Detroit Diesel started out during the Great Depression in 1939. General Motors established the GM Diesel Division, which later became the Detroit Diesel Corporation. They have been a successful company well over the years, and are still expanding and producing highly reliable heavy-duty trucks till today.

 

Detroit Diesel’s First Ever Engine, Series 71

Despite the struggles due to the Great Depression coupled with the war between Great Britain, France and Germany, the GM Diesel Division introduced their first ever series of engines, the Series 71 at this time. These engines were necessary because tanks, landing crafts, road-building equipment, and standby generators all required compact, lightweight two-cycle engines.These engines were so popular that by 1943, GM Diesel employed 4,300 people (more than 1,400 of them women). In 1943 alone, employees collectively produced 57,892 engines!

Six years later when the war ended, GM started to venture into the on-highway truck market. They knew they had to look into expansion if they wanted to grow the company. They needed to develop a powerful engine that could handle the demands of the industry. By 1955, they were successfully selling those engines to customers other than GM! With so many new and returning customers, they again needed more room to expand.

They aimed to devise a method to assist their customers if they encountered problems on the highway. As a result, GM Diesel began to focus on developing global reach with authorized distributors and dealers to provide such services. Learn more about Detroit Diesel engines specs.

 

Striving For Perfection With Series 53 Engines

The Series 53 engines, introduced in 1957, helped boost their performance. The Series 53 engines were two-, three-, and four-cylinder inline groups of engines used for ground support equipment and vehicles at airports to tow airplanes and haul baggage. The 4-cylinder Series 53N engine powered logging skidders, able to drag fallen trees, and construction backhoes. The 6V53T engine was used in military armored personnel carriers.

With the birth of a well-formed series of engines, what were they going to do with the old Series 71 engines? GM thought it could be a smart option to use the Series 71 engine group for both on-highway and off-road applications. The plan was to keep every one of the parts interchangeable so whenever new models with more horsepower were released, they could simply add more cylinders.

 

 

The Detroit Allison Division and Series 60 Engines

When GM Diesel was renamed Detroit Engine Division in 1965, they merged operations to form the Detroit Allison Division. They tripled their sales margins in just a decade and introduced the new and improved Series 60 Engines. The Series 60 engines were four-cycle heavy-duty engines that became the company's icon. It was the first engine to include standard electronic controls.

Their main objective for this engine was to keep up with the demands for cleaner, more fuel-efficient heavy-duty engines. This engine quickly became the most prominent heavy-duty diesel engine in the North American Class 8 truck market.

 

Forming The Detroit Diesel Corporation

General Motors subsequently partnered with Penske Corporation to form Detroit Diesel Corporation. This partnership gave Penske a 60% stake in the company and brought in new leadership. They increased their highway heavy-duty market share while successfully completing an initial public offering of common stock. It didn't take long for the company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "DDC."

However, Detroit Diesel Corporation understood that in order to continue expanding and growing, they had to put time and money into the resources they already had. As a result, Detroit Diesel Corporation spent $350 million to refurbish and retool its facility in 2005. With all of the new innovations, it seemed only natural to introduce another engine to the market. So, they released the DD engine platform with the DD15 engine. With this new engine, they really made a name for themselves.

Over the next few years, Detroit Diesel Corporation was recognized for its Brownfield Redevelopment efforts, received the National EPA Phoenix Award for its plant, sold one million 60 Series Engines, introduced BlueTEC Emissions Technology, and launched the final engine in its DD Series engine family. The DD13, DD15, DD15TC, and DD16 were available for all.

Detroit Diesel Corporation has evolved much over the years. They became affiliates with Daimler Trucks North America LLC (known simply as Detroit to better identify all engines and future products). DDC has also grown to become a global leader in the diesel engine industry, with over 800 authorized service outlets in North America. Detroit Diesel in Singapore, as well as around the world, remains a trusted engine supplier to all heavy-duty trucking companies today, and it continues to lead the pack.

 

 

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