GM Will Invest $10 million In Michigan Engine Plant ( For V-12?)

DETROIT, Dec 17, 2003; Reuters reported that General Motors Corp. will invest $10 million in a new Wixom, Michigan, plant that will build high-performance engines beginning in the summer of 2005, the world's largest automaker said on Wednesday.

GM declined to provide any specifics on the engine, the vehicles they would be used in or the size of the facility and the number of people it will employ. "It's a low volume facility," GM spokesman Keith Yaden said.

But analysts speculated that the plant would build V-12 engines, GM's entry in a battle for more powerful engines from automakers. GM said a year ago that it would put a 7.5-liter V-12 engine, capable of more than 500 horsepower, in a future low-volume Cadillac.

"My guess is they're probably going with the V-12," said Eric Fedewa, an automotive analyst with CSM Worldwide. "That's the only one that makes sense."

The V-12 would be the first for Cadillac since 1937. Cadillac officials have said that they want to move the brand upmarket with a vehicle in the $100,000 price range in the future.