I dunno. I kinda get wanting to have your cake and eat it too.
hey, if you want a truck, all the power to you...i want one too...but i'm not going to buy one, then complain about fuel costs...it's why if i had to go buy a new vehicle this spring, it would likely be the new RAV4 Hybrid...more room than my current car, still fits in the garage, 900 km range (fuel econ numbers around 6.1)...it's also a Toyota, so it will last a decade with minimal fuss...sure, i want a RAM Rebel or an RS3, but the RAM would cost a fortune to run (fuel) and the RS3 could cost a fortune to keep on the road (FGC)...i don't have Jeff Bezos money, so it's likely best i play it smart.
But that's not what we're talking about. We're not talking about the absolute amount of fuel that trucks use. Obviously if you buy a truck, you're going to spend more in gas than if you bought a Prius. That's a given, and isn't what we're talking about here.
The question we're asking is why some of Chevy's EPA ratings seem to be getting worse. The general trend with trucks has been towards improving fuel economy. Even the Ram, typically the thirstiest of the Domestic half tons (I would love to say all half tons, but my Tundra is thirstier) has been getting better. Over the last decade FCA has added all sorts of fuel-efficient trickery to their trucks, from active-aero, to 8-speed transmissions, to cylinder deactivation, and now, e-torque systems. Ford has gone with smaller displacement, turbo-charged engines (sure, the 3.5EB isn't any more efficient than a V8, but their 2.7EB is, and is selling great).
Chevy has been up to similar tricks...8-10 speed transmissions, cylinder deactivation, more efficient fuel management systems, etc. They've even lightened their new trucks by using a lot of aluminum. So, this begs the question, if Chevy is going to all this effort to improve fuel economy, even if only by 1mpg, then why are some of their numbers getting worse? This is the question that is being asked here.
So, the point is, YES, everybody expects to buy more fuel when driving a half ton. We're not expecting Prius-like economy here. But at the same time, the consensus is that
each new generation of truck should have better fuel economy than its predecessor, not worse fuel economy!