The Great American Challenge: The 40 MPGe pickup truck
Foreign oil independence? It's all about trucks?
That at least 3 percent of pickup truck drivers would buy
40 mpg. That’s become one of the biggest lies in the auto industry these days, but there are many cars that actually achieve 40 mpg in the real world, such as the Toyota Prius or the Honda Insight.
But what about trucks? What would it take to achieve a 40 MPGe pickup truck? A lot. In fact it would take a huge truckload of changes.
Take a top selling US truck, such as the Chevy Silverado, which also includes a hybrid version, and the depth of this fuel efficiency problem becomes quickly apparent. For example, the most fuel efficient Silverado available — not including the hybrid — is the Chevrolet Silverado C15 XFE 2WD at 15/22 mpg; city/hwy for an average of 18 mpg. Upgrade to the Silverado hybrid and the numbers increase to 20/23 mpg and an average of 21 mpg.
Of course, go with the top 8 cylinder 2WD and the fuel economy numbers drop to just 13/18 mpg and an average of 14 mpg.
So, how can you double the fuel efficiency of today’s pickup trucks?
Certainly, plug-in technology could be added, which might be an interesting option for many pickup truck drivers, since so many of these trucks are used for work, such as in the construction industry. Essentially, the pickup truck could become a generator that can be taken to job sites easier than any other generator. Of course, if the Chevy Volt costs $40,000, imagine how much a Volt-powered pickup truck would cost.
At some point in time, it seems the pickup truck needs to be redesigned, significantly, in order to achieve 40 MPGe in the real world. Nevertheless, with pickup trucks and SUVs accounting for almost half of all sales, a 40 MPGe pickup that could sell as well as a Toyota Prius would offer a far greater overall fuel reduction.
Ultimately, pickup trucks are the segment that matters most in America — in terms of profits and fuel economy — but if this segment can be mastered, any segment can. Still, the only way to achieve a cost-effective 40 MPGe pickup truck might be through a combination of a lighter design, batteries and alternative fuels, but at least some kind of out-of-the-box thinking is needed.
The closest approach towards such a pickup seems to be coming out of Toyota which has suggested a Prius-based pickup that might follow the unibody design of the A-BAT pickup truck concept. Of course, such a truck would lose significant payload and towing capabilities, but how much payload is really needed by average truck drivers? Is there a sweet spot that such a Prius-based truck might achieve?
Then their are costs. On the upside, a 40 MPGe pickup would save at least $1500 per year in fuel costs. That’s $7500 after 5 years and $15,000 after 10 years. Those are pretty serious numbers.
Still, such fuel economy savings probably won’t be enough because these trucks wouldn’t offer as much truck as others in the segment without the upfront costs. Thus, some kind of tax credit would be needed. Add a $7500 plug-in-like tax credit, and that’s $15,000 after 5 years including gasoline costs, and $22,500 after 10 years. Those numbers might start to resonate, at least as well as hybrids and plug-ins to date.
Is $15,000 after 5 years enough?
Probably not without a significant pickup truck redesign with a focus on lightening the load, but I’d bet such a configuration is possible, with the help of tax incentives. Unfortunately, I doubt there is much taste for such a credit in today’s political world.
Perhaps the small business tax credit could be rewritten to support such vehicles? How many vehicles are sold per year that utilize the small business tax credit? How many are trucks? That will be Part II of this story.
Inevitably, if the discussion is US energy consumption in transportation, it’s all about trucks today. Yet, that can — which is a tricky can of worms — is simply being kicked down the road. That approach might work if battery technologies achieve a serious, mainstream-able and cost-effective breakthrough soon, but it seems a pretty risky wager.
Today’s trucks are designed to do everything, and i mean everything.
Trucks have 4 doors,
Trucks sit high above the traffic
Trucks tow 5000 lbs, up a cliff
Trucks have 4 wheel drive standard
Trucks can haul a boatload of stuff
Trucks do everything EXCEPT get good gas miileage.
The real question is will Americans be willing to cut back on any of these features in order to buy a truck that gets 40 MPG?
The short answer is NO. Americans want trucks to still do all these things AND get 40 mpg.
The question is will Americans
Ed:
Looks like you might like the Eco Motors strategy shown in the below video. Of course you can’t buy one yet but maybe someday someone will make one.
I have a Dodge Ram diesel and it is just plain stupid for me to drive it empty around town running all 6 cylinders but sometimes I do.
ecomotors[dot]com/videos/introduction-ecomotors-prof-peter-hofbauer
Just replace the “[dot]” with a period . to view the video.
I am one of those weekend users for my Tacoma PU. Unfortunately during the week it is my commuter car. My wife normally drives the Prius.
I would love to see some form of hybrid, not gas/elec necessarily, but something that I could use as a commuter vehicl during the week and then when needed convert to pull a 5000lb trailer. Maybe an engine that only uses a fraction of its capacity for fuel economy then when I needed it dial it up for extra pulling capacity. Right now it is either something that gets good fuel economy but can’t tow to something with terrible fuel economy that can. Nothing in between.
dahcredyns says: November 3, 2011 at 6:05 pm
“What’s the weight of the payload the average pickup truck driver ever needs to transport?”.
In my case the average would be 1475 lbs. The max. would be about 2200 lbs and the mode [most frequent] would be 750 lbs.
2200 lbs is decorative landscaping rock I hauled 3 times and the 750 lbs is the weight my 5th wheel trailer hitch I use as many times as I can. Since the 2200 lbs is above the capacity of a 3/4 ton truck I purchased a 1 ton truck.
So as a thinking man why on earth didn’t I just go rent a heavy duty truck for the rock or have it delivered for $50.00 per load. Would have been much cheaper. O.K. so I never said I was smart LOL
There are many reasons I purchased the 1 ton truck. First is has dual rear tires and that adds a lot of stability while towing a trailer in windy conditions. Also dual rear tires means there is an extra layer of safety if one tire should blow out. Also I purchased the 1 ton truck since I knew it would be the last truck I would ever own. And then of course there was the macho thing, LOL. In hindsight would I do it all again – yes I would buy the 1 ton rated truck.
Now to answer your question. I am guessing of course but I would bet that at least 75% of all trucks rated at 3/4 or 1 ton are actually purchased to haul or tow stuff. It is mostly the 1/2 ton trucks I see running around town with the bed of the truck empty. There are certainly exceptions like pest control companies that carry light loads and carpenters for example. Lots of craftsmen and/or trades people use 1/2 ton trucks go back and forth to work. You never can tell when the boss will need someone to haul something you know, LOL.
BUT, when it comes to towing or hauling the big stuff it is almost exclusively the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks doing the work.
What’s the weight of the payload the average pickup truck driver ever needs to transport?
How many pickup truck drivers ever tow something? When they do, what’s the average weight?
I really wonder, could a truck be produced that can achieve the average payload and towing requirements of a significant percent of pickup truck drivers, but in a package that delivers 40 mpg?
I, perhaps naively, believe they could.
I really don’t think automakers are trying very hard in the pickup truck space because they don’t have to — regulations — and because truck consumers are used to buying more than they need — it’s too often the most cost-effective choice thanks to incentives, etc..
I don’t think much will change that, barring much higher gasoline prices, but I wonder if a small business tax credit could help build some momentum?
And significantly more aerodynamic. When I drive my Dodge Ram faster than about 60 mph it really begins to suck fuel. 40 mpg trucks would look entirely different than they do today.
Also new engines will be required. Something like the Eco Motors engines. Around town and running empty on the highway would only require running part of the engine. Pulling a load and you add another 2 or 4 cylinders for as much power as needed. A 40 mpg truck is quite possible. We could of course quickly implement hydraulic hybrid drive trains increasing fuel economy by about 30-40%.
Like I said we COULD have 40 mpg trucks. The question becomes WILL we ever have 40 mpg trucks – that is the question LOL.
And significantly more aerodynamic. When I drive my Dodge Ram faster than about 60 mph it really begins to suck fuel.
40 mpg trucks would look entirely different than they do today.
Yes big changes would have to be made:
You would have to start making trucks smaller for one….
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