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GM diesel pickups first to undergo extra EPA, CARB testing

The effects of Volkswagen's long-running diesel emissions evasion are starting to spill over to other automakers, but General Motors is taking things in stride. The 2.8-liter, four-cylinder Duramax in the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon is the first engine to get extra scrutiny by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, Automotive News reports. Rather than just the usual in-lab test, it's also being checked on the road. However, the extra evaluation shouldn't have any impact on when the trucks with his mill hit dealers later this fall. "We're in our final stages of the EPA certification, and our launch is on track," Chevy spokesperson Otie McKinley tells Autoblog. The four-cylinder diesel in the trucks makes 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and the automaker is touting low NOx production. In the announcement for the Colorado's specs, the company calls it "the cleanest diesel truck engine ever produced by General Motors." The tech includes exhaust gas recirculation to lower combustion temperatures and improve emissions. There's also a urea tank like on the bigger diesels for full-size trucks, and it gets refilled in time with oil changes. An indication on the instrument panel lets drivers know when that's needed, too. Even with the more demanding testing, the company doesn't seem too worried about the four-cylinder passing. "Part of our development process is on-road and off-road [laboratory] testing," Scott Yackley, Chevy Trucks assistant chief engineer, said to Automotive News. In the wake of the VW scandal, the EPA has pledged more rigorous testing. Before, on-road emissions evaluations were largely limited to heavy-duty vehicles, but the agency has decided to apply the checks more often to other models. There's also now greater cooperation with Canadian authorities.

GM pushing back on proposed pickup and SUV brake recall [w/poll]

Through the first six months of 2014, General Motors has recalled 29 million cars and trucks in 54 different actions. If your author's notoriously sketchy math is correct, that'd work out to one recall every 3.5 days (as of this writing). GM is actively fighting to make sure there isn't a 55th recall, though.
Safety critics, including perennial nemesis Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety, are calling on GM to recall a further six million pickup trucks and SUVs in northerly climes due to corroding brake lines caused by the use of road salt. There is a catch, here, though ­- the vehicles in question are over 10 years old, and include the 1999 to 2003 Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban and GMC Sierra, as well as the 2000 to 2003 Tahoe and Yukon (shown above).
GM issued the following statement on the matter, obtained by CNN Money:

An unofficial 750-hp AWD GMC Syclone is on the way

From the makers of the 1,000-horsepower modern-day Yenko Chevy Camaro comes a 750-horsepower modern reimagination of the GMC Syclone. Following the release of the 455-horsepower Canyon-turned-Syclone from 2019, Specialty Vehicle Engineering (SVE) announced this week it will build a 2021 Canyon Syclone with supercharged V8 engine.  In the early '90s, GMC produced a all-wheel-drive performance version of its Sonoma pickup truck called the Syclone. It had a turbocharged and intercooled 4.3-liter V6 that made 280 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. GMC has withheld from producing a new version of the legendary pickup for the current era, so aftermarket company SVE took the torch and threw it in a gasoline-soaked bonfire.  SVE upped the ante when it released last year's "new" Canyon-based Syclone with a supercharged V6 that made 455 horsepower. In the year that has since passed, SVE decided to go beyond the heritage of the V6 powerplant and replace it with a supercharged V8. The new engine will give the 2021 Syclone, again based on the Canyon, a whopping 750 horsepower. The 2021 model will also have all-wheel drive like the original.  That's all the information the teaser provides, but an accompanying video previews what the truck will sound like. Based on the short clip, the exhaust will have a hearty bark to match its beefy heart. Check out the videos below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.