Ford's new 4.4 litre diesel slated for their 1//2 ton trucks was seen this weekend at the Las Vegas "Dealer" Show.

Let's hope they stay with their current schedule and actually roll this out in 2010.

New Ford 4.4L diesel V-8 pops up at dealer show in Las Vegas

Posted Apr 13th 2008 4:15PM by Sam Abuelsamid

We've known for some time now that Ford would be introducing a new light duty diesel V-8 in their trucks in 2010 and the first images have now popped up on the interwebs. An attendee at a Ford dealer show in Las Vegas this week snapped some pics of the 4.4L oil burner. The engine is reportedly based on the 3.6L diesel already offered in European versions of the Land Rovers and Range Rovers. Unlike the diesels currently offered in Ford's Super Duty trucks, supplied by Navistar, the new engine is an in-house design. According to the accompanying sign, the engine will debut in the F-150 partway through the 2010 model year with availability spreading to the rest of Ford's full-size SUVs, vans and even the Super-Duty trucks. Output is expected to be about 310hp with 15 percent more torque than the 5.4L V-8 and twenty percent better fuel economy. Fifty state Tier 2 Bin 5 compliance will be achieved by urea injection.

Gallery: 2010 Ford 4.4L diesel

Autoblog posted a bit on the GM press release regarding the new 4.5 liter V-8 diesel that may be an option in many of its trucks. Its a smaller diesel that may please many light truck and SUV owners. According to the press release, the new  turbo-diesel powerplant is planned for the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra half-ton pickups, as well as the HUMMER H2. The engine is quoted to produce at least 310 horsepower and 520 ft-lbs. of torque. It features dual-overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, a variable-vane turbocharger and aluminum cylinder heads with integrated manifolding that helps keep the overall package small enough to fit in the same space as the automaker's small-block gas V8s.

PRESS RELEASE:

GM Plans First Light Duty V-8 Clean Diesel For North America

• High-efficiency V-8 scheduled for pickup trucks under 8,600 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight and HUMMER H2
• Low emissions, high performance and excellent fuel economy
• Expected to deliver class-leading torque, power and refinement
• Manufactured at the GM Powertrain Tonawanda engine plant

TONAWANDA, N.Y. – General Motors Corp. will introduce a new, state-of-the-art 4.5L V-8 Duramax turbo-diesel that improves engine fuel efficiency by 25 percent, reduces CO2 emissions by 13 percent and cuts particulates and NOx emissions by at least 90 percent for North American light duty trucks and the HUMMER H2 built after 2009.

The premium V-8 diesel is expected to deliver class-leading torque, power and refinement while maintaining a significant fuel efficiency advantage over comparable-output gasoline engines.

The new dual-overhead cam, four-valve V-8 diesel engine will fit within the same space of a small-block V-8 gasoline engine. This compact size is made possible by using integral cylinder head exhaust manifolds, integral cam cover intake manifolds and a narrow block.

"This new GM light duty diesel is expected to become a favorite among customers who require excellent towing ability and fuel efficiency," said Tom Stephens, group vice president, GM Global Powertrain and Quality. "It will meet the stringent 2010 emissions standards, and it will be compliant in all 50 states, making it one of the cleanest diesel vehicles ever produced."

Environmental benefits of the new engine include a 13-percent reduction in CO2 versus gasoline engines, and at least a 90-percent reduction in particulates and NOx compared to diesel vehicles today. This will be GM's first engine to use a selective catalytic reduction NOx aftertreatment system with a diesel particulate filter to help achieve the Tier 2 Bin 5 and LEV 2 emissions standards.

Technical highlights of the engine include aluminum cylinder heads with integrated manifolding; a variable-vane turbocharger with intercooling; a Compacted Graphite Iron (CGI) block for a stronger and lighter engine base (compared to lower-strength aluminum or heavier grey cast iron); and fracture-split main bearing caps and connecting rods for a precise fit. An electronically controlled, ultra-high-pressure, common-rail fuel system is used, which has the ability to inject fuel five times per combustion event to control noise and emissions.

"This new V-8 is not only a clean diesel meeting the toughest emissions requirements in North America, it also delivers an effortless performance feel because of its high torque across the speed range," said Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Powertrain Diesel Engineering. "It is also significantly quieter than other diesels on the road today, with noise and vibration performance approaching gasoline V-8 levels."

Freese said the new V-8's compact size enables it to fit in the envelope of a gasoline small-block engine, which provides GM the flexibility to introduce this engine in a wide variety of vehicle applications should there be future market demand.

The premium V-8 diesel engine is expected to deliver class-leading refinement, horsepower and torque and fulfill multiple vehicle applications with ratings in excess of 310 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque.

GM (Opel, Saab, Vauxhall and GMDAT ) currently offers 17 diesel engine variants in 45 vehicle lines around the world. GM sells more than one million diesel engines annually, with products that offer a range of choices from the 1.3L four-cylinder diesel engine sold in the Opel Agila and Corsa, up to the 6.6L V-8 Duramax diesel sold in full-size vans, heavy duty pickups and medium duty trucks in the U.S.

GM first introduced the Duramax diesel 6.6L V-8 in the U.S. in the 2001 model year and since then, customer enthusiasm for this heavy duty diesel has been outstanding. In fact, GM's heavy duty pickup truck market share has jumped nearly tenfold in the six years that Duramax engines have been offered.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 280,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

 We invite you to join the discussion of diesel vehicles over in the Biodiesel Vehicles section of our forums.

Cummins Announces Approval of B20 Biodiesel Blends
LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI - News) today announced the approval of biodiesel B20 blends for use in its 2002 and later emissions-compliant ISX, ISM, ISL, ISC and ISB engines. This includes the recently released 2007 products.

Cummins is able to upgrade its previous position on the use of biodiesel fuel, which limited the use to B5 blends only, up to B20 for three key reasons. First, the American Society of Testing Materials specification ASTM D6751 now includes an important stability specification for B100 biodiesel. Second, the availability of quality fuels from BQ-9000 Certified Marketers and Accredited Producers is growing rapidly; and third, Cummins has completed the necessary testing and evaluations to ensure that customers can reliably operate their equipment with confidence using B20 fuel.

We invite you to join the discussion of diesel vehicles over in the Biodiesel Vehicles section of our forums.

Below is a list of diesel pickups available this year in the US. You can post below to add to the list, or you can discuss diesel vehicles in our forums.

Chevy

• 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Large Truck
• 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD Classic Large Truck 
  
• 2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Large Truck 
  
• 2007 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 Classic Large Truck  
  

Dodge

• 2007 Dodge Ram Pickup 2500 Large Truck
• 2007 Dodge Ram Pickup 3500 Large Truck

Ford

• 2007 Ford F-250 Super Duty Large Truck
• 2007 Ford F-350 Super Duty Large Truck

GMC

• 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD Large Truck
• 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD Classic Large Truck 
  
• 2006 GMC Sierra 3500 Large Truck 
  
• 2007 GMC Sierra 3500 Classic Large Truck  
  

Manufacturers' diesel allowances are listed here.

We invite you to join the discussion of diesel vehicles over in the Biodiesel Vehicles section of our forums.