GM Relocating Five-Cylinder Engine Production Back to Plant Where 4.5-Liter Diesel Was to Be Built

The powertrain ripple effect continues at General Motors after we reported GM is indefinitely postponing its 4.5-liter Duramax V-8 light-duty diesel. Production of GM's inline-five-cylinder gas engines will return to the Tonawanda Engine Plant, near Buffalo, N.Y., after leaving the factory in 2007 to make way for the then-planned 4.5-liter diesel.

The 3.7-liter I-5 is produced for the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Hummer H3T pickups and the Hummer H3 SUV at GM's engine plant in Flint, Mich.

"The assembly line hardware is modular and can be relocated easily," GM manufacturing, labor and powertrain spokesperson Sharon Basel told PickupTrucks.com. "Five-cylinder engine production hardware is scheduled to be reinstalled at Tonawanda in the spring, with production expected to start by summer."