Why didn't GM use a V8 in the H3

[H3Lady]

A friend of mine got an Chevy Avalanche and it has a 295hp v8 and it get the same gas millage as my h3, but on thing different. He says when he hits the gas, it moves....

help understanding this please, love to learn

[H3Lady]

A friend of mine got an Chevy Avalanche and it has a 295hp v8 and it get the same gas millage as my h3, but on thing different. He says when he hits the gas, it moves....

help understanding this please, love to learn

[f5fstop]

Could be due to many reasons:
Development costs for the vehicle startup, and eventually they might put one in. Manufacturer allocates a set amount to design, test, and startup a vehicle. Following years may allow for another engine package to be developed tested, and released for production.
Possibly a small V8 was designated, tested and approved; however, the engine plant producing this engine may have been at max capacity, and ramp up time would be six months to a year, or startup another factory to build the same engine.
Packaging of a V8 under the hood; don't think we will ever see a large V8 block in that little compartment, but a small 5.3 V8 might fit.
Could have been some problems with crash tests, all different powertrain variations of a vehicle have to pass all crash tests. GM might have failed with a V8 and are working on a redesign to pass the tests.
Could be they didn't want to install one; period.
Many vehicles are initially released with one engine, and later in the model year, or the following model year different engine combinations are released.
The new solstice is released with a 4-cylinder, with rumors about a turbo coming in six months.
Saturn ION coupe was released with a 4-cylinder, following year a supercharged version was released. Just two examples.
What the actual reason was for the release of only this engine may never be known, unless the person(s) who made the decision step forward. But it can be fun to speculate.

[us1ss]

Marketing is also a reason, we all are buying now and then in a year or two many will buy again because of more power available. They likely won't jump to a small V8 immediately they will do a turbo or supercharged 5 or a normal 6 to get many to buy then hit us with the V8 in another year to get us again. That is smart business I just wish for the power now!

[FormerJeeper]

You wont get the same gas milegae if they put in a V8.

Simple reason, extra weight and displacement.

If the H3 had only a V8 I would have bought a new Grand Cherokee. I, for one, am glad they didn't.

-C

[H3OH]

All excellent answers!

I have to ask...was a test drive even involved?

[Wild One]

V8 trucks can get good gas mileage. The Chevy SSR with a 390HP version of the Corvette LS2 V8 weighs over 4700 pounds, like an H3, and can get 20 MPG highway. Yeah, it's only 2-wheel drive. The H3 interior is WAY nicer than an SSR's, too.

My guess is Hummer didn't want another H2, which is what Joe Public probably would have thought of a V8 H3.

[Sharkster]

I like the H3's I5. It provides pretty much the same performance figures an H1 or H2 does (with waaaaaaaaay lower fuel consumption)... so why complain?

A HUMMER is NOT a race car and the performance of the H3's Vortec is definitely sufficient... Using it offroad, it outruns the H2 in a lot of situations... that's what counts IMHO.

[bender]

power is so over-rated and once you own a vehicle with more than 300HP you will understand this. 300HP is not enough. then, 400HP is not enough. now, we have MB AMGs out there with friggin 500HP!!! no matter how much power you have, your body/mind gets used to it. my 333HP M3 stopped feeling fast and lacked some of the fun it once had. if we all had big V8s we would eventually feel like we were under-powered.

[- CHRIS -]

even 5 to 6 months from now when, or if, they add the addition of a supercharge/turbo to the car, it would just mess up the fuel economy for it. what caught my eye was the better fuel economy as compared to it's older brother counterpart. adding those extras to the car would basically be a twin brother that didn't fully develop into it's correct size!

-CHRIS-
xbox live: doom dawg

[Matt5462]

I really would be surprised if they EVER come out with a v8 h3. They probably will have a stronger engine design in the future, but not a v8. The manufacturer would never build their vechiles to compete with a suv the already produce. If they ever did this they could risk destroying the sales of the h2.

[XM DUDE]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by XM DUDE:
Yah look at the Jeep Cherokee, it had a real P.O.s V6 engine then it got the 4.0 inline 6 a it was a torque monster that torqued to you when you got on it, maybe somthing like that will happen for the baby Hummer. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Okthenbye]

Have a little fun customizing it. Add a performance exhaust, performance intake, supercharger and maybe a chip.

[Wild One]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">...if we all had big V8s we would eventually feel like we were under-powered. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, it was Einstein that popularized the theory of a relative world. Everything's relative. Well, the H3's coming out in a time where there are monster horsepower vehicles on the road, trucks and cars alike.

Jeeps can be had with Hemi's, Nissan's cheapest SUV gets a 265HP engine standard, Toyota's dropping a 250HP 6-speed in their new FJ Cruiser...these, in my mind, are competing for my SUV dollar.

Nothing new off the showroom floor, for the price, can beat an H3 off-road, but most of the time it'll be on-road. On-road performance IS important to me.

Please don't tell me to buy a Chrysler or Toyota, either. I have a vested interest in seeing GM succeed. I'm a repeat GM customer (got the Camaro and Corvette in my garage to prove it), and I'm a GM stockholder, too.

Just because people point out what they don't like about the H3 doesn't mean they don't love it. They just want it to be better. Visit CorvetteForum.com. You'll never find a more vicious, vehement group of Corvette critics. They still love the car, though! They demand a lot, and The General's given them a lot. I hope that GM succeeds the same way with Hummer, and that 50 years from now, we can celebrate the new electric flying 2055 Hummer, and have fond memories of the first Hummers.