GM News: General Motors: We Are Ready To Add Diesels To Our Half-Ton Pickups

[William Maley]

William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

September 19, 2013

It seems diesel mania is hitting truck manufacturers. Ram has the 1500 with a diesel option; Nissan has announced a diesel V8 for the next-generation Titan; and Toyota is considering whether to do a diesel option for the Tundra. Now a new report says General Motors is ready to join the diesel fray in half-tons if it proves to be popular.

According to AutoGuide, GM can use the same 3.0L Diesel V6 found in Ram 1500. This is due to GM owning a part of the engine builder of the 3.0L Diesel V6, VM Motori. Also, General Motors commissioned VM Motori to build this engine for the European market CTS a few years ago. However, GM announced bankruptcy before the project was finished and the engine was shelved.

General Motors spokesman Tom Wilkinson says that even if the company has access to that engine, they are pessimistic about the chances of diesel half-ton pickups succeeding. Wilkinson points out the high cost of diesel fuel and higher price premium the diesel models command over their gasoline brethren as possible reasons why diesel half-ton pickups could fail.

But Wilkinson admits if diesel half-ton pickups take off, GM is “in a position to respond quickly.”

Source: AutoGuide

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

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[David]

Dear GM, You have delayed making buyers with money wait and wait and wait and at this point you will be loosing buyers if you make us wait much longer to get a diesel option into 1/2 ton pickups and your full size Suburban / Yukon XL. There are plenty of needs for this solution for those of us that are big with big families and the need to pull a trailer without moving to the HD line of 3/4 & 1 ton pickups.

To us the bed with a canopy is not as useful as the SUV inside space and for those that need to pull a small 2 horse trailer or boat, etc would love to have the torque in a 1/2 ton solution pickup without also having to spend the money on the HD line.

WAKE UP TO YOUR CUSTOMERS NEEDS.

Sincerely, your tax paying customer.

[regfootball]

I actually would be curious to see that v8 diesel instead. I think whatever diesel GM puts in should be all AMURCHAN

[justusforus]

If you can stay ahead of a trend, it is better than to wait and try and "respond quickly". GM has had this problem in the past, so hope they learn.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Ram Ecodiesel is only a $2,000 increase over the Hemi and a $4,500 increase over the Pentastar, it's not that much more expensive when you're already dropping $32k on a V8 truck. Rumor has it that the RAM Ecodiesel EPA highway figure will be 27mpg, so for $2k, you'll get Hemi torque (20mpg highway) with better than Pentastar fuel economy (25mpg highway). Keep in mind that diesels almost always beat their EPA figures once out in the real world. If you're someone who puts a lot of miles on a truck and needs to tow, the Ecodiesel sounds like a good option.

What's more, Ram isn't tying the Ecodiesel to other packages and it will be available on all trims except for the R/T. Want a Tradesman with an Ecodiesel? Just pick out what color. I'll have a full write-up on the Ecodiesel sometime soon.

I think GM is sorely underestimating what Ram has going here.

[smk4565]

Why don't they just do it instead of saying they are ready. GM is always ready to do something or it is "coming next year" but only after the competition beat them too it. The new trucks should have 8 speeds standard, and the diesel option should be there already. The 30 mpg pickup is coming, I bet the Ram diesel is near 30 mpg highway in real world, if you get some weight savings like the F150 is planning, you could have a 30 mpg highway rated pickup. And yet Ford and Chevy run ads bragging about 22 or 23 mpg, highway, imagine when Dodge starts claiming 27 or 28, or if the next-gen Tundra hits 30 mpg, and GM and Ford are still putzing around with 23 mg.

[Drew Dowdell]

Dodge is already claiming 25mpg with the V6 + 8-Speed, so I don't know what Chevy and Ford are bragging about.

[ZL-1]

So instead of leading the pack and risking creating and having 1st mover advantage in a segment (or sub-segment), you once again decide to wait and see... Nice going, GM...

[smk4565]

Dodge is already claiming 25mpg with the V6 + 8-Speed, so I don't know what Chevy and Ford are bragging about.

True, but those awful Silverado ads about a man and a truck and a sheep and a fence end with claiming 23 mpg. It isn't even good, they should just throw the horsepower number up there, that is what people care about anyway. If they wanted gas mileage they wouldn't be buying a truck.

[ocnblu]

My guess is they'll steer light duty diesel intenders toward the new midsize trucks.

[Robert Hall]

So instead of leading the pack and risking creating and having 1st mover advantage in a segment (or sub-segment), you once again decide to wait and see... Nice going, GM...

They are afraid of getting burned by making a decision...rather let others lead then follow, seems like..