GMC Celebrates Diesel—The Man & the Engine

Rudolf Diesel received a patent for the compression-ignition engine that bears his name on this day back in 1898. To celebrate that, GMC took this picture

which goes to the point that it offers its Canyon midsize, Sierra 1500 full-size and Sierra HD heavy duty, all with diesel engines. (Which would undoubtedly make Rudolf happy.)

The Canyon has a 2.8-liter inline four that produces 186 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The Sierra 1500 has a 3.0-liter inline six that produces 277 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque. And the Sierra HD has a 6.6-liter V8 turbo diesel that produces 445 hp and 910 lb-ft of torque. According to GMC, a Sierra HD single-cab dually can tow 35,500 pounds, which is the best-in-class.

Not to be maudlin, but it may be interesting to note that Rudolf Diesel died on or around September 29, 1913, which is the day that he disappeared while on a steam ship that was traveling from Antwerp, Belgium, to Harwich, England. His body was found on October 10 of that year.

There are two schools of thought about Diesel’s death. One is that he committed suicide. The other is that he was knocked off by someone in the pay of the coal industry: the diesel engine put the coal-powered steam engine for things like trains and, well, steam ships, at a competitive disadvantage, so Diesel had to go. . .