how to save GM

ISnt the 3.8 a V8 with a couple cylinders chopped off? maybe the same as the 4.3 with just less displacement. Those 90* V6's are pretty nuts (ever see the distributor cap for one of those, heh), and tough. There's a reason why GNX's are so rare and expensive.

i do believe the 3.8L V6 (which is now a 3.9L this year, and 240hp all motor) is an engine all by itself... being as how its valving and bore/stroke are unique and don't share anything with any V8 that i know of. but then again i could be wrong. i guess it was just an engine that responds well to boost, then again, anything with pushrods and a good amount of displacement can make some torque under boost. (since you were talking about the GNX) there are a few engines that GM made that i dont know much about... like most of the inline 6's and some of the OLD v6's they made back in the day (like the 3.3L v-6 used in some of the old ass cars around the 70's / 80's)

again, i don't know everything... but i'm just offering some insight into what i do know. lol

that 5.3 is in no way related to the 327 of yesteryear
I've always heard them called 327's. Thought it was kind of like how the 396 was called a 396 when it was really a 402. Everywhere I search says this 5.3 is a 323 like you said, or a 325? Not a big deal.

nah, ur right, its not a big deal. but i do believe the 396 was actually a 396 one year then was upped to a 402 for the following years it was made. my point being chevy (with the exception of the 6.0L and the 8.1L) has pretty much junked all the old smallblock and bigblock V8's they ever made to go to the new modular design which is cheaper for them to manufacture. gm isin't looking for nostalgia... they're looking for something cheap

i dont want to hold anyone up but ive heard modular motors in ford division too. what exactly is a modular motor and how is it any different from the others?

i dont want to hold anyone up but ive heard modular motors in ford division too. what exactly is a modular motor and how is it any different from the others?
I don't know what it means, don't know Fords well, but the motors are large in size. My buddy has a 4.6 in his '96 Mustang, a modular motor, and it's huge compared to the size of my smallblock Dodges. If you put the two motors side by side on engine stands you'd never guess that the Dodge was of bigger displacement, the Ford motor is just that much bigger externally. I would think that it must weigh significantly more, but that 4.6 still throws the car down the road when it runs right, if you can hook it up. Front heavy I guess. I don't think the independent rear suspension is a good idea on those cars.

the best way i can think to explain it, as far as chevy is concerned... the 4.8L and the 5.3L both share the same block, intake, heads, fuel injection and many other components, even though they are two different size V8's they both come from the same parts. and the reason that the ford 4.6L looks huge in comparison to any other smallblock is because its an overhead cam engine... that makes for huge valve covers and heads... making the motor look alot larger than it really is. same goes for the 5.4L. its a dual overhead cam V8 and it looks like a big block under the hood IMHO... lol