GM's 3.9L V-6 Family Grows

[Derek77]

GM's 3.9L V-6 Family Grows With E85-Capable And Fuel-Saving Active Fuel Management™ Versions

Chicago, IL. - Today at the Midwest Automotive Media Association meeting Ed Peper, General Manager, Chevrolet, announced General Motor's first V-6 application of fuel-saving Active Fuel Management™ on the 3.9L V-6 offered in the 2007 Chevy Impala, and E85 ethanol fuel capability on the 3.9L V-6 offered in the '07 Chevy Uplander.

"The application of Active Fuel Management™ (AFM) and E85 ethanol offers customers more choices when it comes to selecting efficient, fuel-conscious vehicles," said Peper. "E85 fuel reduces the need for petroleum and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while AFM offers improved fuel economy over comparable, non-AFM engines."

Preliminary testing of the 2007 Chevy Impala equipped with the 3.9L V-6 with AFM indicates an estimated 20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway - improvements of approximately 5.5 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively.

Active Fuel Management enables the engine to automatically operate on half of the engine's cylinders under light load conditions, improving efficiency by reducing fuel consumption when the cylinders are deactivated. GM offers this fuel-saving technology in 11 vehicles for 2007, including trucks and SUVs - more than any other automaker. The Impala is GM's first V-6 application of AFM in North America.

The E85-capable version of the 3.9L engine enables customers of the Uplander vehicles to use a renewable, domestically produced fuel that produces fewer emissions. E85 is made of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. GM vehicles with E85 capability can run on 100 percent gasoline or on E85 ethanol fuel or any combination of the two.

"GM has nearly 2 million flex-fuel vehicles on North American roads, and will offer 14 E85-compatible vehicles in 2007," said Peper.

The 3.9L V-6 is part of GM's family of sophisticated, high-value V-6 engines. In addition to AFM and E85 capability, it features variable valve timing (VVT) - a first for cam-in-block V-6 engines (recognized by Popular Mechanics with a "Breakthrough Technology Award" in 2005.) Along with optimizing performance and economy, the VVT operation helps the engine maintain an adequate torque load to maximize the benefits of AFM's fuel-saving mode.

[NeonLX]

Ummm...not to be negative or anything, but didn't the old-tech 3800 achieve the same fuel economy numbers in the big GM cars without the gee-whiz AFM system?

[aaaantoine]

I think it may have. But the old Impala wasn't as heavy? Or as powerful. A little of both.

[NeonLX]

I think it may have.  But the old Impala wasn't as heavy?  Or as powerful.  A little of both.

Could be. But I think the 3800 was rated at 20/29 even in the big boat LeSabre & Park Avenue.

Don't get me wrong, the 3900 is a good mill. But so is (was?) the 3800, in spite of its "low tech" image.

[Shantanu]

GM continues to post impressive fuel economy numbers with their OHV's.

Their DOHC's on the other hand could use some help.

Pretty amazing that the Chevrolet Aveo (24/34) gets marginally better fuel economy than the huge Impala (20/29). Something there ain't right.

[NeonLX]

I agree about GM's OHV V6 fuel economy. The 3800's figures of 20/29 MPG in the big cars always impressed me, especially considering the good power that engine generates. And the 3.5L in the Malibu was rated at something like 23/32 MPG for the first year or two; haven't checked into what it's doing now.

Edit: by the way, I'm happy to see the E85 compatibility too. Chrysler offered E85 versions of their 3.3L V6 in the minivans starting in '98. Both our '99 and '02 vans had this E85 engine (it was standard equipment in all but two or three states). But they discontinued it for a couple of years (2003 - early '06?) and it's just now coming back on the market. Go figure.

Edited June 20, 2006 by NeonLX

[loki]

hopefully this could go into the MC and get 21/30 that'd be great.