Yesterday we brought you the news of GM’s new pickups, the Silverado and Sierra. An all-new set of three EcoTec3 engines power the new pickups. A 4.3-liter V6, 5.3-liter V8 and 6.2-liter V8 are the available choices.
All three engines now feature direct injection, cylinder deactivation and continuously variable valve timing. These new technologies should all bump power and torque while upping the fuel economy. Always a win-win, but especially important in the truck market. In a bit of competition bashing Jordan Lee, Small Block chief engineer and program manager said that the new engines “are 100 percent truck – specifically designed for the way customers use trucks in the real world.” This is of course a bash on competitors like Dodge who are using engines that were designed for car use.
No power of fuel economy ratings are available, but GM promises that numbers will be better all around. By that logic, expect to see top-end horsepower figures higher than 404 hp and at least one model with a 22 mpg or higher highway rating.
As an extra feather in their cap, GM states that the investment in these new engines will “create or retain” more than 1,600 jobs in North American plants.
