As a truck buyer... MPG would be a selling point. The problem is they are competing over a 1-2 MPG scale on the EPA model. I’m not gonna prefer one truck over another at 1-2 MPG, and what they get in EPA testing is meaningless in the real world.
KillerCow
killercow
“If you have a little gas engine that’s VE sweetspot is around 2250 RPM and you never let it exceed 1750, you’re not helping it.”
Right on. Perhaps part of our issue here is that it is a bit tricky to properly articulate the fine-ish line between subtle behaviors that cumulatively save a considerable amount of fuel, and the more aggressive hypermiling that can actually damage components. If you reef on your transmission to try to find 0.5 mpg…
I’d sacrifice my spare tire area for that. You may not need more space than that
If they made a plug in hybrid truck with 30-50 mile battery range that would be killer. You could do most of your commuting on battery and still have an engine for towing and range.
at this point there’s really no excuse for most cars not to have regenerative braking at a minimum.
I sell GMCs. Yes, there are plenty of truck buyers like that. But there are also PLENTY who are looking for a functional truck with good gas mileage. That is particularly common among those who actually use their truck as a truck. When someone is buying a truck as a tax deductible business expense and planning on…
Exactly. Trucks are horribly inneficient in dense city traffic. Mine can get 20mpg highway, but in a dense city, it is ~13. Saving the battery for the most inefficient times would be perfect
Re: speed. The danger in in the delta. If the rest of traffic is moving 60 and your going 50, you are creating the dangerous situation. And when the govt tracks accident causes the category is "speed". Not excess speed or to fast for conditions, ie doing 10mph in an ice storm and slide off the road? Cop who writes…
Fix the battery production bottleneck and I’ll mostly agree with you. Not the “perfection” part, of course. I’ll call that “good enough, maybe even pretty great.” Not even the best performaning BEV will ever be perfect. Their own weight will always make them feel too planted, preventing that thrill of possible danger.
Pretty much the only stock trucks I see here in Houston are work trucks for landscapers. They actually get used as a truck is intended, as opposed to the ones in the parking lots of target or engineering firms.
OOof, man. As a mechanical engineer who tests internal combustion engines for a living, this post was both mostly understandable, but also headache inducing.
I use a truck for play. The less I spend on fuel, the more money I can spend on playing!
The original comment was about lifts and large tires and/or wheels; claiming that most truck owners change those... I tried to limit the conversation to that.
“Your time in far more valuable than fuel.”
If you buy a full size truck and want fuel economy, you’re doing it wrong.
I’d wager trucks make up 50% of the vehicles on the road around my parts.
I agree as long as the range is appropriate. Some german PHEV’s have a pitiful range of <20mi. That won’t really get you far enough to offset much useage. 30-80mi offsets almost all of your useage. Trucks have a good amount of room behind the rear axle where the spare tire goes. Most people never use their spare so…
It’s no big deal and not bad at all.