GM to Manufacture Ecotec Engines in Tennessee

The speculation about the place where American manufacturer GM will be building the next generation Ecotec engines continues, with the latest such rumor placing the next Ecotec production hub in Spring Hill, Tennessee, the place where up until recently Saturn vehicles were assembled.

The news has not yet been confirmed by GM but, according to Freep, an official announcement about the production facility will be made this Friday.

Rumor about the reopening of the Spring Hill facility has been around since January, when GM’s North American president Mark Reuss said the plant in question has the biggest chances of being reopened.

Production of these powertrains will not however be limited to the Spring Hill plant. The first facility to begin manufacturing them will be the one in Tonawanda, in 2012, followed by Spring Hill one year later.

The American carmaker already announced it will pump $20 million in its Bay City Powertrain facility, where the camshafts for the next generation Ecotec engines will be produced.

"GM is transforming its product portfolio to reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and the next generation Ecotec engine is an integral part of that transformation," Denise Johnson, GM's vice president of labor relations said when the Bay City investment was announced.

"The investment in state-of-the-art, four-cylinder engines is another example of GM's commitment to replace larger-displacement engines with more compact, advanced four-cylinder engines that optimize fuel savings and performance."

GM’s Ecotec engines are four-cylinder units used in vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Equinox, the Buick LaCrosse, the Regal and the GMC Terrain. The engines use technologies like direct injection, variable valve timing and turbocharging.