GM said they crushed them all. One ended up in Sweden episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 17, 2026 · 29 MIN

GM said they crushed them all. One ended up in Sweden

from The Drivecast · host The Drive

Almost two decades ago General Motors almost changed pickup truck history, and would've changed the entire market. A new, smaller, Baby Duramax turbodiesel V8 was set to launch and reset the bar for torque, fuel economy, and technology in the half-ton market. The engine was done, but the entire thing was scrapped with the crash of 2008 when GM filed bankruptcy. The automaker claimed all the prototypes were crushed, but at lest one escaped into the wild. So today, we dig into the history books and dissect the story of the unreleased Baby Duramax and a prototype surfacing in the real world. Stories mentioned in today's episode: The Recession Killed GM’s 4.5L Duramax V8, But One Escaped the Factory I Found the Canceled 4.5L Duramax V8 Prototypes, Then They Disappeared We Found GM’s Lost Duramax V8 Prototype That Could’ve Reinvented Modern Trucks 00:00 Intro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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GM said they crushed them all. One ended up in Sweden

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