The Chevrolet Corvette sportscar, which will debut at the North American International Auto Show in January, will also get the 5.3-litre V8, but details on that version are currently unavailable.
In the trucks, however, the all-aluminum V8 will be rated at an estimated 290 hp and 325 lb.-ft. of torque, and ''supports tow capacities comparable to the previous 5.3-liter small-block.''
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| In the trucks the all-aluminum V8 will be rated at an estimated 290 hp and 325 lb.-ft. of torque. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
Again, the DoD system would have been invisible without that little green light telling me it was working, and it had zero effect on the engine's performance. That performance was pretty good, but the extended-length SUVs that will get this engine are significantly big vehicles, so it's all relative.
It will be interesting to see how this engine motivates the Rainier, which is a regular-length SUV and therefore lighter.
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| The Chevrolet Malibu equipped with the diesel engine really hauls, with 300 lb-ft of torque at 2,000 rpm. (Photo: General Motors) |
As for the diesel engine in the new Chevrolet Malibu that we drove -- it was extremely quick beyond the early launch phase, when its prodigious torque values (about 300 lb.-ft. at about 2,000 rpm) came into play. It really hauls.
This is the latest in an ongoing effort by the car companies to get North Americans interested in diesel engines, which have so far had little success.