ORIGINAL: Justinec101
Maybe american V6s will catch up to japanese ones now.
They already have. The new 3.5L Cyclone that Ford is using in the Taurus produces just 5 less hp and roughly the same torque without using the GDI that Toyota is using in the Avalon which Ford is designing for future use. The GM High Feature 3.6L V6 is producing in excess of 300 hp with GDI in the CTS. In a couple years, Chrysler will have a whole new V6 line with the latest technology.
The thing that amazes me is how people have this belief that the big three are the ones who had to catch up to the Japanese. The truth of the matter is that back about 9 years ago, Chrysler's 3.5L was one of the most power NA V6s in its class. It wasn't until 2002 that the luxury competition managed to catch up in the hp department, and 2003 when Infiniti finally managed to outdo the Chrysler's 3.5L in both categories. Lasting about 4-5 years while being on the top in the category of power against full effort luxury performance competitors is quite an accomplishment especially when the competition's engine is listed on Ward's top ten list for a part-time luxury brand. Had Chrysler remained Chrysler and been allowed to continue putting full effort into their V6 engine line, they would probably be competing with the best in the pack, the problem with the equation was Mercedes and their lackluster effort who likes to never update their V6 line-up. The thing that I consider significant to this is that some of these manufactures such as Honda consider themselves to be engine manufacturers first and car manufacturers second, yet the car manufacturer that didn't have a full time effort luxury brand managed to offset the full effort ones. The fact of the matter is things run in cycles. During the 90s until the earily 2000s, we were ahead, now the Japanese caught up and once again it appears we are going to lead once again.
Something to remember, the 5.7L is due for the update that it will receive within a year. Normally about this time in an engine's life is the cash cow to decline stage so nothing but what is logical to take place is what is taking place. When the 5.7L gets the VCT, demand will increase again thanks to the power and fuel economy improvement. Another thing to think about is the fact that due to the unstable economy, some people might not want to shell out $30K for the Hemi due to concerns about future employment and only go for the 3.5L because they can get it for so much less thanks to not coming standard completely loaded to the max. Chrysler needs to look beyond gas/ethanol powered models though in these models. If they would offer a diesel like that 3.0L used in the E-Class Mercedes for a more affordable price for the average person, they would sell quite nicely.