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GM Idles Duramax for Four Months

American manufacturer GM announced it has decided to pause production of the Duramax diesel engine, making room for fears that inventory of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will get dangerously low.

The four month break is caused by the phasing out of the current generation Duramax engine this December. The 2010 version of the engine, built to meet the new emission rules set to come into effect on January 1, is not due to enter production until April. During the break, the Moraine, Ohio facility will be retooled to accommodate the production of the new version of the 6.6l V8. Cost of the retooling stands at $70 million.

According to Autonews, the new Duramax will feature a system to inject urea into the exhaust periodically, to reduce NOx emissions. The unit will also have a warning system for drivers, telling them when to refill the urea tank.

Dealers on the other hand are worried than until the new engine gets here, their inventories will shrink for the two successful models. This despite the fact that GM's Powertrain spokesman Tom Read stated that they will build up inventory this fall.

We've been communicating with dealers, and we feel very comfortable we can meet their needs,” GMC spokeswoman Dayna Hart told the source.

GM had, on September 1, a 60-day supply of Silverado and 71 day-supply of Sierra. It is unclear how many of them are diesels and how many petrol powered. Chevrolet spokesman Brian Goebel doesn't worry, as customers now turn to petrol engines anyway.

"We're having much better luck with the gasoline engine. Right now sales are running 60 percent diesel, 40 percent gas. But three years ago, it was 90 percent diesel and 10 percent gas.”
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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