GM reconsidering 4.5-liter Duramax diesel for use in HD pickups

As you may have noticed, automobile sales are picking back up after their seemingly perpetual nosedive of the last two years or so. The same holds true for fullsize pickup trucks, and we're hoping that this resurgence will bring back some of the more interesting developments that had to be shelved due to monetary constraints. Chief amongst these wishes are the unfortunately abandoned light-duty diesel engines from Dodge, Ford and General Motors.

With that in mind, our interest is piqued by a report from our friends at PickupTrucks.com suggesting that the previously shelved 4.5-liter Duramax diesel V8 engine from GM may be back on the table, except with an interesting twist. While the oil-burning powerplant was originally intended just for half ton trucks, GM is reportedly now considering offering the mill in all of its fullsize trucks, including the Heavy Duty models.

General Motors indicates that its 4.5-liter diesel V8 engine is "fully developed and ready" to launch with power ratings of over 310 horsepower and 520 pound-feet of torque. Those figures would just about match what the larger Duramax diesels were putting out about a decade ago and seemingly be plenty for the 2500 class of trucks. What's more, The General told our own Sam Abuelsamid that the still-running fleet of 4.5 diesels is averaging an impressive 25 miles per gallon.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]