What was the genesis for the Duramax 6600 diesel engine, and who builds it?
Throughout the 1990s, GM scored a distant third when it came to diesel pickup sales, diesel engine power and reliability. In early 1996, GM Powertrain engineers, GM corporate executives and their counterparts from Isuzu conceptualized the design parameters and performance goals for a brand new and state-of-the-art diesel engine for use in GM’s 2500/3500-series pickup truck market. This was a well-kept secret because the GM diesel pickup community didn’t begin hearing rumors about the engine till late 1998, well after the first prototypes were undergoing tests in GMT400 (1990’s body style) trucks in the Southwest during the summer and in Fairbanks, Alaska during the winter. GM didn’t want the engine to overheat while towing heavy in the hot summer months and they wanted the engine to function as expected in frigid sub-zero temperatures. No light-truck diesel engine, before or since, had undergone such a comprehensive real-world battery of tests as the Duramax.
