MOAB, Utah -- General Motors' 2005 full-sized pickups and SUVs will gain nearly 1 mpg in fuel economy because of minor aerodynamic and powertrain improvements.
The incremental changes include things such as replacing the seal around the front headlights and reducing alternator use.
"Three-tenths (of a mile per gallon) here, two-tenths there, three-tenths here, and pretty soon it is a combined 0.75, 0.80 (improvement) per gallon for our pickups and our utilities," said Gary White, GM vice president of full-sized trucks. White was interviewed at a GM event here.
An EPA spokesman says an automaker can round off such an improvement to a 1-mpg increase for the highway/city estimate of fuel economy posted on a vehicle's window sticker.
The federal corporate average fuel economy standard for light trucks will increase from 20.7 mpg to 21.0 mpg for the 2005 model year. It rises to 21.6 mpg in 2006 and 22.7 mpg in 2007.
"You will see, pretty much across the board, a mile per gallon improvement on our labels this year," White said. "But we have an option. Say the number comes out 16.6 mpg. We might opt to put 16 (rather than 17) on the label so we don't get the customer's expectations up."
GM could have posted a 2 mpg increase on the sticker for a handful of 2005 trucks, he said. Instead it will post a one-mile improvement.
"Fuel economy is not a reason for the purchase" of an SUV or pickup, White said. But "usually it is at the top of the complaint list" after the truck is bought.
"We have to take it seriously because full-sized trucks as a percentage of GM's fleet is huge," White said.
Through May, full-sized trucks accounted for 35.4 percent, or 671,010, of GM's U.S. vehicle sales.
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The incremental changes include things such as replacing the seal around the front headlights and reducing alternator use.
"Three-tenths (of a mile per gallon) here, two-tenths there, three-tenths here, and pretty soon it is a combined 0.75, 0.80 (improvement) per gallon for our pickups and our utilities," said Gary White, GM vice president of full-sized trucks. White was interviewed at a GM event here.
An EPA spokesman says an automaker can round off such an improvement to a 1-mpg increase for the highway/city estimate of fuel economy posted on a vehicle's window sticker.
The federal corporate average fuel economy standard for light trucks will increase from 20.7 mpg to 21.0 mpg for the 2005 model year. It rises to 21.6 mpg in 2006 and 22.7 mpg in 2007.
"You will see, pretty much across the board, a mile per gallon improvement on our labels this year," White said. "But we have an option. Say the number comes out 16.6 mpg. We might opt to put 16 (rather than 17) on the label so we don't get the customer's expectations up."
GM could have posted a 2 mpg increase on the sticker for a handful of 2005 trucks, he said. Instead it will post a one-mile improvement.
"Fuel economy is not a reason for the purchase" of an SUV or pickup, White said. But "usually it is at the top of the complaint list" after the truck is bought.
"We have to take it seriously because full-sized trucks as a percentage of GM's fleet is huge," White said.
Through May, full-sized trucks accounted for 35.4 percent, or 671,010, of GM's U.S. vehicle sales.
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