GM Considering Diesel Engine for Midsize Trucks

While General Motors has officially revealed its new line of midsize pickup trucks, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the details and specifications of the trucks, such as the engines and other internal components of the trucks are still unconfirmed. With that being said, sources familiar with the GM product planning process are indicating the company could be considering powering at least two new midsize pickup trucks with a diesel engine. This move will be a favorable one for many North American customers who have been waiting for GM to launch a midsize pickup truck with a diesel engine, and the possibility of a diesel engine in either of the two planned pickup trucks has been floating around for a long time.

Diesel Engines

Diesel engines, also known as compression-ignition engines, use heat from compression to begin the ignition of fuel, compared to spark-ignition engines that require a spark plug to ignite the fuel. It has higher thermal efficiency and energy efficiency than spark-ignition engines. Diesel engines also tend to be much more energy efficiency when idling or at low power, which can mean less fuel consumed, particularly in urban settings where cars aren’t operating at full power most of the time.

Diesel Engines in GM Trucks

GM’s midsize trucks have diesel engine options and models in most of the global market. The diesel engine is included in both the Chevrolet Colorado in Asia and the Holden Colorado in Australia. These diesel engines can be chosen and customized by the buyer of the pickup truck, and there are 2.5 liter and 2.8 liter diesel engine available for those two models of midsize pickup trucks. There are substantial differences in the two diesel engines in terms of the horsepower and torque they offer. The 2.5 liter diesel engine offers 150 horsepower as well as 258 pound-feet of torque. This is compared to the 180 horsepower and the 347 foot-pounds of torque that the 2.8 liter diesel engine can generate.

Diesel Engines in North America

It is still uncertain if GM is considering diesel engines to power its North American midsize pickup trucks. There is a definite possibility that GM is designing a new model of diesel engine specifically for the GMC Canyon. This will certainly diversify GM’s line of midsize pickup trucks, particularly in terms of internal components and the inclusion of the diesel engine.

The 2015 GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Colorado are scheduled to launch in late 2014, with production of the trucks to start in August of 2014. The production of the two new midsize pickup trucks is expected to be at the Wentzvill assembly plant.