Ward's Auto World, Jan 1, 2000

[razoredge]

General Motors Corp. WARD'S AUTO WORLD STAFF Ward's Auto World, Jan 1, 2000 3.5L Twin Cam V-6 It seemed like we'd been hearing about the "Shortstar" forever. Rumors about General Motors Corp.'s modular DOHC V-6 derived from the famous Northstar 4.6L and Aurora 4L "Premium V" V-8s had powertrain watchers salivating at the prospect. Last year's launch of the Shortstar - officially dubbed 3.5L Twin Cam - didn't disappoint. It instantly earned a position as one of Ward's 10 Best Engines for 1999, in its first year of eligibility. The 3.5L Twin Cam V-6 stands above the mass of 3L V-6s in the market largely by virtue of another half-liter of displacement. GM engineers eschewed the now-common add-on gadgets like variable valve timing in favor of good old cubic inches - and with those cubes comes the virtue of long stroke. Extending the range of the pistons in their bores produces fabulous torque, particularly in the middle-rpm ranges, making the 3.5L Twin Cam a most satisfying implement for squirting through city traffic and breaking out to beat that next ill-timed traffic light. More stimulating, though, is the 3.5L Twin Cam's punch on the freeways and interstates. It lopes along at 75 mph (121 km/h), just below its real light-off rpm; further throttle provocation then summons a torque burst of profound influence - our 3.5L Twin Cam-motivated '01 Aurora test car displayed 75 mph-to-95 mph acceleration of heroic stature. And sustaining triple-digit speeds was the proverbial "walk in the park." Yes. That long stroke yields the sensation of power reserves deeper than those of even the best 3L V-6s. It's a feeling of a uniquely "American" engine - the reassurance of generous displacement. But there's also the unbreakable feel so prevalent in the Northstar and Aurora V-8s. The 3.5L Twin Cam exudes the sounds of fine inner workings, of tight tolerances and components dense where they need to be and finely optimized where they don't. The torque is intoxicating, but it's the typical GM fascination with detail refinement that delights. The company's engineers pursued friction reduction with religious zeal. They specified practically everything you would if you were designing your own V-6: powder metal connecting rods, a forged crank, roller-finger cam followers. A chain cam drive that never needs adjustment or replacement. And the amazing and now-legendary "limp home" feature that allows this all-aluminum engine to operate without any coolant without fear of meltdown. In short, the 3.5L Twin Cam has been developed to the high standard we know GM Powertrain sets when it gets serious about an all-new anything. It doubtless is not a cheap engine - in fact, to watch one built component-by-component, it looks positively lavish - yet now comes standard in the modestly priced Intrigue and will be the base engine for the '01 Aurora starting this spring. Probably nowhere else can you buy so much engine excellence at such reasonable cost.

[HarleyEarl]

Almost poetic.

[CARBIZ]

Yeah, and we all know what it did for the Intrigue.....The Grand Prix still way outsold the Intrigue, even though the INtrigue was a better car and had a better warranty.

[razoredge]

I dont ever remember seeing a single Oldsmobile commercial for the Intrigue or Aurora ever. There was quite a few Intrigues on the road around here but people really seem to like Pontiacs more, is it the styling ? Was it the priceing ? I have to work at it to like the styling of the front of a Pontiac.

[Drew Dowdell]

Yeah, and we all know what it did for the Intrigue.....The Grand Prix still way outsold the Intrigue, even though the INtrigue was a better car and had a better warranty.

[post="69120"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

They hardly advertised the thing... and no one new what an Intrigue was. They could have kept the name Cutlass..... but that was also part of the problem. They expected people to bring their Cutlasses back to Olds to trade in... when they didn't, Olds said "Well shit.... now what do we do?"

[ponchoman49]

I have a 2002 Intrigue with base 3.05: gears and of course the Shortstar and love the engine. It's refinement puts any 3800 I have driven to shame and it will beat my 98 Grand Prix 3800 with better 3.29:1 gears in a race by more than a car length and will positively blow it's door off on the highway! My dad's 01 Bonneville was a car that was supposed to have the Shortstar but instead got the hoary old 3800. After driving my Intrigue and hopping into his Bonney, my first thought after 10 minutes of driving was that I was sure glad I didn't have that motor in my Intrigue. The difference is quite surprising. His car has a rougher idle, throbbier take off, much more exhaust noise, way less power from 40-70 and it sounds downright peculiar when started up almost as if it has chirping birds in the starter. We have almost the same miles and my engine has never so much as had a valve cover removed and his has had the upper intake replaced and the recall for stop leak additive and new throttle body bolts replaced. Now the big question mark remains, whos motor will outlast the other. Thats one area where his 3800 will probably win.

[razoredge]

I test drove a 00 Intrigue and 99 Eighty Eight back to back and it only took the first 1/4 mile or so to know which was the nicest car, smoothest car.................3800 powered Eighty Eight, I never look back at the Intrigue again and I was trading a 3800 powered W body Regal Limited. There was nothing that stood out about the Intrigue at all as far as power, smoothness, ride quality, comfort, quiteness..........nothing

It was a nice car and I have always liked them, in fact that was what I was looking for to buy an Intrigue......the 3800 powered H body was just far superior in all areas, though Im sure the Intrigue would have been better handling on back country roads for obvious reasons. Thing that got me was I didnt find it to be as nice as my old 24+,000 mile Regal Limited. The fully loaded Eighty Eight on the other hand was like stepping into a new world.

In fact the Alero 2dr I also considered was 3400 powered and as impressive over all to the Intrigue but again was not on the same level as the 3800 H body. I was really impressed with the SII 3800 NA, I already have a SC which speaks for itself but that NA motor was really nice. The gasket/manifold on the other hand is not.