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Chevrolet confirmed during the Detroit Auto Show that the all-new 2019 Silverado 1500 pickup truck will be available with a diesel engine, something we haven’t seen in a full-size Chevy pickup since the mid-1990s when it was still called the C/K. While we’re still waiting on specifications such as horsepower, torque, and mpg ratings, the one detail we do know is where the new engine will be built: Michigan.
The 3.0-liter diesel is an all-new GM design and it will be built at the General Motors engine plant in Flint. It will be mated to the 10-speed automatic transmission co-developed with Ford which is currently available in a growing number of vehicles such as the Chevy Camaro ZL1, GMC Yukon Denali, and Ford F-150. Production of the new diesel engine will begin in late 2018 or late 2019 according to Automotive News and we aren’t sure yet how many jobs it will create.
Speculation says the diesel-powered Silverado 1500 could match or beat the targeted 30 mpg highway rating of the 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel coming to the Ford F-150 which will have the exact same transmission as the diesel Silverado. That efficient 10-speed transmission combined with 450 pounds of weight savings from the current-generation Silverado should make for a very efficient truck.
There’s no word yet on a new GMC Sierra 1500, which has long been a mechanical twin of the Chevy Silverado. We wouldn’t be surprised to hear news about a new Sierra with the same Duramax diesel option sometime soon.
Now all General Motors needs to do is not cheat on diesel emissions like seemingly everyone else in the business.
