"Steve Grauman" > wrote in message
...
> >Many American V-6's _are_ 90 degrees for the reason I stated in my
> >earlier post including the very popular GM 3.8 liter, now in it's 3rd or
> >4th generation. That engine was fitted with balance shafts in the mid
> >'90s and it ran pretty smoothly in a rental car I drove.
>
> I seriously dislike the GM 3.8. I've driven an N/A version as well as two
> supercharged units (a 2001 Bonneville SSEi and a 2004 Grand Prix GTP) and
> disliked both. The supercharged version has a ton of torque but it did
very
> little to help get quick 0-60 times from the bloated Bonneville. The 3.1
in the
> Malibu was worse, although I've not driven the new version. But 170Hp from
a
> 3.1 litre V6 is stupid to say the least.
>
> > Even modular engine families, such as the one Ford
> >developed in 1996 (which spawned a V-6, several V-8s, and a V-10) use a
> >60 degree angle for the 6
>
> Does this include the unit (2.5 litres?) used in the Contour or just the
3.0
> litre used in the Taurus? I always liked the Contour, for what it was. I
> thought it was Ford's best sedan with the possible exception on the 2nd
Gen. V6 powered SHO.
>
> >Honda's 240hp V-6 is 60 degrees and is used in the Accord, Odyssey,
> >Pilot, others?
>
> The Accord is a 3.0 litre. The Odyssey and Pilot have a 3.5 litre engine,
as
> does the 3.5RL, but the Acura's is different. I drove a Pilot and liked
the
> 3.5, a friend's 2004 Accord is nice too, but a little more torque could be
> useful.
>
> >I do know that the H-4 in my WRX, while quiet and
> >powerful, isn't as smooth at idle as the I-6 engines I've test driven.
>
> The H-4 is the WRX felt a bit gruff to me. But the boxer-sixes in Porsches
are
> made of automotive dreams. ;-)

GM uses these engines for their toque and good emissions. like Byron said
engine engineers do crazy things. The Pilot and MDX have the same engine,
so do the 3.2 Accord and T/CL. the Por. is a H-6 which was explained to me
as being different because of the two extra cylinders