GMBlogs has this video from Rick Wagoner who explains the recent Government decision to make $25B in loans available to automakers to help develop new technologies:
The Energy Security Bill of 2007 which established the new fuel economy requirements that the Automakers are responding to had built in financial support to assist Automakers in meeting the aggressive new requirements. The funding support passed this weekend is the funding promised by Congress.
Hemmings Auto Blog has a nice blog on History of the Supercharger
I was delighted to see that ideas like small fans blowing into the carburetor were invented in 1902, very close to the birth of the automobile. Cadillac’s new 2009 CTS-V with a supercharged 6.2L OHV V8 makes 556 hp and 551 lb-ft of torque. Let’s talk about the supercharger.
CTS-V Supercharger
The new LSA Engine in the 2010 Cadillac CTS-V uses an Eaton TVS1900 1.9L four-lobe roots type supercharger.
The TVS supercharger’s patented design features four-lobe rotors and high-flow inlet and outlet ports that greatly enhance thermal efficiency, deliver higher volumetric capacity, and enable higher operating speeds. The TVS supercharger is capable of running with a high thermal efficiency (up to 76 percent) across a very wide operating range.
All TVS superchargers have a 2.4 pressure ratio capability and a thermal efficiency that exceeds 70 percent, which enables more compact packaging and greater output.
CTS-V TVS1900 Supercharger Thermal Profile
The engine designation for the CTS-V is the LSA. The Supercharger is well incorporated into the design and presentation of the engine. In the cutaway below you can the supercharger just below the top beauty cover’s “Supercharged” lettering (that’s truth in advertising!):
CTS-V LSA Engine cutaway
Just on top of the supercharger in the image is this water to air intercooler. Supercharging the intake air compresses and pressurizes the air. This raises the temperature of the intake air, which is not desirable. The intercooler acts to reduce the temperature of the air as it exits the supercharger on the way to the engine.
CTS-V Intercooler
The LS3 V8 engine in the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette makes 430-436 hp, depending on optional exhaust or standard, and 424-428 lb-ft of torque. So the LS3 engine in the CTS-V would have made no more than 430hp. The LSA Supercharged engine used in the Super CTS-V makes 556hp, a nice net addition of 126hp due to the blower.
With everything going on with the US Economy, I am not sure how many CTS-V’s Cadillac will sell this year at around US$60K a copy. Have no doubt — the CTS-V is a Super, World-class if not World leading Sports Sedan. I hope that Cadillac sells a ton of them, so that one can trickle down to the Caddyinfo Garage!
Bit of fun with Google Earth: here are shots of the General Motors plant at Lansing, Grand River which produces the current Cadillac CTS, SRX, and STS:
GM Lansing, Grand River (LGR) bird's eye view aerial shot
GM LGR street level shot of entrance
The factory at Lansing Grand River (LGR) has around 1,600 employees, and makes the Cadillac CTS, SRX, and STS models. The XLR is made at Bowling Green, Kentuky at the Corvette Plant. The Escalade is made at Arlington, Texas and in Silao, Mexico (ESV, EXT). The DTS is made at Hamtramck, Michigan.
The GM factory at Lansing Grand River (LGR) opened in 2001 and was at that time the first new GM assembly plant since the Saturn factory opened in Springhill, TN. The new factory was built on the site of a former Oldsmobile plant. LGR has been very successful, and the new CTS, SRX, and STS produced there have been in the top 5 in the world automobile market in initial and four year quality scores as measured by independent surveys. LGR has been a terrific success compared to the somewhat more storied Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly (wikipedia) plant.
Apparently LGR does offer tours 2 days a week, so good idea to check ahead if you plan to be in Lansing. GMblog’s FYI covered Lansing in 2006:
On the tour, visitors see examples of the plant’s flexibility to build very different products at one time on the same line. They see parts being delivered “just in time” to team members by a very automated system. Visitors also see safety as the plant’s first priority; bright lights, polished floors, musical Andon boards, team members in common clothing and warm welcomes. Throughout the plant they see examples of how teams are engaged in the business, working to eliminate waste, and focused on quality.
Here is the official plant photo for LGR:
GM's Lansing Grand River plant
I was hoping to be able to zoom in on rows of new Cadillac waiting to head to Dealers for sale, but here’s a stock image of one on the test track:
2009 Cadillac CTS