GM's Flint Plant Will Build the Baby Duramax

GM has announced it will build the all-new turbo-diesel 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder at the Flint Engine Operations plant in Michigan.

During media days at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, GM revealed that the baby Duramax, as the engine is called, will be mated to the all-new 10-speed transmission co-developed with Ford. It will be one of six engine-and-transmission powertrain combinations available for new GM half-ton pickup trucks.

Although GM has not released powertrain specs or performance numbers for the baby Duramax, Executive Vice President of Global Product Development Mark Reuss did say in Detroit that the new powertrain will offer more power than anything in its class. We take that to mean somewhere less than 300 horsepower and more than 450 pounds-feet of torque.

GM's Flint plant currently produces the 1.4-liter inline-four-cylinder engine for the Chevrolet Cruze sedan Equinox SUV and Volt electric vehicle, but it is in the process of undergoing a huge upgrade.

Neither the EcoDiesel-equipped Ram 1500 or the new baby Power Stroke-equipped Ford F-150 are likely to make up more than 10 percent of their respective half-ton sales for 2018. In fact, Ford is predicting new diesel sales will be closer to 5 percent. We expect something similar with the new baby Duramax when the full powertrain lineup is available for the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 later this year.

Manufacturer images