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Should heavy-duty pickup trucks have window stickers with fuel mileage estimates?

If you were to stroll into your nearest Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Nissan, or Ram dealership, you'd find a bunch of pickup trucks. Most of those would have proper window stickers labeled with things like base prices, options prices, location of manufacture, and, crucially, fuel economy estimates. But you'd also run across a number of heavy-duty trucks with no such fuel mileage data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA doesn't require automakers to publish the valuable miles-per-gallon measurement for vehicles with gross weight ratings that exceed 8,500 pounds. That makes it difficult for consumers to compare behemoths powered by turbocharged diesel engines – between one another, and between smaller, gasoline-fueled trucks. Consumer Reports doesn't think it should be this way, and it's spearheading an effort (PDF link) to get the government to require manufacturers to publish fuel economy estimates. In its own testing, CR found that heavy-duty pickups powered by Ford's Power Stroke, GM's Duramax, and FCA's Cummins diesel engines (which doesn't include the Ram's EcoDiesel) get worse fuel mileage than their lighter-duty gas-powered siblings. We're not so sure HD-truck buyers are unaware of this fact – big diesels don't really come into their own until big loads are placed in their beds or attached to their trailer hitches. Under heavy workloads, the diesel trucks will almost certainly return greater efficiency than a similar gas-powered truck. What's more, HD trucks with lumbering diesels in general make the driver feel more confident while towing due to greater torque at low engine RPM than gas trucks. They also offer greater max-weight limits. Still, we agree EPA fuel mileage estimates should be offered for heavy-duty pickups. And we think the comparisons provided by Consumer Reports might be interesting to potential buyers. Click here to see the results of CR's tests, and let us know what you think using the poll below. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty: First Drive View 22 Photos News Source: Consumer Reports Government/Legal Green Read This Chevrolet Ford GMC Nissan RAM Fuel Efficiency Truck Commercial Vehicles Diesel Vehicles poll gmc sierra hd chevy silverado hd

Second trailer for 'Ford vs. Ferrari' hints at a good racing drama

The second trailer for the movie "Ford vs. Ferrari" just dropped, and ooooh, the movie that director James Mangold calls "Butch and Sundance in the world of racing" is looking good. We previously covered Entertainment Weekly's sneak peak into the film, and we've also included the first trailer, below, in case you missed it. The new trailer, above, focuses on Ford's motivation to get into the race, which was Enzo Ferrari backing out of a deal to sell his car company to Ford when Ferrari realized Ford wouldn't let him run Ferrari's racing department the way he wanted. And with Enzo's flair for final words, he apparently sent Ford emissary Lee Iacocca off with various insults of Ford's cars, factories and CEO. The second trailer lays into the battles within Ford over the GT40 program, specifically the clashes of ego and temperament between Henry Ford II, GT40 impresario Carroll Shelby, star driver Ken Miles, and various Ford Motorsport functionaries. At one point, Henry Ford II mentions to Carroll Shelby that Ford Motor Company knows how to go to war, referring to the battle with Ferrari. Based on the trailer, the more pressing matter might have been getting everyone to stop waging war on everyone else. The second trailer is below. The film, based on an original screenplay, stars Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II, Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, Christian Bale as Ken Miles, Caitriona Balfe as Mollie Miles, and Jon Bernthal as Lee Iacocca, and is due in theaters Nov. 15. If the movie ends up turning you off, though, you can hang out for the television series about the same events, to be based on A.J. Baime's book, "Go Like Hell." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

GM, Ford, FCA and the UAW form joint coronavirus task force

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler are forming a coronavirus task force along with the United Auto Workers union to improve protections for their employees and limit the spread of the highly contagious virus. The task force, which would be focusing on areas including vehicle production plans, is being headed by UAW President Rory Gamble, GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Hackett, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and FCA CEO Michael Manley, the parties said in a joint statement on Sunday. Though automakers typically schedule plant staffing to allow for a certain proportion of absent workers, according to industry consultants, if the outbreak causes higher levels due to infection or workers staying home to care for children whose schools are closed, that could lead to reduced production or in extreme cases shutdowns. Production at an FCA assembly plant in Canada was halted for 24 hours after employees there refused to work on Thursday over fears of an employee being possibly exposed to the coronavirus. Separately on Thursday, the Italian-American automaker said that one of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, at its transmission plant in Indiana. The plant, however, remained open. "This is a fluid and unprecedented situation, and the task force will move quickly to build on the wide-ranging preventive measures we have put in place," the CEOs of the three companies said in the statement. The task force would also be focusing on aspects such as health and safety education, health screening, food service at the automakers' locations. Related Video: Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat Ford GM coronavirus