Confirmed: BMW Talking With GM About Supplying Engines
April 2, 2008
By the end of 2008, BMW will decide whether or not it’s going to supply engines and other components to rival automakers GM, Daimler and Fiat. Selling engines and other components to other automakers is part of BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer’s Number One strategic plan to boost the carmaker’s profitability.
With engines being mentioned, you certainly must be thinking about a possible Northstar replacement. Since the Northstar Ultra project was canceled (allegedly because of CAFE regulations) - BMW engines may be used instead. Surely, the NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels of some BMW engines rival that of the LS series - which has been noted as a possible predecessor to the Northstar.
On one hand, people feel that Cadillac cannot regain the status of “Standard of the World” by using BMW engines. However, surely 99% of the people who buy Cadillacs won’t be concerned where the engine came from. And, if it’s a better-fit for a luxury vehicle experience, it’ll be greatly appreciated. It’s not like this type of sharing hasn’t been done before. Lincoln did fine by using BMW’s turbo diesel in the Mark VII (it was done sparingly). BMW is optimizing a two-mode hybrid transmission that GM recently developed. And they have a long history of using GM powertrains.
It’s unlikely that we’ll be seeing the inline six cylinders from BMW. We already have an excellent direct injected 3.6 making over 300hp. Would it bother you if we used the 4.4 liter twin turbo v8?
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