Duramax 4500…aka a 4.5L

What does a small diesel mean for GM?  Well I can see the 1/2 ton getting it, that is a given.  But what about the H3?  Colorado? Canyon?   

This would make it a nice contender in the Mid-size truck market…kinda. 

I had looked at a Coly and I could not justify paying the same for a used mid-sized truck as I could get a full size for…

 Oh well…I love my 5.3l!

 ThirdCoast 

 

Taken from Autobloggreen.com

 Details of GM’s new 4.5L DuraMax diesel V-8

“At the General Motors Powertrain Technology show, ABG learned more about the upcoming 2009 Duramax 4500 diesel V-8. GM made some unusual design choices in order to improve the efficiency and get the engine to fit in the same package size as the traditional small block V-8.

GM started off by choosing a 72 degree bank angle rather than the typical ninety degrees making the engine narrower. Most V-8 engines traditionally have had the intake manifold in the V between the cylinder banks with the exhaust manifolds on the outside of the heads. The new Duramax places the exhaust manifold in the valley along with the turbocharger.

Continue reading about the new Duramax 4500 after the jump.
Placing the exhaust and turbo in the V allows for very short exhaust runs and minimal heat lost from the exhaust gases. That means more of the energy in the hot exhaust can be used to spin the turbo and the response is quick. The intakes are on top of the cylinder heads directly over the intake valves. The outer sides of the cylinder heads are devoid any appendages which allows for easy assembly line installation.

Downstream of the turbocharger comes all the hardware to make the new engine fifty-state legal and Tier 2 Bin 5-compliant. A diesel particulate filter cleans up the soot while excess nitrogen oxides are addressed by a urea injection system. The urea will need to be replenished periodically, but it should last longer than the oil change interval.

Overall, the Duramax 4500 should provide a great, fuel-efficient option for the light duty trucks while improving towing capability. The possibility of installing the new engine in passenger car applications certainly exists thanks to the packaging, but whether it happens will depend in part on how well other new diesels are accepted in the market in the next couple of years. “

What? Ute to come but not as a Chevy??? Come on…

What is Chevy thinking???  The Car/Truck must be a El Camino…

JoeT & MonaroSS
25 August 2007
www.gminsidenews.com

Hope’s of a new generation El Camino appear to be dead, according to Bob Lutz.

GM’s Vice Chairman of Product Development and Chairman of GM North America broke the news in an email response to GMInsideNews member MonaroSS.

MonaroSS, a photoshop enthusiast, produced a picture of what he thinks a Chevrolet El Camino badged Holden Ute could look like and sent it by e-mail to Mr Lutz with the comment “Hope the new Ute gets a more Chevy look if it goes Stateside.”

Mr Lutz, a well known fan of all things Holden, responded by saying “Well, that’s what we want to do, but it won’t be a Chevrolet!”

This comes just three days after the unveiling of the all-new Holden Ute (Click here to see more). The new Ute is the third Holden product to be based on GM’s Zeta/VE platform after the release of the new Holden Commodore and Statesman/Caprice range late last year.

There has been speculation that the Holden Ute would be exported to North America as a revived Chevrolet El Camino for some years. Like the Holden Ute, which has been in production since 1951, the Coupe-Utility El Camino was produced for the North American market for just under 30 years from 1959.

Speculation will now turn to which other GM brands the Holden Ute may be badged under in the US.

Pontiac, the brand that sold the last generation Holden Monaro Coupe in the US as the legendary GTO, and truck brand GMC would have to be the frontrunners.

MonaroSS broke the news in March this year that despite strong rumors Holden was not producing a V12 for a super-luxury Cadillac supercar after similar e-mail correspondence with Mr Lutz

Sorry for no posting in a few days…

Had a wisdon tooth removed so been down this past weekend….

L8R,

ThirdCoast

Mid-engine Vette?!?!?!

A Vette that will have Lamborghini and Ferrari worried?

Well the idea of a mid-engine Corvette is not new and has been sought after by many enthusiasts for a long time.  And GM actually had began with some prototype vehicles in the the late 50’s. 

These were under the name of Chevrolet Experimental Racing Vehicle or CERV.  These went through the 90’s with the CERV I through the CERV IV.

Should be interesting, and so is the story below…

 L8R,

ThirdCoast

This story is posted with the the website’s permission…

RANTS by Peter M. De Lorenzo

AN AUTOEXTREMIST EXCLUSIVE: The Mid-Engined Corvette is not only back on the front burner – it looks to be a certainty.©2007 Autoextremist.com

Detroit. It was already supposed to be a done deal that the seventh generation of the Corvette would arrive in its current, front-engined, rear-wheel-drive configuration – albeit slightly smaller, lighter and with two engine choices. There was serious talk of an extremely limited production mid-engined “super” Corvette (fewer than 500 units), which would be built as an adjunct program to the traditional car, but that had not been decided. That’s the way we reported it many weeks ago, and that was the assumption by many in the business as to how it was going to go down – until now. But after my conversations late last week with executives at the top of the company (who shall remain nameless for obvious reasons), I can tell you that the “idea” of a mid-engined “C7” Corvette has not only progressed far beyond the initial planning stages, the engineering on the car is well underway.

What brought on this monumental philosophical shift? Read on…

1. Cost.Up until this point, the argument that the Corvette’s fundamental high-performance-for-the-money equation – one that has been a hallmark of the car since Zora Arkus-Duntov took over the program in the mid-50s – would be compromised with a mid-engined car has held sway over every future Corvette product discussion/decision. That’s no longer the case, apparently. The two key stumbling blocks for a mid-engined Corvette that have always put a damper on previous discussions were the sophisticated, complex and highly expensive transaxle required, and the extremely difficult cooling challenges. The transaxle in particular has a heavy cost-per-piece price that cannot be subjected to shortcuts due to the engineering requirements necessary to accommodate the high horsepower output of a proper Corvette.

GM has found a way to solve these issues while still maintaining the Corvette’s fundamental value proposition and while still delivering the kind of high performance expected of a car that wears the famed Corvette name. I have it on impeccable authority that as a result of the intensive engineering push on the C7 in the last five weeks, the new car will have a target base price that’s very close to a loaded Corvette convertible of today, a number that will keep the future mid-engined Corvette well within reach of its core buyers at current volume levels. This would also obviously allow the Corvette to remain true to its raison d’etre – and continue to outperform cars costing thousands upon thousands more.

Judging by the digital images I have seen, the new mid-engined Corvette is sensational looking, which, given GM Design’s roll of late, certainly shouldn’t be a surprise. Futuristic, purposeful and bristling with exquisite “signature” Corvette design elements – with no “blades” and no bullshit gimmicks – the new Corvette is everything the Corvette faithful could hope for. But an interesting sidebar? Judging by the reactions of people I have spoken to who have seen it, the Cadillac XLR variant of the mid-engined car is drop-dead gorgeous too.

2. The Technological Imperative. There has always been a passionate group of True Believers within General Motors, Chevrolet and GM Racing that wanted to push the Corvette envelope further and aggressively present and promote the sports car as a technological showcase for the entire corporation. This group has always believed that GM has squandered the success of the Corvette – not only failing to use the power of the Corvette brand in corporate image advertising but failing to let the car’s significant achievements in racing in recent years speak forcefully on behalf of the corporation in terms of technical ability. This is a belief I share, by the way, because in an era when GM – and the rest of Detroit – is literally and figuratively on the ropes and has become the favorite punching bag of the anti-car, anti-Detroit “intelligentsia” (and I use that term derisively) in the media and in Washington, here is a car that not only humbles cars costing thousands more on the street, it regularly competes and wins against the best that the competition has to offer on racetracks around the world. And its success goes largely unnoticed and unappreciated both within and outside the corporation.

The mid-engined configuration will not only propel the Corvette to the next level in terms of performance – giving cars such as the new Audi A8 and any future Porsche 911 fits, by the way (not to mention making Ferrari and Lamborghini very uncomfortable) – it will finally be able to assume the role as a global technological showcase for the corporation, something that it couldn’t quite accomplish as long as it was hamstrung with its traditional front-engined configuration, even though the current Z06 already humbles some of the world’s most expensive exotic sports cars.

Rick Wagoner got up in front of the media at the L.A. Auto Show last November and touted that GM was going to become a technological leader. But being a technological leader is about much more than producing plug-in electric cars – it’s about demonstrating passion for the product and in your products – and the willingness to put your technological stake in the ground on all fronts. A mid-engined Corvette will help deliver Wagoner’s positioning in spades.

3. The Competitive Imperative.Right now, GM’s Corvette Racing program exists for one simple reason: to win the premier GT1 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans – the world’s greatest sports car race – every year. Everything else Corvette Racing does revolves around that single quest, which is why they find themselves running without competition in the American Le Mans Series this year. The ALMS’ connection to the world’s most prestigious sports car race requires that Corvette Racing wins over here in the GT1 class first, even though no worthy competitor (other than the occasional Prodrive Aston Martin effort) runs consistently against the Corvette in the series, which makes for some less-than-ideal “We beat ourselves – again” headlines.

But a mid-engined production Corvette changes everything.

Remember the first scenario that I mentioned? That the next-generation Corvette would be in its current front-engined configuration with the possibility of a ultra-limited-production mid-engined “super” variant? The decision to go with a mid-engined configuration for the Corvette alters the landscape significantly. First of all, it eliminates the expense of developing (and paying for) two separate cars, which was something that the GM brass was not jumping up and down with joy about, understandably.

Secondly, it allows GM and Corvette Racing to do something that is long, long overdue, and that is to become the second American automobile manufacturer to go for the overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans – something that hasn’t been achieved since the glory days of Ford’s four-year winning onslaught in the 60s – some 40 years ago.

As you read this, GM’s senior brain trust is contemplating every facet of this mid-engined scenario down to the last detail for the seventh-generation Corvette. The facts of the matter are hard to deny: The technical issues are on the way to being solved, the classic Corvette high-performance value proposition would remain intact, and GM’s drive to establish itself as a global technological leader would be enhanced and embellished, especially with a mid-engined Corvette Racing prototype going for the overall victory at Le Mans.

I strongly believe that Corvette’s True Believers out there – some of whom have been wishing and hoping for a mid-engined Corvette since the early 70s – are finally going to have their prayers answered – and very, very soon.

The word from inside sources intimately familiar with the next-generation Corvette is that a final “go” decision for the mid-engined C7 will be made by the first week in September, and given everything I’ve learned and everything I’ve pieced together on the timing, I’ll bet the farm right now that the next-generation mid-engined Corvette will make its debut – on the street and at Le Mans – in 2010.

Thanks for listening, see you next Wednesday.

GM Pleeeeeeeeeeease bring this to the US…please…with cherries on top…

I have drooooled over this on the Holden Website and the new one only looks better.

I think this could be a great time for GM to re badge this as the El Camino.  But if it was me i would NOT…NOT NOT NOT…not…change the front end like they did on the GTO.  If you look at the Goat’s Aussie cousin, in my humble opinion, it looks better. 

IF this came to the US I would get one, looks cool, fast, and I can pick up plywood from Lowes…

 L8R,

ThirdCoast

Here is the press release…

Holden’s All New VE Ute Raises The BarGM Holden Limited
22 August 2007
www.holden.com.au

Sets new standards in performance, safety, comfort and flexibility.

GM Holden today unveiled its all new VE Ute range – the latest iconic model in a line-up that spans almost 60 years of Australian motoring.

VE Ute is Holden’s first completely new ute design since the VU series in 2000. It offers more features, more useable interior space, greater storage flexibility and more performance than any of its predecessors.

Holden invested an extra $105 million on top of its $1 billion VE Commodore sedan program and carried out more than 650,000kms of reliability testing on the new VE Ute.

Launching the new range in Melbourne today, GM Holden Chairman and Managing Director Chris Gubbey said almost 60 years of history had established the Holden Ute as a true Australian icon.

“The ute’s development tells the story of Australia. Today’s ute is about working hard, playing hard and enjoying an active lifestyle,” Mr Gubbey said.

“VE Ute raises the bar in this segment and sets new standards in safety, comfort, flexibility and performance, and all at the great value price you’d expect from Holden.”

Holden’s world-class design and engineering expertise has created a vehicle that successfully integrates sports car performance, ride and handling and workhorse practicality.

Sharing the same genetic make-up as the multi-award winning VE Commodore sedan, the all new VE Ute was designed, engineered and built in Australia.

It will be the first locally produced ute to offer the acclaimed Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) crash avoidance safety technology standard across the range. High levels of safety carry through to the vehicle’s structure which incorporates the same high-strength steels introduced in VE sedan.

VE Ute’s interior offers increased cabin comfort and significantly increased storage space. The tray has a new cargo liner fitted as standard.

Performance is stepped up and there are wider wheel and tyre combinations across all models. A new-to-the-range SS V model marries 270kW of V8 power with high-level features.

These include 19-inch wheels, dual zone electronic climate control, Bluetooth phone connectivity, alloy pedals and a premium audio system, setting a new standard in the ute segment.

Introduced in July 2006, Holden’s VE range has won a host of accolades including Wheels Car of the Year, News Ltd’s Car Of The Year, MOTOR’s Bang For Your Bucks and Drive.com People’s Choice Award.

Design Overview

Holden designers captured the dual role of today’s ute as a practical workhorse with recreational sports car credentials. A priority was to create more practical cabin space and storage flexibility.

Like its sedan sibling, VE Ute has authoritative stance and poise. The signature raked bodyside and distinctive flared wheel arches feature prominently.

The silhouette features a coupe-like integrated roof-line and retains the classic Holden Ute proportional trait with the tray perfectly balanced above the rear wheels.

The clean presentation is aided by the use of a single piece body side outer which runs from the A pillar to the tailgate. The new one-piece side structure delivers significant quality improvements through dimensional stability and repeatability.

There are unique wrap-around tail lamps and tailgate hinges are now fully concealed. Dual and quad exhaust systems enhance the VE Ute’s sports car appeal.

Interior Features

VE Ute introduces several design solutions that increase interior storage space, improve rear compartment access and add more convenience features.

The cabin interior draws on the award-winning VE sedan, with individual treatments increasing buyer choice.

Specific centre stack features, mouldings, displays and illumination colours create maximum differentiation between variants.

The aggressive quality standards applied to VE sedan were also applied to ute, with critical areas such as part-to-part fit, material surfaces, storage openings and other treatments reviewed to the tiniest detail.

Rear seat access has been opened up with a quick release seat latch now standard. Storage volume behind the seats is now 245 litres, a significant increase over VZ Ute’s 90 litre space.

There are two storage compartments beneath the load floor and all models except Omega and SV6 have dual cargo nets in the rear panel. A new rear centre T-panel provides a striking visual element.

Exterior Features

While the new ute takes many of its design and styling cues from the successful VE sedan, its body structure has more than 60 unique panels.

The rear structure has been significantly reinforced to accommodate the load-carrying capacity and robustness required for a light commercial vehicle.

The cargo area is more functional and versatile. A heavy duty moulded cargo liner is now standard fitment.

It helps protect the tray space and load materials from damage. Floor corrugations allow water run-off and easy cleaning.

The flush-fitting soft tonneau cover (all models except Omega) features Holden’s unique ‘snap lock’ clipping system. The six cargo tie-down hooks have been redesigned for improved functionality.

Safety Technology

VE Ute incorporates more standard safety features than its predecessor and benefits from the largest crash modelling program Holden has undertaken.

The focus was on crash avoidance and providing optimum occupant protection should a crash occur.

Safety technologies were benchmarked against the world’s leading brands and major engineering programs delivered a stiffer body structure and significantly increased usage of advanced strength steels. Seventy seven per cent of VE Ute’s structure is advanced strength steel.

Load path strategies established for VE sedan have been adapted for VE Ute with a focus on side and rear impact. Structurally optimised crush zones help absorb crash energy.

VE is the first locally produced ute equipped with the acclaimed Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) safety technology standard across the range. This integrates traction control, anti-lock braking systems, electronic brake assist and electronic brakeforce distribution to help prevent skidding in critical driving situations by applying corrective braking to different wheels and reducing engine torque.

New dual-stage driver and passenger front airbags, which inflate in two stages according to impact severity and respective seating positions, further enhance occupant safety.

Other protection features include a steering column ride-down mechanism and breakaway brake pedal.

Performance

The new VE Ute is all about performance, whether as a day-to-day commercial workhorse or a two-door sports car in its own right.

The Omega Ute offers a four-speed automatic transmission paired with Holden’s locally built 3.6 litre V6 Alloytec engine, delivering 180kW of peak power and 330Nm of peak torque.

The six-speed manual Omega has the more powerful High Output V6 Alloytec, delivering peak power of 195kW and peak torque of 340Nm, with dual exhausts added.

SV6 utilises the same combination of High Output V6 engine, six-speed manual transmission and dual exhausts but adds sports suspension. Five-speed automatic transmission with Active Select is optional.

The SS and new high-end SS V Ute models are powered by Holden’s 6.0 litre Gen IV V8, which delivers 270kW of peak power and 530Nm of peak torque. It is matched to a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission with Active Select.

Wheel and tyre packages are larger across the range. The entry level Omega ute moves from 15-inch to 16-inch steel wheels. At the performance end, SV6 and SS utes move from 17-inch to 18-inch alloys as standard and the new SS V boasts 19-inch alloy wheels.

Quad exhausts add to the performance package on SS and SS V models.

Ride and handling

Holden’s chassis engineers have translated the luxury smoothness, great linear handling and steering feel of VE sedan into the ute driving experience.

At the same time, they have maintained the ride comfort characteristics and sporting appeal of the successful VZ Ute. The result is a balance between passenger car comfort, sporty handling and the practical requirements of a load-bearing commercial vehicle.

Rear suspension was a primary focus for change and the new ute delivers even greater lateral grip and linear response during cornering. VE Ute also benefits from larger fade resistant brakes and larger wheel and tyre packages.

Further Feature Highlights

All-new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system – 20 fan speeds
High quality instrument clusters with larger dials and displays, night mode dash illumination, 16 personalisation options, multifunction driver display
All models satellite navigation and telematics capable
Blaupunkt audio systems
Six disc CD player (SS and SS V)
Sports-contoured seats (SS and SS V)
Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity
Euro-style flat blade wipers
Locking fuel filler door
One touch lane change indicator
LED high-mounted stop lamp (SS and SS V)
Dual zone electronic climate control (SS V)
Projector headlamps (SS V)
Alloy faced pedals (SS V)

Accessories include:

Super Box
Hard tonneau cover
Cargo tie-down rails
Sports bar
Ladder and roof rack
Sports decal kit
Interior luggage organiser

Colour selection

A varied and expressive colour palette emphasises ute’s sports persona. Three exciting new colours – Atomic, Crunch and K-Pow – are included in a total of nine exterior colour choices.

Available on all models

Heron White – solid white
Phantom – metallic black with silver highlights
Redhot – highly chromatic solid red metallic
Nickel – mechanical dark silver with coarse metallic highlight
*K-Pow – highly chromatic metallic blue with purple undertones
Additional colours available on SV6, SS and SSV

Ignition – chromatic red orange metallic with fine mica gold highlight
*Atomic – metallic green, bright and packed with chroma
*Crunch – a green-biased metallic yellow
Morpheous – purple metallic
* denotes new colours

Holden VE Ute Range:

Omega (new) – 3.6L V6, peak power 180kW, peak torque 330Nm, four-speed automatic and 3.6L V6 195kW peak torque 340Nm six-speed manual;
SV6 – 3.6L V6 195kW peak torque 340Nm five-speed automatic and six-speed manual;
SS – 6.0L V8 270kW, peak torque 530Nm six-speed automatic and six-speed manual;
SS V (new) – 6.0L V8 270kW, peak torque 530Nm six-speed automatic and six-speed manual;

Fuel Economy (based on ADR 81/01)

NB – Figures based on pre-production vehicles

Omega (auto) 11.3 L/km
Omega (manual) 11.4 L/km
SV6 (auto) 11.6 L/km
SV6 (manual) 11.4 L/km
SS & SS V (auto) 14.0 L/km
SS & SS V (manual) 14.5 L/km

Recommended Retail Pricing

(Excluding delivery and government charges)

Omega (6-speed manual)
V6
$30,990 with air conditioning

Omega (4-speed automatic)
V6
$30,990 with air conditioning

SV6 (6-speed manual)
V6
$35,990

SV6 (5-speed automatic)
V6
$36,990

SS (6-speed manual)
V8
$39,990

SS (6-speed automatic)
V8
$41,990

SS V (6-speed manual)
V8
$44,990

SS V (6-speed automatic)
V8
$46,990

Leather smart pack (SV6 and SS)
$1,250

On Sale:

October 2007

New RWD Impy?

There was a rumor that the new Impala was going to be a bigger impact for GM than the new Camaro.

“General Motors released an image of Bob Lutz, Rick Wagoner, and Fritz Henderson standing in front of a clay model of the 2009 Chevrolet Camaro. The photo was taken in GM’s rear-wheel drive design studio in Warren, Michigan.”

 

Above is the picture, and to the right of Henderson’s head is a poster on the wall, here is a close up…

 Its hard to tell.

 L8R,

ThirdCoast

I like a Lumina?!?!?!

Wow, never in my life would I think that those workd would come from my mouth.  But after seeing this pic I had to take a closer look.

There is lots of chat on what this is and will be.  New Impala? Pontiac G8?  Only time will tell….

L8R,

 ThirdCoast

First post…

Zero to sixty is a blog about cars, trucks, and other automotive news.  I will try to update this at least weekly, but I’m sorry if I miss a week here or there.

I am a Chevy guy so you Ford guys might not see to many stories for you, but you never know.

A little about me:

I am a 26 year old male in a small subrurb of a large city.  I work in Safety for a enironmental engineering firm.  I’m married with no kids.

Now on to my automotive history.

My first car was a hand-me-down.  A 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme International Coupe.  Red and Grey with four buckets.  It died with 189k on the clock…I miss her.

My next ride was a 1986 Regular Cab Silverado with a 305 and an auto tranny…we did not get along.  At first we did well, she ran well she looked good, all was nice.  When i sold her she had been hit 3 time while parked, been through 2 trannies, and barely had enough compression to get up on the trailer when we sold her…i do not miss her.

My next ride was  2000 Chevy S-10 regular cab with a HUGE 2.2 liter four banger with a 5 speed.  It was like driving a go-cart.  I put a 3/3 drop on her some 17s and was happy, but when the 2200 gets close to 100k on the clock you tend to get worried, so off she went to CarMax for something a bit bigger.

I bought a 2002 S-10 2 door Blazer with the 4.3l auto.  I still own her, for now.  My wife drives her in repleacement of her last car, a Daewoo aka The ‘Woo.  The Blazer went lots of places with me.

I now drive a 2003 Chevy Silverado Ext. Cab, 5.3l, 20s, system, towing package, the works.  I love it.

So there is my automotive history.  It will change over the course of my life, but unless GM falls of the face of the Earth, I doubt I will be driving another brand anytime soon.

 L8R,

ThirdCoast