List of GM engines

This list of GM engines encompasses all engines manufactured by General Motors and used in their cars.

Divisions

Share of the Northway Motors Corporation, issued 21. May 1920

When General Motors was created in 1908, it started out with Buick and soon after acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Oakland. There were dozens of other smaller companies that William Durant acquired during his first employment term until he was let go due to financially overextending his purchases. He regained control when he brought on Chevrolet in 1917 which was short lived until he was let go for the second time. This meant that the different core brands designed and manufactured their own engines with few interchangeable parts between brands, while sharing chassis, suspension and transmissions.

One of the companies Durant bought in 1909 was the Northway Motor and Manufacturing Company founded by Ralph Northway who had previously supplied engines to Buick, Oakland, Cartercar and other 1900s manufacturers, including V8 engines to Oldsmobile, Oakland and Cadillac when they were independent companies.[1] When Durant bought companies that became part of GM, Northway continued to supply engines to his former clients and added Cadillac, GMC and Oldsmobile to the list, then Northway Motors became the Northway Motor and Manufacturing Division in 1925 and became part of the GM Intercompany Parts Group.[2]

When Fisher Body was bought in 1925, coachwork was shared and with the introduction of the Art and Color Section also in the late 1920, GM products shared appearances. The core items that made each brand unique were the engines. Buick and Chevrolet used overhead valves while Cadillac, Oldsmobile, Oakland used side valve or flathead engines and the divisions no longer outsourced their engines and manufactured them according to particular brand requirements. The original factory location was located at Maybury Grand Avenue, Buchanan Street and the Grand Trunk Railway in Detroit then later became GM truck Plant No. 7 in 1926 to manufacture front and rear axles and parts for past model Chevrolets. Starting around 1925 engine blocks and cylinder heads were now developed at each brand but were cast at Saginaw Metal Casting Operations.[3] In the mid-1960s, there were 8 separate families of GM V8 engines on sale in the USA.[4][1]

By the 1970s, GM began to see problems with their approach. For instance, four different North American divisions (Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick) offered four completely different versions of a 350 cu in V8 engine - very few parts would interchange between the four designs despite their visual similarities, resulting in confusion for owners who naturally assumed that replacement parts would be usable across brands. In addition to these issues and the obvious overlap in production costs, the cost of certifying so many different engines for tightening worldwide emissions regulations threatened to become very costly.

Thus, by the early 1980s, GM had consolidated its powertrain engineering efforts into a few distinct lines. Generally, North American and European engineering units remained separate, with Australia's Holden and other global divisions borrowing designs from one or the other as needed. GM also worked out sharing agreements with other manufacturers such as Isuzu and Nissan to fill certain gaps in engineering. Similarly, the company also purchased other automotive firms (including Saab and Daewoo), eventually folding their engine designs into the corporate portfolio as well. GM later reorganized its Powertrain Division into GM Global Propulsion Systems, located at 800 N Glenwood Ave in Pontiac, Michigan,[5] which became the GM Global Product Group in March 2020 and is in close proximity to the old location of Pontiac Assembly.[6]

GM's German subsidiary, Opel, relies on a range of three-, four- and six-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines. A survey of their range shows a reliance on petrol and diesel four-cylinders, and in 2014, there was only one 3-cylinder engine and one 6 cylinder engine in service in Opel's passenger car range.

In addition to automobile and truck engines, GM produced industrial engines, which were sold by brands such as Detroit Diesel, Allison, and Electro-Motive. Most of these engine designs are unrelated to GM's automotive engines.

Automotive gasoline engines

Two-cylinder

1904-1911 Buick OHV flat-twin[7] World's first production overhead valve engine.
1909 Oakland vertical engine[8][9]

Three-cylinder

Daewoo M-TEC inline-three engine

Inline-3

1991–present Daewoo M-TEC/S-TEC (acquired with purchase of Daewoo)
1984–present Suzuki G (designed and built by Suzuki)
1996–present GM Family 0
2013–present Small Gasoline Engine
2018–present GM E-Turbo engine
2020-present [[LXD engine] Small diesel (Opel Models)]]

GM Family 1 inline-four engine

Four-cylinder

Cadillac inline-four engine

Saab H inline-four engine

Inline-4

1905-1914 Cadillac Model D side-valve (acquired as part of the founding of GM)
1906-1923 Oldsmobile Model S side-valve (acquired as part of the founding of GM)
1906-1911 Buick Model D inline-4[10] (T-head design, the only non-OHV Buick engine ever made)[11]
1909–1915, 1917-1918 Buick OHV[12] (Model 10 had OHV-4)
1917-1924 Buick Series 30 OHV 170 cu in (2.8 L) inline-4[13]
1909 Oakland Model 40[9][14] (acquired as part of the founding of GM)
1913-1928 Chevrolet inline-4 (acquired as part of Chevrolet's merger into GM)
1923 Chevrolet Series M Copper-Cooled
1937-1965 Opel Olympia OHV
1960-1963 Pontiac Trophy 4 (derived from the Pontiac 389)
1961-1992 Chevrolet 153 (derived from the Chevrolet inline-six)
1962-1993 Opel OHV "Kadett"
1963-1983 Vauxhall Viva OHV
1965-1994 Opel CIH[15]
1966-1988 Vauxhall Slant-4
1970-1977 Chevrolet 2300 aluminium-block
1976-1993 Iron Duke (built by Pontiac)
1979-1986 Starfire (built by Holden)
1976-1986 Isuzu G161? SOHC (A different Brazilian based engine was used in the Chevrolet Chevette)
1980–2014 Family II SOHC/DOHC (designed by Opel)[16][17][18]
1981-2003 GM 122/Vortec 2200
1981-2009 Saab H (acquired as part of Saab's merger into GM)
1982–present Family 1 SOHC/DOHC (designed by Opel)[19]
1987-2001 Quad 4 DOHC (produced by Oldsmobile)
1989-1997 Toyota A (4A-GE/4A-FE, used in the Geo Prizm)
1990-2002 Saturn I4 SOHC/DOHC
1996–present Family 0 "Ecotec" DOHC (designed by Opel)
2000–present L850 "Ecotec" DOHC (designed jointly by Opel, Saab, and GM Powertrain)
2003-2008 Toyota ZZ DOHC (Found in the 1st Gen Pontiac Vibe)
2009-2010 Toyota ZR DOHC (Found in the 2nd Gen Pontiac Vibe)
2009-2010 Toyota AZ DOHC (Found in the 2nd Gen Pontiac Vibe)
2002–present Daewoo S-TEC SOHC/DOHC (acquired as part of Daewoo's merger into GM)
2003–2012 Atlas "Vortec" DOHC
2012–present Medium Gasoline "Ecotec" DOHC (designed by Opel)
2013–present Small Gasoline "Ecotec" DOHC (designed by Opel)
1995-2002 Suzuki G (used in the Chevrolet Tracker)
1995-2002 Suzuki J (used in the Chevrolet Tracker)
1990-1993 Isuzu X (used in the Geo Storm)
2018–present L3B

Flat-4

1989–2011 Subaru EJ (used in the Saab 9-2X)

Five-cylinder

GM Atlas inline-five engine

2003–2012 Atlas "Vortec" inline-5

Six-cylinder

Chevrolet Stovebolt inline-six engine

Inline-6

1908-1912 Oldsmobile Limited (acquired as part of the founding of GM)
1913-1923 Oakland Series 60
1913-1915 Oldsmobile Series 50
1914-1916 Buick Cast In Pairs
1916-1923 Buick Non-Removable-Head
1916-1927 Oldsmobile Series 30 inline-6
1923-1930 Buick Removable-Head
1923-1928 Oakland inline-6
1926-1927 Pontiac Split-Head (also modified for GMC trucks)
1928-1936 Chevrolet Stovebolt
1928-1950 Oldsmobile F-Series (also used in Buick Marquette)
1928-1954 Pontiac GMR (also modified for GMC trucks)
1930-1966 Opel inline-6 (as used in the Opel Kapitän)
1936-1962 Chevrolet Blue Flame inline-6 (also used in some GMC trucks)
1939-1962 GMC inline-6
1948-1962 Holden Grey
1962-2001 Chevrolet Turbo-Thrift
1964-1965 Pontiac OHV (derived from the Chevrolet Turbo-Thrift)
1966-1969 Pontiac OHC
1963-1980 Holden Red
1966-1993 Opel CIH
1980-1984 Holden Blue
1984-1986 Holden Black
1986-1988 Nissan RB30 (used in the Holden Commodore (VL))
1999-2011 Daewoo XK inline-6 (marketed as "E-TEC", used in Daewoo Magnus, via GM's purchase of Daewoo Motor)
2001-2009 Atlas "Vortec"

Chevrolet Corvair flat-six engine

Flat-6

1960-1969 Chevrolet Turbo-Air 6 (developed and used exclusively for the Chevrolet Corvair)

Buick V6 engine

V6

1960-1974 GMC V6
1962-2009 Buick V6 (marketed as "Fireball V6", "3800", "Dauntless V6" in 1966-1971 Jeeps, and "Ecotec" in Holdens)
1977–2013 Chevrolet 90° V6 engine (derived from the Chevrolet Small-Block" V8; now marketed as GM Vortec V6 or Vortec 4300 or EcoTec3 V6)
1979–2010 Chevrolet 60-Degree V6
1994-2005 Opel 54-Degree L81 V6 (used in the Saturn Vue, Cadillac Catera and Saturn L series)
1995–present Suzuki H (used in several models built for GM by Suzuki)
2004–2008 Honda J (used in the Saturn Vue)
1998-2002 Shortstar LX5 (based on the Northstar V8)
2003–2011 GM High Value (an evolution of the Chevrolet 60-Degree V6)
2004–present GM High Feature
2012–present Chevrolet Indy V6 IndyCar Series (technically designed, built and assembled by Ilmor Engineering)

Eight-cylinder

From the 1950s through the 1970s, each GM division had its own V8 engine family. Today, there are only two families of V8 engines in production for road vehicles: the Generation IV small-block and its Generation V small-block derivative.

Oldsmobile Rocket V8 engine

GM LS V8 engine

Inline-8

1931-1936 Buick Straight-8
1932-1948 Oldsmobile Straight-8
1932-1954 Pontiac Silver Streak
1934-1936 LaSalle (Oldsmobile Straight-8 in a unique to LaSalle displacement assembled by LaSalle/Cadillac from Oldsmobile supplied components)
1936-1953 Buick Fireball

Pontiac Silver Streak eight engine

V8

1914–1935 Cadillac Type 51 (also used in the LaSalle)
1915–1917 Oakland Model 50
1915–1923 Oldsmobile Model 40
1917–1918 Chevrolet Series D (acquired as part of Chevrolet's merger into GM)
1929–1931 Viking V8
1930–1932 Oakland V8 (used in Pontiac models during its final year)
1935–1948 Cadillac Series 60 (also used in the LaSalle)
1949–1980 Cadillac OHV V8
1949–1990 Oldsmobile Rocket V8
1953–1976 Buick Fireball V8 (also referred to as "Nailhead") & Buick Big-Block V8
1955–2003 Chevrolet Small-Block V8 "Generation I" (originally "Turbo-Fire")
1955–1980 Pontiac V8 (also modified for GMC Truck models)
1958–1965 Chevrolet W (also referred to as "Turbo-Thrust")
1961–1980 Buick small block V8 (formed the basis of the 1961-1963 Oldsmobile 215 aluminum V8) (now better known as the Rover V8 and also the Buick-based "Dauntless V8" on Jeeps or the Repco V8 Formula One engine based on the Oldsmobile version)
1965–2009 Chevrolet Big-Block V8 (originally "Turbo-Jet")
1967–1972 GMC Truck 60-degree V8 (derived from the GMC 60-degree V6)
1967–1984 Cadillac New V8
1969–1984 Holden 253
1969–2000 Holden 308 (stroke reduced in 1985, making it 304 cu in (5.0 L); 350 cu in (5.7 L) version also produced from mid 1994 for use by HSV)
1982–1995 Cadillac HT
1990–1995 Chevrolet LT5 DOHC V8 (exclusive to the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1)
1993–2010 Northstar V8 (also used in the Oldsmobile Aurora)
1992–1997 GM LT "Generation II" small-block V8
1997–2020 GM LS small-block V8 (referred to as Generation III or IV depending on type)
2014–present GM LT Generation V small-block V8 (Also called Ecotec3 V8)
2018–2020 Cadillac Blackwing twin-turbo V8
2023–present Chevrolet Gemini DOHC V8

Cadillac Twelve engine

Twelve-cylinder

1930-1937 Cadillac Twelve (derived from the Cadillac Sixteen)
1960s-1966 GMC Twin Six (derived from the GMC V6)

Sixteen-cylinder

1930-1937 Cadillac Sixteen OHV
1937-1940 Cadillac Sixteen L-Head
2003 Cadillac Sixteen (concept only)

Gasoline-electric hybrid

Voltec (used in the Chevrolet Volt)