NEW GM DIESEL IN AMERIKA

GM Introduces Direct Injection Diesel Engine in 2001
July 9, 1999
General Motors will debut an all-new direct-injection diesel engine in the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty full-size pickup trucks. Leveraging its worldwide resources, GM is working jointly with Isuzu Motors Ltd. on the development of the DURAMAX 6600 V-8 engine. The engine, designed by Isuzu, will be manufactured by DMAX Ltd., the GM and Isuzu joint venture in Moraine, Ohio.

"The all-new DURAMAX 6600 will be one of the most advanced heavy-duty diesel engines on the market," said Arvin F. Mueller, vice president and group executive of GM Powertrain. "We will offer customers an engine with outstanding horsepower and torque in a very quiet and fuel-efficient package."

The 6.6-liter, 4-valves-per-cylinder turbocharged engine, which will be optional in the Sierra and Silverado 2500 and 3500 series models, will offer one of the most precision-controlled fuel-injection systems in the heavy-duty market. The direct-injection common-rail system will provide customers with significant improvements in power, torque, fuel economy, and quiet operation.

GM's relationship with Isuzu began in 1971 and was strengthened in 1997 when GM announced that Isuzu would develop diesel engines for GM. Because of Isuzu's expertise in commercial vehicles and diesel engines, the company plays an important role in GM's global strategy. In 1998, GM raised its equity share in Isuzu to 49 percent and announced the DMAX joint venture in Moraine. Isuzu, a leading diesel maker and pioneer in diesel technology, introduced the world's first direct-injection diesel engine for light-duty trucks in 1984. Isuzu also is the top seller of diesel engines in the heavy-duty diesel market and annually produces more diesel engines than Navistar and Cummins combined.

Sure could use a nice hard working diesel with about 400 lbs of torque to pull a 7,000 lb dual horse trailer, my GM K-1500 350 V-8 gas works pretty well but it only gets 17 mpg and with the trailer loaded about 9-10. A good diesel should at least be twice as good as that. If I was ever to be suspicious of something diesel, it would be from GM though!

Yeah, "GM" and "Diesel" are not two words you like to hear mentioned in the same sentence. (They're usually accompanied by "class action lawsuit".) But Isuzu makes some great medium duty diesels. I think these new engines will be for real. The problem is, they are still just addressing the heavy-duty pickup market. We need a nice, torquey, fuel-efficient diesel for 1/2 ton trucks. I parked next to a brand new Toyota Tundra this morning, and while I was wiping the drool off my face I noticed the "V-8" badge. Goody. Another gas hog. The Cummins and Powerstroke are certainly great engines if you pull heavy trailers, and they're fuel efficient enough considering their power output, but I'd guess a diesel engined 1/2 ton with torque comparable to a small block V8 would approach 30 miles per gallon on the highway! That would be perfect for me. (My dad pulls a 4-horse trailer all the time. I just haul grass clippings.)

-mickey

A GM engine already exists. It's available as 2.0 litre 82bhp or 100bhp (intercooled) or 2.2 litre 115bhp. It's a 4 valve per cylinder, direct injection, turbo diesel engine. In Europe it is sold in various Opel/Vauxhall cars, and in the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 too. It's a quieter engine than the VW Tdi unit too.

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1996 Passat Tdi estate (wagon)
See my Passat / Peugeot page at www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/5067/

www.amm.com/inside/designs/desin98.htm
Iron has opportunities in diesels.
If iron makes a comeback in the North American auto industry in the coming decade, diesel engine applications will be the reason. Diesel manufacturers prefer iron to aluminum in cylinder blocks, bedplates and crankshafts, and also are
inclined to specify iron for the cylinder heads, particularly in the new V-6s and V-8s that are being developed for sports utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans.
A few diesel engines already are used in some light-duty trucks, of course. Those iron engines are heavier than competitive gasoline engines, some of which have aluminum at least in the heads and oil pans, but the diesel units
nevertheless provide a fuel economy improvement over the gas engines in the 20- to 35-percent range.
Domestic automakers already are making preparations to put new diesels in their light-duty trucks in the 2001-04 timeframe, a nice turn of events for suppliers of ferrous scrap and other iron foundry materials. Many auto engineers and
executives believe the new diesels currently under development will change people's attitudes about diesel noise, fumes and performance. The idea is to produce diesel-powered trucks that will have very good acceleration, low fuel
costs, an extra-long life--on the order of 200,000 or 250,000 miles--and that won't be so smelly and noisy. Chrysler Corp., Cummins Engine Co., Detroit Diesel Corp., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Isuzu Motors Ltd., Navistar
International Corp. and other companies are working on diesel trucks and engines that they claim will provide such benefits when they enter the domestic market early in the coming decade.
The first new diesels used in Chrysler and Ford trucks will be V-6s while the new units being developed for GM will be V-8s. There are pretty strong indications that the V-6 diesels Detroit Diesel is developing for Chrysler and perhaps
others will use compacted graphite iron in the blocks. CGI has the potential to provide a savings in weight, improvements in dimensional stability, reductions in noise and vibrations and even increased power in engines in which it is used.
Chrysler currently is using modified CGI in the bedplates of its new 4.7-liter truck gasoline engines. For a while, engineers at Navistar International also were thinking about CGI blocks for a V-6 diesel they are going to be producing for
Ford but instead settled on conventional gray iron blocks.
One can expect Ford to begin using the V-6 diesels from Navistar in its F-150 and F-250 pickups, Lincoln Navigator and Ford Expedition SUVs and Econoline vans less than three years from now. Chrysler is likely to start using Detroit
Diesel-built V-6s in its Dodge Durango SUVs at about the same time and to expand its applications to other trucks a little later. GM and Isuzu will build newly designed V-8 diesels together at a joint venture called DMAX Ltd. in Morain, Ohio,
for use in standard-size GM trucks.
None of these engines is expected to use aluminum in any major applications outside of the intake manifolds and pistons. If smaller diesels built for lower-duty cycles and less-demanding performance requirements also are approved for
production use by the domestic automakers, those units probably would use aluminum in a number of different parts.
Auto industry executives and analysts agree that it will be a long time before diesel-powered cars, as opposed to trucks, are produced in the United States or Canada because they aren't needed for fuel-economy or emissions-limiting
purposes. If diesel cars eventually are needed here the same way they are needed in numerous other countries in the world, chances are the engines will be different in design and composition than the big units employed in trucks. Car
diesels are more apt to employ aluminum in the cylinder heads, oil pans and certain other components, auto industry sources say.

Here is more information, from another source.

Mickey: What are you talking about putting down GM diesels? My 1985 Olds Cutlass Ciera with a 4.3L V-6 diesel was the best diesel I ever owned, including my current Jetta TDI.

JUL 12, 1999, M2 Communications - PONTIAC, Mich. -- General Motors will debut an all-new direct-injection diesel engine in the 2001 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra heavy-duty full-size pickup trucks. Leveraging its worldwide
resources, GM is working jointly with Isuzu Motors Ltd. on the development of the DURAMAX 6600 V8 engine. The engine, designed by Isuzu, will be manufactured by DMAX Ltd., the GM and Isuzu joint venture in Moraine, Ohio. "The
all-new DURAMAX 6600 will be one of the most advanced heavy-duty diesel engines on the market," said Arvin F. Mueller, vice president and group executive of GM Powertrain. "We will offer customers an engine with outstanding
horsepower and torque in a very quiet and fuel-efficient package. This refined and durable engine will be a natural addition to the already impressive portfolio of V8 engine choices in two of the best trucks in the industry." The 6.6-liter
4-valves-per-cylinder turbocharged engine, which will be optional in the Sierra and Silverado 2500 and 3500 series models, will offer one of the most precision-controlled fuel-injection systems in the heavy-duty market. The direct-injection
common-rail system will provide customers with significant improvements in power, torque, fuel economy and quiet operation.

GM's relationship with Isuzu began in 1971 and was strengthened in 1997 when GM announced that Isuzu would develop diesel engines for GM. Because of Isuzu's expertise in commercial vehicles and diesel engines, the company plays an
important role in GM's global strategy. In 1998, GM raised its equity share in Isuzu to 49 percent and announced the DMAX joint venture in Moraine. Isuzu, a leading diesel maker and pioneer in diesel technology, introduced the world's first
direct-injection diesel engine for light-duty trucks in 1984. Isuzu also is the top seller of diesel engines in the heavy-duty diesel market and annually produces more diesel engines than Navistar and Cummins combined.