Soon, the answer to "that thing gotta Hemi in it?" will be "Huh?" While plenty of pistonhead's have debated the current motor's right to that legendary moniker, it may soon be a moot point. According to Automotive News [AN; sub], Chrysler co-president Jim Press says that buyers not of the baby-boomer generation don't have the emotional attachment to the name their parents do. "The Hemi is not the powertrain of the future. It's the powertrain of today." (I guess he followed Pumbaa's advice and put his behind in the past.) So what engine will the next generation embrace as the performance engine of choice? Press reckons it'll be high-performance V6's and electric motors– even though the Hemi will continue for a few more years nestled in the snout of the Ram pickup. Somehow the idea of Paul Revere and the Raiders singing "Forget about your electric motors and your GTO's…" doesn't have quite the same emotional resonance.
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V6s only for Chrysler’s future? As if Chrysler’s future wasn’t debatable already.
Sadly HEMI powered cars are one of the very few things Chrysler produces that people of any age actually want to buy. I’m under 30 years old and can attest that there is a significant number of people in my generation that know how legendary HEMIs are and love high powered V8s. This engine and these cars still get people excited about the company and it’s brands. A Sebring with a Phoenix V6 will not.
As for the HEMI name it is marketing and it always has been ever since Chrysler originally came up with it in their heyday. It’s their brand name for powerful V8s just as GM’s “LS” designation straight out of the 1960s for their V8s. Brands are iconic and powerful. One of the biggest mistakes American automakers make is throwing away their powerful brand heritage in both model names and component names like HEMI.
Some may believe that turbocharged engines are the future and will satisfy CAFE requirements, but I doubt it. If you look at the consumption of turbocharged engines many use just as much fuel as V8s overall. Sure they may kiss above 25mpg on the freeway but GM’s V8s already do that. Read road tests of Acura’s RDX turbo, one listed 11mpg overall per tank. Yikes.
What mostly disturbs me about stories like this is that the consumer is the one losing in the end. There will always be a market of people who want powerful V8s driving the rear wheels along with the sound, fury and passion unique to the mainstream American V8. These people are willing to pay to fuel these vehicles and living in a free country with a free market economy they should not be prevented from buying these vehicles.
What the government is doing is not only limiting consumer choice, it’s also damaging American companies and imposing a passive vehicle tax on everyone by raising the price of all sorts of future vehicles.
Of course there will likely be loopholes for trucks and SUVs as Robert has written here and if that indeed is the case then the CAFE regs have truly done nothing to lessen our consumption. People will still buy their gas guzzling trucks and SUVs en masse, but those of us who engine V8 cars which generally use less fuel than said trucks and SUVs will be the ones losing out.
That’s sad.
He has a point. I have no connection with the Hemi, past or present. My generation connects with four-bangers that have snails attached to them, and Chrysler had a damn good one, which they shouldn’t have done away with.
Hemi demand is down, down, down at the local one-price dealer – you can get an 08 300C SRT8 for almost $1k below invoice, and an 08 300C for $4k below.
It’s dead, Jim [Press].
The V8 is the new V12.
It the 1970s all over again – a gas crunch, an economic slowdown, an unpopular war (and President to match), the hipsters are wearing their hair long and yet another muscle car era is coming to an end.
I thought they were planning to make a smaller HEMI V8, 4 liters or something. So they are just going to trash all this brand marketing and go in yet another new direction. There is no reason why the HEMI badge can’t be extended into a new range of performance engines, 4’s and 6’s. I personnally like turbo 4’s but there is no reason why they can’t dump some big bore NA I4’s and V6’s into a performance range with the HEMI badge on the side. All this wasted marketing you would think they wanted to go out of business.
carguy Does that mean we will have a rebirth of 80’s hair bands soon? Bring on the spandex and Aquanet.
“It’s dead, Jim [Press].”
-snort-
As much as I love a V8 exhaust note, I’d much rather see direct-injection V6s powering _00-lbs-lighter cars to equal 1/4 mile times. Which seems to be the future. Hopefully manual transmissions and steering feel are still along for the ride…
Redbarchetta:
I thought they were planning to make a smaller HEMI V8, 4 liters or something.
Yes, it’s the just-released 4.7L V8.
Actually, the ‘Hemi’ was a straight six down in Australia, if memory serves me correctly. In fact, I think it was generally preferred over the V8 in models where there was a choice. (Any Aussies care to chime in?)
If only somebody would revive straight six engines perhaps that would lessen the impact. Toyota and Nissan were my last hope, but the 2JZ and RB26 are dead and gone, so we’ll just have to soldier on with funny V6’s.
Sorry, but no matter how well they tune the exhaust note, no V6 (not even the VQ’s) will ever sound as good as a straight six.
quasimondo I agree I would rather have a straight 6 over a V6, the sound and how smooth it is. Unfortunately the easy of packaging you get with a V6 are killing it.
I thought I stood alone. I’m 23 and the Hemi v8 speaks more to me than any v6. Why? I don’t know, perhaps it’s because v6 engines powered the most boring mid-size cars that my parents drove during the 80’s and 90’s. Give me turbo fours, inline sixes, and boxer sixes. I’ve always thought of v6 engines as being v8 engines with two cylinders missing.
I’ve always thought of v6 engines as being v8 engines with two cylinders missing.
That’s because most of them are V8’s minus two cylinders.
I think that the vast majority of young car buyers today have no idea what HEMI means. If asked, they might be able to say that it has something to do with American muscle cars of the 70’s.
Thus Hemi motors are painted with the same brush as all Detroit cars. That is, something unreliable, and to be avoided if one can afford to. Hence, no interest in it.
The greater concern of modern car buyers is how to reduce the operating cost with better fuel economy. Unless a hemi motor can help in that department, then it is a nitch product for muscle car fans.