General Motors Co announced a new generation of efficient small engines that it says will power 27 models by the 2017 model year. The company said it was attempting to streamline production with a modular architecture of the 1-to-1.5-liter engines that will allow them to be adapted to varying needs in different global markets. Among the first models with the new engines will be the Chevrolet Cruze designed specifically for the Chinese market and the Opel Adam in Europe. GM is calling the new line of 11 engines "Ecotec" and will build them in five plants on three continents. By 2017, the company will build 2.5 million of the Ecotec engines that will go into five different brands, it said. GM will develop engines to match the varying needs of the markets where they are sold, said Steve Kiefer, vice president for global powertrain engineering. The Cruze built for China launches later this year with a 2015 model that will have 1.4-liter turbocharged and 1.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engines. The Adam to be sold in Europe will have a 1-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine. All of the engines will run on regular unleaded gasoline. The 1.4-liter turbocharged engine will be up to 5 percent more efficient than the one it replaces, GM said. The new engines will produce from 75 horsepower (56 kilowatts) to 165 horsepower (123 kW). The engines will be built at plants in Shenyang in China; Flint, Michigan in the United States; Toluca in Mexico; Szentgotthard in Hungary; and Changwon in South Korea. (Reuters)