Even though GM puts a lot of money into electric cars, internal combustion engines are still a big part of its business. Last week, the company said it would invest $854 million in several factories to make the sixth-generation small-block V-8 engine. This is the first proof that GM is creating a new small-block engine. The company hasn’t said anything about how the engine works yet. $579 million of the $854 million will go to GM’s Flint engine plant, where workers will machine blocks, crankshafts, and heads and put the whole engine together; $216 million to the Bay City, Michigan plant, where workers will make camshafts and connecting rods; $47 million to the Defiance, Ohio plant, where workers will cast blocks; and $12 million to the Rochester, New York plant, where workers will make intake manifolds and fuel rails. The current Chevrolet small-block V-8, the fifth generation, came out in 2013. However, the engine itself came out in 1954. Along with the Hemi from Stellantis and the Godzilla truck engine from Ford, the small-block is the only overhead-valve V-8 still used in new cars. Also, all three companies make V-8 crate engines with pushrods. Small blocks are currently used in GM’s full-size trucks and SUVs, as well as the Camaro, Corvette, and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. When GM talked about the investment, they only spoke about full-size trucks and SUVs. The current Camaro is the last one of its kind, and we already know that the CT5-V Blackwing is a one-and-done model because Cadillac sales are moving toward all-electric models. The small block will keep doing something for the Corvette as long as Chevy is allowed to sell it. The new hybrid E-Ray could be the future of the Corvette. It has an old naturally aspirated V-8 engine that is helped by electricity. The small Gen-VI block won’t show up for at least a few years. Also, we wonder if this is the last time something like this will happen.
