This GM Plant Isn't Unhappy

General Motors’ Spring Hill, Tennessee assembly complex has reason not to worry about the automaker’s current round of cost-cutting and plant mothballing. There’s not a car in sight.

On Thursday, the General forked over another $22 million to facilitate production of a thriftier version of its revered 6.2-liter V8 truck engine, which brings total investment in Spring Hill to over $2 billion this decade alone.

Spring Hill added 6.2-liter V8s to its propulsion mix back in 2016, but this version of the mill adds Dynamic Fuel Management for increased fuel economy. Destined for GM’s Silverado/Sierra twins and full-size SUVs, the engine shuts off cylinders in 17 different patterns, depending on engine speed and load. Under certain conditions, said trucks can make headway on the strength of one cylinder.

DFM joins the automaker’s tech grab bag for 2019; 5.3-liter V8s see it, as well. If you’re curious about DFM’s method of operation, GM explains it here:

An electromechanical system deactivates and reactivates all 16 of the engine’s hydraulic valve lifters, controlling valve actuation. The system uses solenoids to deliver oil pressure to control ports in the lifters, which activate and deactivate the lifters’ latching mechanisms. When a cylinder is deactivated, the two-piece lifters effectively collapse on themselves to prevent them from opening the valves. When the cylinder is reactivated, solenoids send an oil pressure signal to the control ports on the lifters and the latching mechanism restores normal function, allowing the valves to open and close.

Vehicles rolling out of Spring Hill, once home to the Saturn lineup, include the GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5, but 2019 brings a new occupant. Funded by a $300 million cash dump, Cadillac’s edgy-in-the-front, bland-as-hell-in-the-back XT6 crossover goes into production later this year, filling a glaring gap in the brand’s lineup. That vehicle should add a further 200 jobs to the plant, which currently employs about 3,800 workers.

Is there a better recipe for job security than big truck engines and midsize crossovers?

While it’s high times at Spring Hill, other North American plants can’t say the same. Late last year, the automaker announced it would cut off the flow of product heading to Detroit-Hamtramck, Lordstown, and Canada’s Oshawa Assembly. Two transmission facilities in Michigan and Maryland also stand to close in 2019.

Oshawa’s closure looks like a done deal, but the fate of the company’s Detroit and Ohio facilities hinge on UAW contract negotiations taking place this summer.

[Images: General Motors]