GM Announces New US Manufacturing Investments
The largest automaker of the Detroit Big Three has announced new investments for manufacturing facilities in the United States of America. Said investments total $340 million, and they will support mostly full-size pickup trucks.
First and foremost, around $150 million is going into the Saginaw Metal Casting Operations facility to increase head casting volume for next-generation small blocks. The only gen-six engine announced to date is the LS6 of the Corvette, a 6.7-liter small block that powers the Stingray, Grand Sport, and Grand Sport X for model year 2027.
Later on, the redesigned Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will receive gen-six engines. Hearsay suggests larger displacements compared to the outgoing 5.3- and 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8s, although there is no concrete information available on the replacement of the 6.6-liter small block for heavy-duty applications.
$40 million will be invested to support Toledo Propulsion Systems capacity increases for the 10-speed automatic that GM uses in light-duty pickup trucks. Around 1,650 people work there as of May 2026, whereas Saginaw prides itself on approximately 350 employees.
The 10-speed transmission is referred to as 10L80 in General Motors vernacular. Mostly developed by Ford as part of a joint venture that also gave us the 10R series, the 10L carries over just around 80 percent of the Ford unit’s internal hardware. Despite this commonality, said transmissions clearly aren’t identical.
Manufactured in separate plants, the 10L and 10R use brand-specific parts and software. In the light-duty Silverado and Sierra, the 10L80 can take an estimated 800 Newton-meters (590 pound-feet) of twist. Its dry weight is 230 pounds (104 kilograms), and this baby drinks Dexron ULV automatic transmission fluid exclusively.
Photo: GM
A mega $300 million will be going to Romulus Propulsion Systems to further support 10-speed automatic production. Once again, the Detroit-based automaker mentions full-size pickup trucks as the primary recipients. Full-size utility vehicles also need mentioning because the Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 have many SUV-bodied siblings.
Chevrolet offers the Tahoe and long-wheelbase Suburban, whereas GMC is much obliged to sell you two versions of the Yukon. The latter applies to Cadillac’s incredibly popular Escalade as well. Going for the long-wheelbase option results in more legroom for the rearmost passengers and more cargo space behind the third-row seats.
All six utility vehicles feature 10-speed autos, whereas the Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 with the base 2.7-liter turbo inline-four engine pack an eight-speed unit. A heavier-duty version of the 10L is used in the Escalade-V, which is GM’s most powerful SUV based on the T1XX platform introduced by the Silverado 1500 in 2018.
Light-duty pickups retained the good ol’ solid live axle with leaf springs to prioritize towing durability and payload capacity. Higher trim levels feature a composite second leaf to shave off a few pounds while maintaining roll stiffness. On sport utility vehicles, multi-link rear suspension is standard.
