American Straight Sixes (I6)

"Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs" (yowen)
11/14/2013 at 10:31 • Filed to: Straight Six

Aside from diesel applications, do any American cars still come with a straight six? Just off the top of my head, I want to say the answer is no and that the last American vehicles to be available with a gasoline straight 6 were Chrysler's Jeeps.

Further investigation reveals that GM had them in their Trailblazer/Envoy/9-7 until 2009 in the form the 4.2L LL8 (why not 6, lol). It had 291/277 h/tq in its final years, that's very respectable in my opinion! Below a picture of it:

The AMC 4.0 was available in the Wrangler till 2006, which in its final years had a rating of 190/235 hp/tq.

Ford discontinued their efforts for the US market in 1996. With the '97 F-Series switching to a V6.

So... The gasoline I6 all but dead in American vehicle applications and I wouldn't be surprised to find more of the same at various other auto manufacturers around the world. I got inspired to write this due to the prowler/howler article, thinking that it would have been very appropriate with a Straight six between its front wheels as a nod to the base-trim muscle cars of old.

DISCUSSION (37)

CalzoneGolem > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:34

I don't think the I6 makes sense at a packaging level any longer. Too wide for front wheel drive applications and too much wasted engine bay space for a modern truck application.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:35

All I can think of is the straight 5 they had in canyon/colorado from GM until 2012. but that's missing 1.

mycarneverruns87 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:36

I imagine that this is an issue more related to packaging as manufacturers need to be able to fit engines into multipule chassis's's's's's. There will never be a doubt to the capability of a good I6

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > CalzoneGolem
11/14/2013 at 10:37

It may make sense for modern day hybrid truck applications? And other hybrid RWD applications for that matter. Nice and torquey and exhaust is only one one side. Not where I'd like the I6 to re-emerge, but it'd be something, haha.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > mycarneverruns87
11/14/2013 at 10:39

Yeah, crumple zones these days are a problem too, I bet.

Sn210 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:40

Is BMW the only mainstream automaker using a straight 6?

CalzoneGolem > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:40

I guess a slant six could make sense in an ecoboost application. With the exhaust coming off the side away from the valves there would be room to package the turbo(s) setup.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > CalzoneGolem
11/14/2013 at 10:45

That'd be cool, unfortunately they already went the V6 route, haha.

A turbo + I6 would have torque for days! I'm thinking factory compound turbo setup, haha.

Bruno Martini > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:47

The GM I6 is a gem of an engine, someone swaped one into a supra. He said it was not much bigger than the stock unit.

Here is an interesting thread.

http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthr…

With some proper aftermarket parts that 4.2L can make some very serious power. Bob Lutz wanted a twin turbo version of it for the trailblazer ss, however the beancounters killed it. If for nothing else that engine has been proven to be dead reliable.

http://www.motortrend.com/future/concept…

Jagvar > Sn210
11/14/2013 at 10:48

Nope, Volvo still offers them too.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Sn210
11/14/2013 at 10:48

That I can think of, yes, there was on article a few days ago that Mercedes is rumored to be developing a new I6.

Jagvar > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:48

I think Ford still puts an I6 into the Falcon, but that's for the Australian market only.

CalzoneGolem > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:48

Kinja'd!!!

Sn210 > Jagvar
11/14/2013 at 10:54

That's right! Not for long though...

Dubblewhopper > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:57

Jeeps venerable straight 6's are pretty sweet.

Takuro Spirit > CalzoneGolem
11/14/2013 at 10:57

I like to imagine that somewhere in the world, someone is still making a version of the Suzuki Verona with its transverse I6.

Kinja'd!!!

Brewman15 > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 10:59

Two things I never understood about the GM 4.2L I6:

1. Why was it not the base engine in the Silverado/Sierra twins rather than the paltry 4.3L V6? It probably would also have worked well in the Tahoe/Yukon too for people who didn't use it for hauling or towing (a.k.a 95% of purchasers).

2. Why did they make the horrible 5-cyl version for the Colorado/Canyon instead of just giving it the I6? I get the entry level 4-cyl version, but I never understood why a 6-cyl wasn't available.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Bruno Martini
11/14/2013 at 10:59

Hmm, bummer they killed it off. I also read it made Ward's top 10 list one of the years it was out. With a twin turbo that really would be some serious power! We are talking V6 Ecoboost or more!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Jagvar
11/14/2013 at 11:00

Yeah, I read that in Australia the Ford straight 6 is still in production. I'll have to find out some more about it.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > CalzoneGolem
11/14/2013 at 11:00

hmm two of those images are Kinja'd, but the middle one works.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Dubblewhopper
11/14/2013 at 11:01

Yep, I've always heard that they are very reliable. There is a guy at my work that buys a Cherokee with one in it every time he needs a new car.

CalzoneGolem > Takuro Spirit
11/14/2013 at 11:02

Kinja'd!!!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Brewman15
11/14/2013 at 11:02

On paper it sure makes sense to me! It has very respectable power numbers that are very well suited to truck applications, especially for the era it was produced in.

Who needs sway bars anyway > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 11:08

Ford Still uses l6's in their Australian offerings but it looks like those are out when the Falcon gets discontinued. I would give anything for a 63' Falcon Wagon with the modern Berra 310t FG motor, a Turbocharged DOHC l6 with 416 Hp and 417 ft-lb's of torque out of the F6 FPV Falcon.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Who needs sway bars anyway
11/14/2013 at 11:10

Oh mannn, that sounds so damn sexy. Gotta be careful to post stuff like that during business hours!

Pity that now even the Australian market won't be getting the awesome Ford's we haven't had in a long time.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brewman15
11/14/2013 at 11:19

the I5 was the death nail for the colorado/canyon. they weren't great trucks but that stupid 5 pot was a joke compared to how excellent the atlas I6 was.

HammerheadFistpunch > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 11:20

I've been so tempted to swap an Altas I6 into my land cruiser. Less displacement, more power, less weight, better economy and they have shown to be very reliable. Maybe when my HG finally gives up the ghost.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > HammerheadFistpunch
11/14/2013 at 11:34

that'd be a pretty awesome engine for the land cruiser.

LOL somehow the v8 trailblazer of the same year got better MPG's in the city.

Anyways, its rated at 16/20 in the Trailblazer, whats your Cruiser rated at? What kind of transmission would you use?

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/20…

For Sweden > Jagvar
11/14/2013 at 11:39

Drive straight-six Volvo, can confirm.

HammerheadFistpunch > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 11:46

I get 13 city and I have gotten 15 highway once. I would use an adapter with the stock A343 or use the GM trans (though that would be harder)

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > HammerheadFistpunch
11/14/2013 at 12:43

Yeah it'd definitely be nice to use the stock trans. Figuring out veh computers would be interesting though, haha.

HammerheadFistpunch > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 12:49

Looks like its been done with an I6 4.2 and the GM trans with a 91 80 series. He says he dropped 400 lbs, gets 275 hp and 275 ft-lbs and 19 mpg highway. Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.

Kinja'd!!!

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > HammerheadFistpunch
11/14/2013 at 12:53

That's pretty awesome, 400 lbs alone would net a healthy MPG increase.

Getting a 5 or 6 speeds transmission would be awesome too, haha.

WeissGuy > Sn210
11/14/2013 at 12:55

I thought for sure the GT-R still had one, but I guess it's a V6 now.

So yeah, just BMW and Volvo, and I think Volvo is phasing them out (I don't know much about Volvos though, so I could be wrong.)

Mercedes announced a few days ago they're going to start making them again, so that should be cool.

Sn210 > WeissGuy
11/14/2013 at 13:09

You heard right, I believe Volvo is going to turbo-four everything in the near future.

HammerheadFistpunch > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs
11/14/2013 at 13:10

Hf55 from Toyota. I've been thinking about it with my 1fz-fe. 400 lbs dropped from the front would be rad because you could armor up the front and get a winch but not need to go to stiffer springs.

TREE88 > CalzoneGolem
11/19/2013 at 22:14

just to throw a wrench into your logic- whoever said it has to be upright? think of all the wasted space between the frame rails, under the cab and bed. mid engine, low cg, and better crash test scores- almost makes sense.