Toyota's money crunchers must have done back flips when
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| The real beginnings to the 3.5-litre engine available in many Toyota products. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
production costs for the new engine were halved to about $1,000 per 3.5-litre V6, what will soon become one of its most popular engines. The new V6, currently residing in the recently redone Avalon and completely revised top-level 2006 RAV4, replaces both 3.0- and 3.3-litre V6 engines for the all-new 2007 Camry when it goes on sale in March, the best-selling car in the U.S. and one of the most popular in Canada. The engine will also be the motivating force behind the new 2007 Highlander and should soon find its way into the Sienna minivan and replacement for the Camry Solara coupe and convertible models, plus a number of Lexus models including the new 2007 ES 350 sedan and RX 350 crossover SUV. A version of this V6, the same 306-horsepower version that is used in the new IS 350, is also expected to replace the less powerful inline-6 in the GS 300, plus the more conservatively tuned version could very well power a rumoured compact Lexus crossover SUV based on the new RAV4, being designed to go up against Acura's new RDX and BMW's X3.
Putting
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| Power to the people, and it's not only the people with fat wallets. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
this into context, Toyota has not only managed to halve the cost of its most popular six-cylinder engine, but the very fact this same engine is used in so many vehicles will, through economies of scale, increase Toyota's profitability overall. Compare this to rival General Motors, the world's largest automaker and one that looks as if it will soon be passed by the Japanese giant for overall global sales, which makes so many engines V6 engines that it's difficult to keep track of them all. A lesson could be learned, with the General producing a variety of antiquated overhead-valve engines with only 2-valves per cylinder, measuring 3.4-, 3.5-, 3.8- and 3.9-litres in displacement, plus a supercharged 3.8-litre version in its Pontiac Grand Prix. Only Cadillac's 3.6-litre V6 boasts four-valve per cylinder and dual overhead cam technology,
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| Chevrolet builds the Equinox's 12-valve, OHV 3.4-litre V6 from China to save costs, but its 185-hp is way under its competition and refinement even further south. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
an engine also found in Buick's top-line Allure. To complicate things even further, it could be argued that GM's most sophisticated V6 is the 3.5-litre mill found in the top-line Saturn VUE, but the fact that it's nothing less than Honda's superb Accord V6 is no doubt embarrassing to the Detroit-based automaker's execs.
The question that General Motors should be asking itself is, why make a total of six V6 engines and borrow another from Honda, adding complexity and resultant cost to the automaker's bottom line, when the only truly competitive GM V6 to Toyota's 3.5, or for that matter Honda's 3.5-, Nissan's 3.5-, Hyundai's 3.3- and 3.8-, or Ford's all-new 3.5-litre V6, is the 3.6-litre unit only available in the Cadillac CTS, SRX and STS, plus the Allure? Wouldn't it be simpler, more efficient and therefore potentially cheaper to make one extremely good V6 engine, rather than five that don't really measure up to the competition?
In contrast to GM, Ford has long produced one V6 engine for most
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| Edge could be losing its edge, now that more Toyota SUVs and crossoverswill feature 3.5L V6s. (Photo: Ford Motor Company of Canada) |
car applications, the 3.0-litre Duratec 30 with dual overhead cams and 24-valves per cylinder. It was a very competitive engine when introduced, and now that an all-new 3.5-litre is being readied for a full-line introduction, blue-oval products will have no problem lining up to their Asian and German competitors.
Likewise, Toyota's new 3.5-litre V6 not only measures up, but leads its rivals in every category it's entered in. A sophisticated four-valve, DOHC, V6 with proprietary dual variable-valve timing, it makes a stunning 268-horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque in Camry and Avalon trim.
