Anyone expecting General Motors (GM) to slot in its ‘stillborn’
4.5-litre V8 turbodiesel into the 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac
Escalade full-size sports utility vehicles (SUVs) is disappointed.
Instead,
The General took the low road and announced these vehicles would carry the well-tried
5.3-litre and 6.2-litre EcoTec3 V8 engines and six-speed transmissions. This is
the same line-up the company introduced in the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC
Sierra.
But this
may not be the end of the story. For surely GM cannot afford to write off all
the engineering expertise it poured over a number of years into the compact V8
diesel it shelved just prior to its 2009 bankruptcy and reorganization.
To all
intents and purposes, GM has completed development on the new 4.5-liter
turbodiesel V-8 destined for use in half-ton pick-up trucks. At its launch, the
company’s engineers much hyped the principal features of the engine; they singled
out its narrow-angle cylinder banks, reverse-flow heads, dual overhead camshafts,
and its compacted graphite iron (CGI) block. Features aimed at achieving
compactness and lower weight.
The engine
was designed to slot into the space allocated to a conventional small-block gasoline
V8. And GM officials even nominated the huge Tonawanda engine plant in upstate
New York as the most likely location for production.
It remains
a mystery to journalists at this stage if the engine will reach production. But
GM insiders must know the ropes. Many outsiders hope too that it will reach
production as other North American manufacturers are lining themselves up to
make greater use of vee diesels.
The only
hint seems to come from Jeff Luke, executive chief engineer
for GM trucks, who is reported as saying that GM’s large SUVs may soon be
receiving eight- and maybe even 10-speed transmissions, as well as other
powertrain variations, such as hybrid and possibly even diesel variants. http://www.trucktrend.com/features/news/2013/163_news131014_new_gm_full_size_suvs_could_get_hybrid_diesel_options/#ixzz2hocOdw62
The hybrid versions
of the last-generation SUVs did not appear to be as popular as first hoped, and
while they achieved significantly improved city fuel economy than the
conventional models, the difference in highway fuel economy was minimal, to
which the added cost was substantial.
So the jury is still
out. Though with Chrysler, Ford and Nissan in the frame with vee diesels
equipped with CGI cylinder blocks, not to mention Cummins Inc. that is standing
by to supply anyone who wants a 5-litre vee diesel with CGI block from its
Columbus plant, it seems unlikely that GM will not travel down the same road,
given that it has done all the homework with its own 4.5-litre CGI V8
turbodiesel. That Chrysler uses a CGI engine in which GM has a
half-share with Fiat (VM Motori) is surely a pointer to the future. ∎
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