zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Trucks
/
New Pickup Trucks Get The Same Gas Mileage They Did In The '80s
New Pickup Trucks Get The Same Gas Mileage They Did In The '80s-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:13:13

Today’s pickups are vast, hulking bison, striding across the automotive plain. They make the tiny trucks of the ‘80s look like tiny little rattle cans. And yet, according to a new EPA report, both get just about the same mileage.

The , with interesting points about how we’re a more truck-dominated market than ever before, though one that is cleaner and more fuel-efficient as well. (At least according to EPA testing. Don’t get me started on how carmakers teach to the test, so to speak.)

There’s also this interesting line:

Pickup trucks had the largest increase in fuel economy of any vehicle type in MY 2015, increasing by 0.8 mpg. Pickup trucks are now at their second highest recorded fuel economy, only slightly behind MY 1986 (when trucks were much smaller and on average weighed one third less than new trucks today).

How efficient is that? Actual truck-based trucks get about 22 mpg on average across all the trucks we buy nowadays:

Truck SUVs had the largest production share increase of any vehicle type in MY 2015, up 4 percentage points to a record 28% of all production. Car SUVs achieved a record market share of 10%, resulting in a record 38% market share for combined SUVs in MY 2015. Both car SUVs and truck SUVs achieved record high fuel economy and record low CO2 emissions with car SUVs reaching 25.3 mpg and truck SUVs reaching 22.0 mpg.

Basically, modern trucks are far more efficient than before, but thanks to their bigger size and weight gains, it’s almost a wash.

The trick here is that we’re talking about numbers pulled from the total figures of trucks we’re buying. On an individual level, if you were facing an imminent nuclear explosion, and in front of you was a 2016 Toyota Tundra and a 1986 Toyota Truck each with a gallon of gas in the tank, you would probably get farther in the oldie. But even in the worst truck-to-truck comparison, they’re not off.

Poke around on the numbers and you’ll find that truck mileage is not too far off even with today’s full-sizers compared to the trucks of thirty years ago weighing a third less.

As for which one I’d want to be in if I was in a crash, the progress there is much more pronounced.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Trucks
I Will Never Get Tired of Watching the Sherp Muscle Through Mud Pits
I Will Never Get Tired of Watching the Sherp Muscle Through Mud Pits
The Sherp is basically a set of 60-inch tires bunched together and hooked up to a tractor engine. It’s not very fast or comfortable, but holy moly can it chug its way through anything. We first heard about the Sherp in 2016, when our Hungarian friend Máté accurately deemed it...
May 18, 2026
When You're Out Too Late and Dad Has to Come Get You
When You're Out Too Late and Dad Has to Come Get You
Summer is in full swing and you know what that means–it’s bad driving on the beach season! The people in this poor Jeep Wrangler were probably having a lot of fun until the ocean tried to eat their vehicle. It damn near got the thing, too. Here are a couple...
May 18, 2026
Behold The Hilarious Dodge 'Caratruck': A Dodge Caravan Turned Into A Pickup Truck
Behold The Hilarious Dodge 'Caratruck': A Dodge Caravan Turned Into A Pickup Truck
From an engineering standpoint, this Dodge Caravan-turned-pickup truck (which I’m now dubbing “Caratruck”) for is a disaster. But from an enthusiast’s standpoint, who gives a damn? This machine is incredible. I will say that a part of me cringes when I think about the torsional (shear) and bending stresses this...
May 18, 2026
How The 2019 Ram 1500 Tradesman Becomes A $45,000 Work Truck And What It's Like To Drive
How The 2019 Ram 1500 Tradesman Becomes A $45,000 Work Truck And What It's Like To Drive
The Tradesman is supposed to be “the cheap one,” but once you start spec’ing items like the big engine and towing packages that unlock the truck’s maximum capability, the price creeps up quickly. Meanwhile, the interior’s still pretty spartan. Here’s what that all-business configuration is like to drive. Back in...
May 18, 2026
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Burned To The Ground By Independence Day Fireworks
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Burned To The Ground By Independence Day Fireworks
Off-road vehicles and fireworks are two things that bring great fun to our lives. Mixing the two, though, can be a questionable move, as a driver in Maryland celebrating the 4th of July learned the hard way. , the Chief Spokesperson for the Montgomery County, Maryland Fire and Rescue Service...
May 18, 2026
Turns Out You Can't Remove A Jeep Engine With A Giant Tow Strap And A Tree
Turns Out You Can't Remove A Jeep Engine With A Giant Tow Strap And A Tree
One poor Jeep Grand Cherokee is going to get wrecked in this at the hands of the biggest tow strap I’ve ever seen. Dry your misty eyes, for this ZJ did not crash in vain. It died for the laughs. The original goal was to pluck the engine clean out...
May 18, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved