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There are two kinds of trucks.....work trucks, and toy trucks. We should not treat them as if they were the same. They have very different capabilities and very different buyers. All of the large trucks are very capable of working, and towing, and doing what a truck is designed to do. And the Toyota Tundra is part of that group (I wouldn't buy one, but it is capable of working). Those small Japanese pickups are toys...period. I don't really know what they are designed to do, but they are NOT designed for work like a truck. If you want to work your truck, gas mileage is not your primary focus. If gas mileage is your primary focus, why are you considering a truck?
What about diesels? I have a one ton Ford that produces 350 hp, 4wd that can do a lot of work. It gets 24 mph which compares favorably with your 2wd 4 and 6 cylinder gas engines that can't pull anything and last 150,000 miles. The US auto makers need to catch up with the rest of the world and produce diesels for everything. Many great vehicles are produced by American auto builders and sold overseas but not here. The government needs to get out of its own way and stop discriminating against diesels. It would decrease our fuel comsumption by 30 percent. When biodiesel is readily available everywhere it will cost much less than petro diesel.
An article like this makes it obvious what is wrong with this country, and the myths perpetuated by the media, the government and advertisers. It is not ususual for diesel engines to go well past 500,000 miles. A long lived engine can go 1,000,000 miles.
As for those of you that think trucks are for show, you need to get out of the suburbs more and see how people live in rural areas.
Redesigned Chevy Colorado with 2 diesel engine choices on sale in Asia right now, Ford Ranger complete redesign with diesel,not for sale in USA, VOLKSWAGON TDI Amarok being withheld from the USA. TOYOTA and NISSAN have diesels all over the world. What is this a conspiracy ??? Keep Americans believing a 20 mpg truck is super duper so they can maintain the inflated pricing and huge profits on the BIGGGG BEASTS ! ! ! Also, WALL STREET loves the OIL STOCKS. Got the US, yes that's "us" right where they want "us", BENT OVER THE OIL BARREL ! ! ! !
Nice to see they left out the Ford Ranger 4cylinder - the one they don't want to make anymore in 2012 USA, and the one that gets good gas mileage and probably all the truck 80% of us need.
4 cyl, 2.3 L, Manual 5-spd, Regular Gasoline 22 city 27 highway
There is nothiing "Pump Wise" about a full sized and even some small sized pickups. The article is not good for a contractor who has no choice but to drive this or a van because the mileage between trucks here is neglible. Need payload stats.
This article is for the gas powered pickup truck owner who uses it 3X a year to haul stuff and feels that he needs to spend big money on a "just in case" scenario and then is tormented by higher gas prices so he worries whether or not he should by one. Dude, if you are worried about 1-3 MPG on your new truck then buy a car and rent a truck when you really need it. Trust me, most of us rent trucks and drive hatchbacks. Save big!
wake me up when things improve. Its all ad hpye, cars and trucks have been getting the same milage for 20 years now, with little improvement. I have a friend who has a rabbit that gets better then 60mpg on the highway, its not a hybrid and its about 15 years old now. Granted it is a 5 speed and an diesel. but to say an hybrid that gets 40 is great its not.
My 67 mustang with a v-8 when I was in college got 20 mpg.
