yay Govt. motors. Obama kicked you in the nuts or what?

This makes it more difficult to qualify as a future clunker.

So, what’s the point of having a hybrid verison of this truck??? Sorry to those who spent over 40 grand on hybrid GM trucks!! LOL (I know its rated at 15 city, but those hybrid GM truck drivers may be freeway users and got the trucks based on high highway rating)

You know somewhere deep in the bowels of GM, Fritz is spanking himself over this.

Gm Hybrid trucks are rated at 20-21 mpg city.

“A thorough round of shift pattern optimization, the addition of variable valve timing and a more comprehensive cylinder shut off help the full-size pickups achieve best-in-class fuel efficiency.”

Which means jack s*** when you use the truck to do anything and it can’t upshift quicker and it will be using all cylinders and will be on the poorer side of VVT.

But for those who use trucks to go to their office jobs, kudos.

Interesting. I drove my colleague Cr-V which is a year younger then the one Mrs. drives. His has an extra cog in the tranny (5 speed vs ours 4). He says it is more economical (23 mpg overall vs. 22 we noticing). Shift points are changed as well to help fuel economy. It’s all good, but it is much slower car with slightly stronger motor. If Mrs.was driving this improved CR-V, I could see her getting 20 mpg on a good day: she would make it go faster in the lower gear. My point is: the guy who buys this thing will not wait for it to optimize 4 cylinder operations; he will floor and will drive it as a 8 cylinder. Otherwise he could get low end 6 cylinder model and save a ton of money on all that technology.

So if these modifications are made to the hybrid version, it’s mileage would increase as well?

Some people may not think that the extra 2 mpg is not a lot, but really, when it comes to a truck, that is a major difference. GM continues to set standards for the full size truck market by offering the most reliable pair, and now the most fuel efficient. The F-150 is slightly behind, while the Ram and Tundra are far back. The Tundra really isn’t that great of a truck. It has terrible fuel economy and isn’t that reliable. I enjoy the Tundra’s styling, but nothing else. As for hybrid models, they should either go or be upped like the regular models.

iluvamcars

Borat, you bring up the very point I’ve belabored many times before. More and more they’re building vehicles just to generate a number on a test. It doesn’t matter how the damn thing works in the real world because we all drive in a hermetically sealed test environment. Well don’t we? I’m sure I’m not the only one who sees dozens of people everyday that drive like there’s nobody else on the road.

…and by the way, how can the Silverado and Sierra get exactly the same mileage. They’re two completely different trucks aren’t they? Talk about coincidence.

I doubt GM would sacrifice the performance of their trucks for this gain. It sounds like they just used some technology to improve the efficiency. The article is a little vague on this but does anyone know if this only applies to the XFE models? Good for GM and even Ford that is only right behind the XFE with their fuel efficient model.

lol a hybrid truck for 38k with the same fuel economy as the 20k non-hybrid. And I was starting to like GM. Sure ill go buy a truck for 18k more for some fancy hybrid labels. woohoo. I didnt even get better fuel economy. Even better!!

That’s not too big of an improvement. My 99 Tahoe gets 20 on the highway and I’m a lead foot. But maybe that means I would get 25 on the highway if I had one of these?

aggie531
The XFE trucks are now rated at 15 mpg in the city and 22 mpg on the highway – the same (HIGHWAY)figure as GM’s pricier hybrid variants.

Thats 5mpg better city than the xfe. I actually work at a dealer and on these trucks, and I check the mpg on the info center of every one that comes in and have seen between 20-25mpg on the 2wd and as low as 18 on the 4wd. also keep in mind that even a stripped hybrid is fully loaded and is only about 4k more that the non hybrid even less with the $2200 tax credit.

This is why GM had to file bankruptcy. They build a hybrid that no one buys and then come out with a truck a year later that gets as good of fuel millage as the hybrid. They could have built this truck instead of the hybrid and at a lower price. Pretty stupid if you ask me. At least Ford had since enough not to come out with a truck that no one buys. The F150 is a better truck that needs no bail out to stay in business. No Government Motors vehicles for me.

^^ I tell ya. Its those fancy hybrid labels

This is good news and bad news.
It’s good news because GM’s continually improving the fuel economy of their big trucks to be better than the competition.
It’s bad news because the hybrid model is slowly becoming obsolete.

Oh, it’s GENERAL Motors, not Government Motors. Stop being ignorant and go drool over Fords.

At 60% of GM is government owned. That = Government Motors. GM’s full sized hybrid was a waste of money. When you waste too much money you usually end up bankrupt. Hybrid truck are not inexpensive enough to be worth buying.

Canuck: 1st comment- the absolute truth. Same with emissions. I had a ‘65 Pontiac Catalina (2 door, 5 seat convertible that I should have kept), that got better mileage (30 yrs old) than my Solstice. WTF? Almost 1/3 the car, and 1/3 the engine. In a dream world where I could fit that 389 in the engine bay of my Solstice, it would get 40mpg. Hell, I wouldn’t even have to step on the skinny pedal, idle would be enough to hit cruising speed. 2nd comment- laughed my ass off.

Insensitive: “At least Ford had since enough not to come out with a truck that no one buys. The F150 is a better truck…” HUH? Sense, not since, but.. Have you ever driven both trucks (ford & chevy)? Go test drive one after the other.

A.J: Who is the one being ignorant here?
The hybrid sierado was obviously just a R&D/Marketing study. ‘Let’s see if we can build a full size hybrid vehicle, just in case this BS actually takes off…’ I am sure there is some small market for the trucks, businesses that need the tax credit or want to “be green”, as well as colleges or other state funded businesses that probably get even more tax credits to buy them (with our tax $).

I wonder how complicated it was to add the VVT. I have always liked the 5.3, but that sounds like $$.

Isn’t the mileage the same for city and highway for the Hybrid? If that was the case, it would seem like the two trucks are built for different consumers. Do alot of city deliveries? Get the hybrid. Do alot of highway hauling? Get the XFE. I also imagine there is some sort of tax break for companies that buy hybrids…doubt its anywhere in the neighborhood of 18k though.

Years ago I had an ‘86 Accord LXi 5-spd manual. Had its structural and mechanical issues but was okay. Thing is I averaged 35 to 36mpg in that thing, got 40 or better on the highway too. Then latest Accords dont come close, and even the Civic and Fit pale when compared to those numbers.

Now, I know about all the new safety equip and all that, but somewhere along the line I’d have thought technology would offset the new equip. Seems like engine tech has stalled or something.

You all are forgetting that the EPA has revised the MPG methodology in the past few years, TWICE. You can’t compare the new ratings with the old. The new ratings are actually more in line with reality, not ideal.

Besides, your old Catilina pollutes more by just sitting in the driveway than a new car does running 60mph in the same amount of time.

Despite rants to the contrary, I appreciate these little details.

I tow a couple time a month (boat, ATV, utility). I don’t care so much what the FE is when towing but I don’t want to suffer the extra cost when doing the point A to B stuff.

And this tech is basically free, unlike hybrids and low emissions diesels…

I am not impressed with a 2 MPG over the last model much less 22 MPG is not good. When Manufacturers start making Full Sized Pickup Trucks that get 40 MPG City and Hwy then I’ll be Impressed, but you know. I would be impressed for the company that first produces a pickup that ran on Pure Electric and hauled as much or more than its most powerful diesel then I’ll be impressed!