1994 Gmc Sonoma Standard Cab Small Block Chevy V8 Turbo350 Trans 28-32 Stall on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GM delays 3.0-liter Duramax diesel in Silverado and Sierra pickups

Stricter testing protocols around the world are making it harder for automakers to predict launch timelines. GM is the latest to get caught in emissions nettles, the Detroit carmaker forced to delay the launch of its new Duramax 3.0-liter inline-six diesel for the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500. That's what company reps told dealers in a memo seen by Automotive News this week. Dealers and buyers had been promised the Flint, Mich.-built oil-burner in early 2019, but AN wrote that the EPA certification hiccup has turned into a "slight delay." A GM spokesman told Motor1, "[We] did not attribute [the delay] to a single entity, as the truth is this is a collaborative effort between GM and several government entities. We will make the 2020MY Duramax available for dealers orders soon, and expect to deliver the first trucks to customers soon after emissions testing is complete." We know the new 3.0-liter Duramax diesel has 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, outdoing Ford's 3.0-liter PowerStroke diesel by 27 hp and 20 lb-ft. But without final EPA paperwork, GM can't release the numbers that will show how the two engines stack up when considering fuel economy and tow ratings. The certification process has been sticky for a few other makers of late, especially since the Volkswagen Group situation in 2015. BMW had to delay the launch of four diesel models in 2016 over EPA testing. The new Ram 1500 dribbled out in a trickle last year for reasons thought to deal with EPA testing, coming as it did a year after the EPA investigated Ram's EcoDiesel engines in 2017 and 2018. More recently, WLTP testing in Europe caught out just about every automaker over there. Since we're almost halfway through 2019, the delay until the 2020 model year is only a few months. Still, GM told dealers to cancel any orders for the engine for this model year. Dealers will need to resubmit the orders once opening begins, but GM hasn't said when production will begin other than "soon." The company said that it will offer 2020-model-year replacement vehicles to customers and dealers. If prices hold into the next model year, the 2020 Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 with the inline-six diesel will come at a $3,890 premium over the 2.7-liter turbo four-cylinder, and a $2,495 premium over the 5.3-liter V8.

GMC has received 65,000 Hummer EV orders so far

The GMC Hummer pickup truck only just went on sale, and already there's word from company brass that demand is higher than expected. According to a report from CNBC, Duncan Aldred, global vice president of GMC, said the automaker has received more than 65,000 combined orders for the current electric truck and upcoming SUV. What's more, the number of customers converting reservations into orders is humming along at 95%, which is also higher than the company projected. "Production’s actually slightly ahead of plan and weÂ’re putting things in place now to actually expedite that as well, so we can deliver these reservations quicker than we originally thought," Aldred said, adding that new orders placed today probably won't result in a delivered vehicle until 2024. "WeÂ’re doing all the studies on that and weÂ’re confident we can go a lot quicker than we originally thought," Aldred said, "But it still means a reservation now probably means delivering in Â’24." The version of the Hummer pickup that's currently being built is the highest-spec Edition 1 model. That truck ran at least $110,295, but since it's already sold out, new customers will be looking at Hummer EV 3X that starts right around the $100,000 mark before any optional equipment is added (and assuming you can find a dealer that won't try to jack up the price). At some unspecified point in the next year or so, GMC will start building a lower-cost Hummer 2X for $89,995. A year or so later, the  $79,995 Hummer EV 2 will make its debut. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GMC Hummer EV could have had the Chevrolet Avalanche's Midgate

One of the many rumors swirling around the GMC Hummer EV claimed the truck would resurrect the Midgate inaugurated by the original Chevrolet Avalanche. Although we now know there's no way to fully knock down the partition between the cab and the cargo box, the firm revealed the rumor wasn't entirely false. "There was [a Midgate] early on. We opted for the functionality of the drop glass in the back. With the package layout and things like that, it was not advantageous to pursue that one. And, the five-foot bed was kind of the industry standard in regards to price of entry in that segment," explained John Mack, the Hummer's exterior design management, during an interview with Muscle Car & Trucks. The Hummer will go on sale with a five-foot box, and it doesn't sound like a longer bed will be available, so a modern version of the Midgate would have made the model more versatile by giving users the ability to fold down the partition behind the rear seats to carry bulky items, like plywood and ATVs. It's a feature that would have inevitably made the truck more complicated to build, however, because it adds moving parts that need to be sealed. Hinges, seals, and latches in turn add weight, and complexity almost always invites high manufacturing costs. As an electric pickup built with newly-developed components, the Hummer already has enough of each. Motorists who need to carry something that's significantly longer than the cargo box aren't entirely out of luck. As Mack pointed out, the rear window drops into the partition, so owners will have the ability to haul surfboards, lumber, or anything else that's relatively long and reasonably thin by simply pushing a switch. Alternatively, the only thing limiting cargo space when the roof comes off is the sky — or, depending on where you live, bridges. Mack didn't reveal when the Midgate was dropped. GMC launched the Hummer project in April 2019, and it previously released early design sketches that show how the truck transitioned from a sketch to a prototype. As of writing, nothing suggests the Midgate will make a comeback in the near future on any member of the General Motors portfolio. It was introduced in 2001 on the first-generation Chevrolet Avalanche, which went on sale in the United States for the 2002 model year. It later spread to Cadillac's luxed-up variant of the truck, the Escalade EXT, and to the short-lived GMC Envoy XUV.