GM’s light-duty 4.5L Duramax diesel on indefinite hold

Published March 11, 2009 by Zane Merva

Filed Under: Business & Finance, New Models

The string of bad news continues out of General Motors. Today the company announced that the Duramax 4.5L V8 Diesel, planned for the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 will be scrapped indefinitely.

The 4.5L mini-Duramax was set to be a significant option for the 2010 model year. While the engine has not been totally scrapped and GM “remains optimistic” that the engine will be a viable option in the future- potential owners are looking forward to a 310-hp, 520 ft-lbs engine option in a light duty truck will no doubt be disappointed.

The announcement is just the latest in a string of bad news announcements out of the beleaguered automaker. Just last week General Motors announced that an internal audit of the companies finances put serious doubt on the future viability of the company despite US Government backed loans.

GM Statement Regarding the Duramax 4.5L V-8 Diesel

Given the current economic climate, GM has reviewed and updated its U.S. product portfolio and has decided to place on indefinite hold its previously announced plan to add a Duramax 4.5L V-8 diesel engine in 2010 to its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty trucks.

Chevrolet and GMC will continue to offer a heavy duty Duramax 6.6L V-8 diesel, which is class-leading in both horsepower and torque. Light-duty truck customers can also choose from several fuel-efficient gasoline engines with GM’s Active Fuel Management mated to a six-speed transmission or a new 2-Mode hybrid that provides up to 40 percent improved city fuel mileage and 25 percent improvement in overall fuel efficiency. In fact, no other full-size pickup has better fuel economy.

GM remains optimistic that the Duramax 4.5L V-8 diesel may be a viable option in its future portfolio.

3 Responses to “GM’s light-duty 4.5L Duramax diesel on indefinite hold”

r. cox Says:
June 10th, 2009 at 2:40 am

GM and president Obama will both be greatly dissapointed when they find out the american people will not like third world country, small cars. Americans, like big luxury and big cars. This country has lots of children, that won’t even fit into a volt or a prius for that matter. Great in Europe as they don’t have kids any more, Thats why there are no true french left. As a matter of fact most americans won’t fit in them. The sad truth is electric cars do not save money, they cost more, and they do polute the air just as much, whether it is the exhaust they are putting out or the power plant in the next town having to step up production of electricity which is poorly carried at a high rate of loss over the power lines, or the increasing polution making more batteries to hold charges in which, is not very efficient either. Yes great mileage, but at what true cost, to the enviroment and the real automotive economy, like people’s pocket books. There is no magic pill. By the way scientist are saying that other planets than earth are having global warming, right now, I saw it on the news today. It must be all the cow farts on those planets and those spaceships are ruining the ozone there. (that and Al Gores hot air and convenient lies) The scientist say it is the sun that causes global warming on every planet except earth. Why are we building high dollar un-green little cars like we did in the 70s? Oh well, you seen what happen to all of those great classics, people are falling all over themselves trying to find vintage Pintos and civics.

sincerely r

Dimsdale Says:
December 26th, 2009 at 6:06 pm

Well, if they scrapped their plans to build one, then that scraps my plans to buy one. Building a smaller Diesel would be key to getting decent fuel mileage out of mid- and large sized SUVs, where the power of a Duramax 6.6L is neither necessary or desired. A Diesel like this could be tuned for maximum economy and still provide excellent performance. It would be having your cake and eating it too. I have an older Diesel Suburban, so I know.

If Obama Motors insists on copying Europe’s bad socialist ideas, then ti should likewise consider copying their good Diesel fueled ideas.

r. cox is correct: look at the last interglacial period (we are at the likely end of one now), and see that it was significantly warmer, as proved by sea levels being 15 – 18 feet HIGHER than today. By the way, that was about 120,000 years ago (or 120K Before SUVs). When Al Gore and the warming fanatics explain that one to me (in addition to all the other “anomalies”), as well all those emails from the East Anglia Climate Research Unit, acknowledging data fraud and cover ups, they I might be willing to listen. That, and when Gore and other AGW fanatics stop generating personal carbon footprints the size of Godzilla’s…