This week, there was news that the V8 is no longer the most popular engine for American trucks. The reason for this is that automakers like Ford have produced a significant number of six-cylinder cars recently, and Toyota has even made the Tundra a V6-only truck. As a result, only 38% of trucks registered in 2024 had V8 engines, while 47.6% had six-cylinder engines. So why is General Motors paying $888 million to make small-block V8 engines for the next generation? In short, folks still want it. We asked General Motors what they thought about their plans to invest a significant amount of money in their Tonawanda Engine Plant in New York. A spokeswoman stated that the goal is to provide customers with the choices they want. The spokesperson said: “We’re investing these funds to give our customers options regarding the vehicles and powertrains we provide.” It’s not a surprise that GM is one of Detroit’s “Big Three” companies to make this promise. Chevrolet reports that 42% of new Silverado 1500s are equipped with a 5.3-liter V8 engine, and 8% are equipped with a 6.2-liter V8 engine. When I asked Ford about this, they stated that only about 25% of their F-150s are equipped with V8 engines. GM wants to put more emphasis on V8 engines now that the sixth-generation small-block is set to come out in 2027. We want to give them what they want. Ram is now on a “comeback and apologize” tour. For trucks built in the 2026 model year, they are bringing back the V8 engine, which was not reintroduced when the Hemi was discontinued from the market in 2024. GM says that buyers will not have a hard time finding V8 options for a long time due to this significant investment in power plants. To learn more about GM’s choice, I spoke with the same group of people who work in the automotive industry, and they helped me with my earlier V8 piece. Stephanie Brinley, who is the top automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility, said that GM’s V8 engines aren’t just used in trucks. Brinley said more: “The V8 is important for GM for both full-size trucks and full-size SUVs.” As you know, full-size SUVs come with either a V8 or an I6 diesel engine. Ford changed the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator to have only V6 engines, but in 2024, only about 88,000 of each were registered. GMC has listed almost 274,000 full-size SUVs, and nearly 93% of them are equipped with V8 engines. GM’s V8 option scale differs significantly from its rivals when it comes to full-size trucks. That’s right. The Chevy Tahoe comes in first place, beating out the GMC Yukon. What kind of engine do all of these cars use? The Cadillac Escalade sells well despite its high cost. The small-block V8 works well. Additionally, people are not as interested in electric cars. GM has also invested a significant amount of money in this business, as it produces battery-only versions of the Hummer EV, Chevy Silverado, and GMC Sierra. Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry Agency, says that the slow market for electric trucks probably calls for a significant change in direction. Abuelsamid told the newspaper, “Given how badly full-size electric trucks have done in the market, it wasn’t a huge surprise.” “This is GM’s most economical course of action, considering that they haven’t followed Ford, Toyota, and Stellantis down the turbo-six-cylinder truck engine path.” It’s not clear what GM has planned for the Gen Six small block, but Abuelsamid says that if they stick with the same pushrod OHV architecture, it has significant cost and space benefits over a turbocharged V6 and a DOHC V8, like Ford’s Coyote. Abuelsamid went so far as to say that the V8 would remain GM’s main truck engine until the 2030s, stating that it was “always inevitable.”
