From one of my favorite car-related sites, Ate Up With Motor, here is an example of some exceptional writing and research. The rest of the site is worth a look if you're interested in automotive history...
Buick tried to bolster the Special's market position in two ways. First was the late-'61 introduction of a plusher, more upscale version, called Skylark, after the limited-edition model of 1953-54. Like the Corvair Monza, the Skylark was offered only as a coupe or convertible, featuring nicer trim, bucket seats, and a more powerful engine; a higher compression ratio and a four-barrel carburetor boosted the little V8 to 185 gross horsepower (138 kW). The Skylark was followed in 1962 by a cheaper base model, equipped with the first six-cylinder engine Buick had offered since 1930 -- the only V6 made in America.
The new six, known as the Fireball V-6, was essentially a bored-and-stroked version of the 215 V8, shorn of two cylinders and cast in iron instead of aluminum. Although this reduced its displacement to 198 cu. in. (3.3 L), its iron block and heads made it 46 lb (21 kg) heavier than the V8. It was rated at 135 gross horsepower (101 kW), 20 hp (15 kW) less than the V8, but it returned slightly better gas mileage. More significantly, from Buick's point of view, was the fact that it was significantly cheaper to produce, since it shared much of the V8's tooling.
Kaiser Jeep purchased the manufacturing rights to the Fireball V6 in 1965. The Jeep version of the engine, known as the Dauntless 225, was essentially similar to the Buick version, although it had a heavier flywheel to dampen more of its second-order vibration. Jeep used the Dauntless V6 until 1970, when Kaiser sold Jeep to American Motors. AMC quickly replaced it with American's own straight-six, and production ceased.
Surprisingly, that was not the end of the road for the V6, either. Following the first OPEC oil embargo of 1973, GM engineers started thinking seriously about new, more fuel-efficient engines. The existing, Chevrolet-designed straight-six was bulky and dated, and GM's only other small engine was the 140 cu. in. (2.3 liter) aluminum-block four used in the Chevy Vega, which was underpowered and troublesome. Some older Buick engineers remembered the Fireball V6, so they obtained a used engine from a junkyard for testing. They quickly concluded that it had great promise. Better yet, reviving it would be far cheaper than designing a new engine from scratch.
Over the next two decades, Buick made changes to the V6 nearly every year, reducing internal friction, cutting weight, adding features like fuel injection, and whittling away at its intrinsic vibration problems. In the eighties, it became one of GM's corporate engines, shared by every division-- including, briefly, Cadillac. It was renamed 3800 following an extensive 1988 makeover, while a new short-stroke 3300 (204 cu. in.) appeared in 1989. The turbocharged version died in 1988, but a new supercharged 3800 bowed for 1991. Further redesigns followed in 1995 and 2004. The final version, known as the 3800 Series III, offered up to 280 net horsepower (209 kW) in supercharged form. Production ended in August 2008.
This curious story reveals a great deal about GM's extraordinary conservatism. When the 215 and Fireball V6 were new (in 1962), they represented a considerable departure from the corporation's normal practice; as a result, GM seemingly couldn't wait to get rid of them. After GM bought back the rights to the V6, it was cheaper and more expedient to continue refining it than to replace it with a clean-sheet engine, so GM clung to it until it was older than many of the people who built it. Admittedly, Rover/British Leyland/Rover Group clung to the ex-Buick V8 just as tenaciously, but that more reflected the perennially cash-poor nature of the British auto industry than any strong philosophical tendencies. GM, by contrast, had the money to refine the 215, or design a superior replacement, but it chose not to. In every case, the corporation has doggedly pursued the path of least resistance, not always to its advantage.
http://ateupwithmotor.com/model-histories/compact-and-economy-cars/80-oh-skylark-wont-you-lead-me-there-the-strange-tale-of-the-buickrover-215-and-the-3800-v6.html
