Chevy/GMC Midsize Pickups Add Diesel Option

General Motors Co. confirms it will offer a 2.8-liter 4-cylinder diesel engine its 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks. The trucks will continue to offer two gasoline mills: a 2.5-liter four-banger and a 3.6-liter V-6.

The all-new Duramax diesel, which will be paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission, generates 181 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. Towing capacity for rear-wheel-drive models with the diesel is 7,700 lbs, up 10% compared with the smaller gasoline engine.

GM says the Duramax four-banger is its cleanest diesel engine ever. The carmaker expects the new diesel pickup trucks to have best-in-class U.S. fuel efficiency ratings of at least 30 mpg on the highway, which would best the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel's 29 mpg EPA rating.

A centrifugal pendulum vibration absorber (CPVA) is mounted in the torque converter to minimize noise and vibration. GM describes the device as an absorbing damper in which spring masses are energized in the opposite direction to cancel the engine's torsional vibrations. The Colorado/Canyon is the first to use the system, marking the first time in the industry a CPVA has been installed in a midsize pickup.

The new pickups also are fitted with an exhaust-brake system that automatically varies brake pressure to control vehicle speed on downhill grades without engaging the brake pads and rotors.