"The overall design of the engine is compact and takes up the same space as a small black V8."

Hmmm... I know what a small BLOCK V8 is... what's so special about a BLACK V8? :-)

This engine is exactly what GM needs in its trucks. Now when will the high mpg diesels come for passenger cars?

Well if it can go anywhere the small block can, I bet it could find itself in a G8 or similar car, that'd be pretty sweet.

Finally to market. I can't believe it's taken any of the big 3 this long to build a 4.x L diesel; I've been hearing about the Ford/Navistar project since 2003, and it's been scrapped at least once.

Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to the rest of the pickup manufacturers, and props to GM for being the first.

“This premium diesel engine is expected to deliver the power, torque and refinement our customers expect,” said Tom Stephens, executive vice president.

And then he puts it in a truck. So, not so refined after all...

All said.

"Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to the rest of the pickup manufacturers, and props to GM for being the first."

I doubt it, as the big three appear hell bent on going out of business.

Too bad it is GM also, as the interior of their pickups are about as appealing as a 1980's K car, or more accurately a 1980's GM product.

Ford is the only domestic manufacture I would consider. When is their light duty diesel due out?

Its about bygod time.

About a year ago, the order to market of the big 3's 1/2 ton diesels was GM, Ford, then Dodge. I also have read that Toyota and Honda may be offering diesel in their lineups, too; but haven't seen anything lately to support that.

All I will say is FINALLY !!!
I've been waiting soo long for a solution like this.
You get good HP and good torque for a daily driver, and save money at the pump vs a big gas V8.
I only wish diesel was cheaper, as it used to be less then regular gas.

Ford has had a 4.5l v6 powerstroke diesel for the last 2 years. They use it in the box truck line C series.

Thats not much of an improvement. Current 4.X V8 18MPG vs. ~22MPG (25%) 4.X Diesel.

Gas is 3.37, Diesel 4.19 in my area. 4.21 for diesel would negate any cost benefits of that 25% additional fuel economy.

The HP and Torque increases are outstanding however. Gas 295/305 vs 310/520 Diesel is the only real improvement worth mentioning.

Yes, this whole "Diesel is the way of the future" is nearly as bogus as ethanol.

Sure, they get better mileage (especially in cars), but it's cost will skyrocket even more as we start using more of it in the USA...negating most of the perceived value of MGP improvement. Add to that the increased cost/maintenance of "clean" diesel vehicles destined for the US and I don't see the consumer market exploding with diesel cars.

Europe, China and the rest of the world uses more diesel than gasoline in consumer vehicles, not to mention that big-rigs and all construction/heavy use equipment uses diesel throughout the world.

The bottom line problem is that oil is a commodity and is used as such in the financial market through hedge funds and the like, manipulating prices. If it was regulated (as it needs to be), crude would be no more than $55-65 barrel.

I used to be hot on diesel before I read that this country has very little refinery ability to make it.
We make a lot more gasoline and its gonna stay that way until we build new refineries that can make more diesel.

The greenies are not going to let that happen.

Sooooooo, lets make electric cars so we can pump the sky full of burnt coal.

Rock on.

"f it was regulated (as it needs to be), crude would be no more than $55-65 barrel."

That is not a very realistic statement. How do you propose to "regulate" world wide commodity markets? You going to tell Putin with his 5,000 nukes how much Russia can charge? I am sure those Muslims will just roll over for you saying "Please oh western benefactor, tell me how much I should charge for my oil". That's the thing about liberals - the world they dream they live in is not reality.

To the point about diesel, I believe the elevated price (vs. gasoline) in America has to do with a refinery capacity issue. Our refineries are geared (they use a certain process) that produces more gasoline than diesel. Other parts of the world are more balanced....

Hopefully it will feature some stainless steel fuel lines and a gas tank thats insulated. Can you say "ready for bio-diesel at the tap?"

I always hear from car companies that they won't do this or that because there is no demand for it. But then I turn to the consumer and the consumer says they won't buy it because its not available in a manner they like. Its the same with high quality music: people would buy it if only it was portable like MP3's were. Hell, just raise the bit-rate on MP3 tracks I would say, but then the music people say "but look, our studies show people wanted portability." The same study does not say people did not want quality, just that quality has to be portable too.

Same goes for diesel cars and bio-diesel. People don't want to have to re-build their fuel lines and such to do it. If automakers would offer cars pre-prepped for bio-diesel, people would snatch it up.

I think a point that has been not mentioned is that diesel takes a lot less refining. gasoline requires over 10 processes while diesel is less than 5 so it would be a quicker turn around when producing diesel and would probably also be a cheaper alternative since u do get a boost in mpg and refining is much easier

Great idea, regulation...

I remember $1,000 minimum coach airline tickets (when you hear old people talk about how people used to dress up to travel, that's because only rich people could travel)...

I remember $20 10-minute intrastate long distance phone calls "please insert 6 more dollars for the next 3 minutes"...

My mother talks about not being able to buy certain foods because steel was rationed... Hmmm, I think that's called the law of unintended consequences.

Ah yes... The good old days.

Here's an idea... If you make $10/hour, you're only allowed to drive 25 miles round trip in a day (resource use=productive effort), if you make $100/hour you're allowed to drive 250 miles round trip in a day...

Oh, that's the market... Darn, I knew it was too good to be true.

I read something in the article that puzzles me, it says

"dual-overhead cam, four-valve V-8 diesel engine"

I have no direct experience with diesel engines or engines in general, just some basic knowledge from what I read in books and magazines.

With this in mind I thought dual-overhead cam, four-valve engines made their power as the RPMs rise, and that diesel engines by nature didnt rev much and really do not get much benefit from operating at the high end of the rev band.

GM new engine appears to be targeted mostly for light trucks and towing, so low end torque is desired. Where does the four-valve design benefit this engine?

Part of the big increase in diesel prices was due to the fed mandating removal of sulphur. The refinery cost to do that was passed on to us at the pump. Not to mention, removal of said sulphur also removed lubrication qualities, so it follows that durability will suffer in the long run. That is, if one runs straight diesel :)

To Tim:
Diesel Engines run a much higher compression ratio, and most are turbo. With all that extra air movement through the engine you should see the benefits of extra valves at lower RPM's.

"If it was regulated (as it needs to be), crude would be no more than $55-65 barrel."

Yeah, you go over and tell Shiek Yarbooty that he's charging too much for oil. See how far that gets you.