"The New Standard" was a great article (March/April 2012). However, with regard to fuel economy improvements for pickup trucks, I strongly disagree with Michael Love's comment that "all the cheap technology has already been adopted." There are several other already proven things that could be enacted immediately:
1. Intense aerodynamic front-end/cab styling (even the Kenworth big-rig people have learned to do that).
2. Under-vehicle plastic panels to remove turbulence and drag (already done by European car manufacturers).
3. Wheelwell venting and/or air-curtain designs to reduce drag effects of entrapped air.
4. Side mirrors ("wing" mirrors) removed in favor of small, wide-angle video cameras.
5. Furnish hard tonneau covers as standard for all trucks, so that EPA testing must be done with a closed box.
6. Apply the new "Big Three" to V-6 engine designs (turbocharging, variable valves, direct injection), or use the new urea-purified diesel engines.
7. Go back to furnishing modern smooth-shifting six-speed manual transmissions as standard, with automatics an option.
If all of the above were done, and each picked up on average only 1 to 2 mpg over a 20-mpg baseline, then voila, you have a full-size standard pickup that could get between 30 and 35 mpg on the highway. And all this could be accomplished without even going the "hybrid" route or using expensive, exotic ultra-light materials.
Bernie Kressner
Appleton, Wisconsin
Dear Reader,
With all due respect, many of the items on your list do not qualify as "cheap technologies," cameras and displays are not legal as stand-ins for mirrors (yet), and manual transmissions are often thirstier than proper computer-controlled automatics with as many gear ratios.
-Truck Trend
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have a question or comment about any thing you've seen on TruckTrend.com, please email us at trucktrend@sorc.com.