GM Readies Tennessee Plant to Make More Efficient V-8s

General Motors Co. is spending $22 million to prepare its engine making operation in Spring Hill, Tenn., to build more efficient 6.2-liter V-8 powerplants.

The engines will feature GM’s latest-generation cylinder deactivation system. The technology conserves fuel by switching off several cylinders under low operating loads.

The new system can choose among an unprecedented 17 cylinder-firing patterns to match power output to the driver’s demands.

The new program complements a previously announced $300 million investment to ready the Spring Hill factory to build the Cadillac XT6 crossover vehicle. The facility currently assembles the Cadillac XT and GMS and Holden Acadia. The complex’s engine operations make 4- and 8-cylinder engines.