Smaller Diesel Engine Under Consideration for GM Pickups
General Motors is considering adding a small displacement diesel engine for its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups.
In hopes of boosting fuel economy, a 4.5-liter V8 diesel powerplant could be added to the Silverado and Sierra 1500’s lineup. That powerplant was originally intended for use in GM trucks five years ago before financial problems shut down its production. According to Steve Kiefer, GM’s vice president of global powertrain, the American automaker is looking at various ways to offer more fuel-efficient options for its pickups and the 4.5-liter engine is one of the more viable ones.
SEE ALSO: 2014 Chevrolet Silverado Review – Video
At the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, Ford unveiled the all-new 2015 F-150 that makes extensive use of aluminum to shed weight and improve fuel economy. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel is rated at 28 mpg highway while Ford expects its new F-150 to get as much as 30 mpg on the highway. Currently, GM’s most fuel-efficient trucks have a highway rating of 24 mpg.
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[Source: Automotive News]
Discuss this story at our Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra forum.
Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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By all accounts, this engine was supposed to be quite a gem and one of the tragedies of the bankruptcy proceedings was the shelving of this project. Hopefully they'll get it back on track!
They should shrink it down to 4.0 liters. That's a better compromise between mileage and power. A 4-liter turbo-diesel is still a torquey, powerful engine, with plenty of towing grunt.