Over the last few weeks, we have had an influx of reader questions about the delivery status of the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Duramax diesel and the 2016 GMC Canyon Duramax diesel. An unknown quantity of the trucks has been produced at GM’s plant in Wentzville, Missouri, but the vehicles have been parked at the plant instead of being shipped to dealers.
And while Chevrolet did not respond to our calls for comment, GMC has piped in on the issue. Originally, Chevrolet and GMC stated a fall 2015 introduction date was still on track, following additional scrutiny from the EPA amidst the Volkswagen diesel scandal. But both trucks passed their emissions testing with flying colors, so why the hold up?
According to The Truth About Cars, GMC spokesperson Brian Goebe stated that the Duramax diesel trucks have been held up by a “final validation” issue of sorts. Specifics were not given at the time of the report, but Goebel did state that the already-produced trucks did not pass General Motors’ final validation standards, and said the trucks would not be released to the consumer until the diesel variants were in tip-top shape.
“We’re not going to open the gates until we know the truck is ready for consumers,” he said.
The issue reportedly is not specific to a single variant of the GMC Canyon or Chevy Colorado Duramax, but instead affects each truck. At this point in time, it seems unlikely that GM will make the fall 2015 launch, as that launch window closes in four days.
Update: according to an unconfirmed report, GM has resolved the validation issue and will soon being shipping out the trucks.
Comments
Considering the issues with the full-size SUVs, I can see why they want to take a deep breath and check one more time. Or is it a “solftware” problem?
Maybe they’re trying to figure out a way to make that low-hanging air dam removable so the Z71 can actually go off road…
At GM, we really, really don’t want a dieselgate.
😉
The air dam is easily removeable…had mine off in less than an hour…only had to cut 2 of the 12 screws.
Shocker!!
“We’re not going to open the gates until we know the truck is ready for consumers,” he said…
At least the lies are easy to spot.
I personally got sick of waiting…. I went and bought a 1/2 ton. By the time gm finally launches this thing and i can actually drive the d max it will be time to get another pickup anyhow iv been waiting well over a yer for this launch. I heard about it in 2014 now we are hot on 2016… I needed a pick up to bad gm has one less colorado sale.
So what is the price going to be on these diesels? It seems like they’re just trying to build up demand. I called a couple local dealers and they’re saying theres a lot of demand so they won’t be offering much discounts for the new diesels.
It would make sense to wait a couple years or even until next year when there will be more competition–ie nissans new frontier, a 2017 tacoma, and the honda ridgeline returning in 2017
Has anyone got a duramax diesel colorado or canyon yet?