Mileage Still Critical . . . Even to Pickup Buyers

Well, wages aren't rising with the cost of living, so it's costing people more money to fill up, though we're seeing a slight reprieve at the moment at the pump. But I wouldn't expect that to last, and I think many people also realize that.

So it's not surprising that even truck owners would like to have better fuel efficiency, in addition to everything they want a truck to have, such as cargo capacity, power, towing and off-road capability.

Then there's also the CAFE standard which does get mentioned in the second article. The government wants automakers to make more fuel efficient vehicles, so even if people weren't buying them solely for mpg, they still have that hanging over their heads.

I think it'll be interesting to see what they do to non-hybrid/plug-in vehicles. I've been hearing a lot about regular ICE cars getting start-stop technology put into them so they shut off their engines at stop lights and signs. I also suspect more vehicles are going to have a lot more of their functions controlled electrically or electronically, such as the AC, much like the Prius does right now. And as vehicle battery technology improves, it'll make more sense to put a small but powerful battery inside some vehicles to further reduce fuel usage.

So in essence, they're slowly becoming hybrid-lites. But I believe so long as people don't have to pay significantly more, or lose a lot of what they're used to, mainly power (in the US at least) or carrying capacity, then people will be less resistant to these changes in their vehicles. And those small steps to reduce pollution as well as reliance on oil should start having more of an impact within a few decades.

Now I wonder what they're going to do about that gas tax. People are using less of it because the government told the automakers to make cars that use less gas...

 

iirc, truck manufacturers have fought for decades, to keep their land barges out of CAFE formulas - which lends itself to how over-all epa ratings keep climbing ... because the lowball numbers of trucks don't get factored in. no?
In any event, the Mitsu Outlander (sold worldwide) is on its way shortly to the U.S. and although it's not a full sized dually by any means ... it's mpg's is pretty sweet.
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If you look at the objective information in that quote it had only 14% saying fuel economy is the most important, that probably is still true with lower oil prices.

In 2016 the truck rules start changing in cafe, and finally we get completely away from any loopholes but still a rating based on footprint. Really there is good reason to give pick up trucks a pass on cafe, but the problem was the truck loophole let suvs to slide through. That will finally be completely closed in 2025. The cute utes and medium sized suvs have already changed to be less capable off road, but more fuel efficient. That is where your outlander phev belongs.

People need pick ups to work, and open bed and high ground clearance causes poor aerodynamics, tires and suspension rugged enough for heavy loads (haul or tow) are going to get worse fuel economy. Down sized turbo charged engines and ligher bodies (f-series aluminum body on frame) may get them to 2020. In 2021 efficiency gaines have to grow 5% a year, which either means phev trucks, some tech we don't know now, or the government roles back rules. My bet is if gas prices are still low in 2018 there will be heavy pressure to relax the 2025 rules. Hopefully if there is a roll back it is for pick-ups only and a new SUV loophole is not created.

 

Getting good fuel economy is like a chemical dependency; there's no going back, once you're hooked. My Dodge Ram got excellent mileage for a pickup; 18.5 MPG, but I bought a Corolla to save money, and my mileage doubled to the mid-30s. I hated to drive the truck after that. When I got my Prius, my mileage doubled again, and I can't imagine going back to a non-hybrid, ever.

 

The best thing the truck manufacturers have done is displaying the instantaneous and average mpg readout on the console. Guys at work are starting to say "I had no idea how much my mpg drops when I am heavy on the accelerator! I drive a lot easier and more aware of my driving style with that mpg reading staring me in the face!"

 

I put over 150K on my truck at work, or driving to work each day, roughly consuming 10,000 gallons. When I was towing something, my fuel economy easily went down by half. No matter how you cut it, I'll never see the money I spent on all that fuel, ever again.

 

Yup. Pushing the liters/100 km down (or mpg up) is a compulsion for me. With the amount of driving we do the $ difference is trivial, but it's still my goal to push that effing 5.0 down to 4.9. And then it'll be 4.8, 4.7, never happy.

 

^ Good one! I'm a member there but have never pumped gas at a Costco yet. There are other stations miles closer to me and at about the same price.