<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Ecotec]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Ecotec]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/ecotec http://jalopnik.com/tag/ecotec <![CDATA[Republicans Applaud Jobs From GM Bailout They Opposed]]> Happy days came back Friday to Spring Hill, Tenn., when General Motors announced it would rehire 483 laid-off workers to build four-cylinder engines. On hand to cheer the news: Three Republican lawmakers who opposed the bailout that saved GM. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5641416&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[VIDEO: On-Board A Drag Racing Crash]]> A 2.2-liter GM Ecotec 4-cylinder turbocharged to 48psi of boost for 1600-hp blows a head gasket in a drag rail and spills coolant all over the tires. That's bad. The car rolls as we watch via on-board camera. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5621518&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Opel Astra GSI Would Make A Great New Buick]]> Here's a look at the lightly disguised forthcoming Opel Astra GSI fitted with the muscular 240HP turbocharged Ecotec, Sure would make an awesome Buick hot hatch, significantly bringing down the brand's average buyer age. Just sayin' GM, just sayin'. [WCF] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5516033&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Buick Regal Is Back, Gets Turbocharged]]> The Buick Regal is officially back, a re-badged Opel Insignia sporting two Ecotec four-cylinder engines including a 220HP turbo version with 29 MPG fuel economy. GM's out for mid-size entry-luxe blood with design and equipment set to turn some heads. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5402605&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[2010 Opel Astra, GTC Get Much-Needed Facelift]]> The Astra hasn't sold well in the States, but that doesn't mean that its Euro-trash cousin can't make a comeback tour. Take a peak at the handsomely-designed 2010 Opel Astra and its agro-counterpart, the GTC. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5205088&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Elfin Type 5 Clubman Goes From Zero To Sydney In 3.7 Seconds]]> Down under in Sydney at the Australian International Motor Show, the new Elfin Type 5 Clubman has been revealed. The latest offering from Australia's own hardcore roadster builders, the Type 5 follows on the heels of the popular MS8 models. The new car is powered by GM's 260 HP 2.0-liter turbocharged Ecotec four-banger. It's the same setup found in the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Redline, but the Elfin weighs significantly less at about 1600 pounds. That may not be as light as a Secma, but it's enough to allow for 0-62 MPH jolts in just 3.7 seconds. Even better, they say it's affordable. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5061003&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Cadillac Will Downsize Engines When Customers Prove That's What They Want]]> Cadillac is ready to downsize the engines in their luxury offerings — and they have the ability to do it today if that's what customers indicate they want, according to GM Exec VP Thomas G. Stephens. Auto Observer reports he specifically mentioned the possibility of dropping a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, like the turbo Ecotec, into the Cadillac CTS, along with the possibility of trading cylinder count and displacement for turbocharging and direct injection, à la Ford's EcoBoost strategy. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=399531&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe Cruises For Chicks]]> You know what they Nick Hogan says about a yellow car. Well apparently GM thinks it's true; earlier we showed you a 2010 Camaro caught in yellow, and now we have footage of the 2009 Pontiac Solstice GXP Coupe driving around in a similar visually scalding hue. We'd rather have the slick little turbocharged 260 HP coupe in a more understated Liquid Silver Metallic, but then we're probably not trolling for the same type of ladies as the Viper-drifting, Supra-crashing Hogan. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=371499&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Turbo Ecotec Power Might Wake Up This Chevette]]> Dropping a turbocharged Ecotec out of a Solstice GXP into a Chevette sounds like a very, very good idea to us. 260 horses is nearly four times the little red Chevette's original power, so such a combo should be a total suicide machine pretty zippy performer. Well, looks like our Question of the Day has been answered! LTDScott has pulled our coats about this project, which is at the "engine sitting next to car on garage floor" stage. We sure hope this madman adventurous soul gets the engine installed and running soon! [Pro-Touring.com] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=354821&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Commenter of the Day: Ugly Stereotypes Edition]]> Rush Limbaugh was described best to me as, "Your paranoid, self-loathing uncle who screams into his attic ham radio about imaginary injustices. Yet for some for some reason he's taken seriously." Before you slap me with the "Lib!" badge, I would ask you to spend an afternoon with my uncle. All of which brings us around nicely to today's winning Commenter. The problem with stereotypes is that they always fail miserably. Don't get me started about the gay Eskimo I knew who drove a gold Jag XJ-12. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=316998&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[What Would You Do With the Turbocharged Ecotec?]]> One thing we admire about General Motors is that when they do do something right, they do it so right that conversations cease. I'm sure you've all been here before, "Yeah, well, the Porsche Blah Blah Blah does 0-60 in blah and goes around some track in Germany in blah and has this crazy hyper-tech thingy that does blah." To which you simply cock your John Deere trucker's cap, spit tabacky on his Eurotrash spats and grunt, "Z06." Done, next! And what makes the Z06 so damn mighty? In a word, the LS7 beating under it's resiny hood. Turns out that the General has another engine that is the bees knees dressed in cat's pajamas — the 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbo, direct-injected 2.0-liter Ecotec unit that powers both the Solstice GXP and the Sky Red Line to the tune of 260-hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. Meaning that a mill 5-liters smaller than the Z06's engine makes over half the latter's power. In fact, it has the highest specific output of any engine GM has ever made. So, we ask you and your GM hat for-a-day, what would you do with? You can see our nomadic response above. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=316610&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Commenter of the Day: SEMA Press Release Orgy Edition]]> Murilee and I spoke with Wert on Saturday after the Pumpkin Smash. He was already in his Howard Hughes Suite room at the MGM Grand, so we asked if he was going to play some Texas Hold 'Em or get blotto off free booze or hit a strip club — you know, any Vegas-type activity. No, he told us, he was going to sit tight and post press releases. Which prompted me to remark that in a lot of ways, Ray and I are very different. Regardless, that boy can post! Which brings us to today's winning comment, right after you jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=316493&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Juicing the Ecotec: GM's New Aftermarket Kits Are Here]]> Drivers of Chevy Cobalt SSs and Saturn ION Redlines will finally be able to add firepower under their dimunitive hoods for not a whole lot more money. GM Performance Parts, the company's aftermarket pimps, have released two aftermarket engine-upgrade kits that will add between 31 and 36 horsepower. The Stage One kit ($500) includes ECU tweaks and higher-flow injectors, and Stage Two involves a giant slingshot and rubberbands made from melted-down cheater slicks. No, seriously. Press release after the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=165581&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[You Are There: GM Product-Testing Party, Colorado Edition]]> Our new buddy Ryan happened by a GM soir e in the Rocky Mountains, at which the company's new, turbocharged Ecotec direct-injection mill was the most honored of guests. Luckily, he brought along his digicam
I've seen a few mildly disguised Solstice GXPs over the last couple of days near Keystone Mountain in Colorado. Then yesterday, I ran into a whole slew of gm test vehicles in a hotel parking lot in Dillon, CO. There happened to be a mechanic working on one of the Solstices at the time, so I asked him a few questions. It sounded like it was actually a Bosch testing program for cold weather/high altitude performance of the direct injection ecotec turbo. Apparently they're already making 280bhp and shooting for 300bhp for next year. And GM is planning to stick the mill in a bunch of different performance models: They had two undisguised Cobalt SSs with the same motor, and an HHR as well.
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