.5, they've shown that such v6 can be used extensively and cost effectively across their lineup from the 23k v6 altima to the 36k 350z's.

GM does need to drop a couple of v6's imo. Way too many variations, alot of them not too impressive.