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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

Car and Driver reveals spy shots of mid-engine 2017 Corvette

Some news in the car world is perennial, and some is perennially wrong. Typically news about some upcoming mid-engined Chevy Corvette has fallen into the latter category, with rumors never yet generating a road car. This time could very well be different. Car and Driver has some exclusive photographs of what would appear to be a Corvette test mule with a mid-mounted engine. The car in question might look like a Holden SSV ute that's undergone some indelicate modification, but C/D editor Don Sherman assures that the bones of a C8 'Vette live within that crude bodywork. Sherman points to the closeness of the cabin to the front axle as clue number one of this car's mid-engine attitude, as well as the powertrain-sized space between the back of the seats and the rear axle. The roof and glasshouse are all clearly plucked from the current C7, and the gas tank filler positioned on the B-pillar is another huge clue. The buff book estimates that the mule points to a timeline for sale, even. Testing on this level could mean a mid-engined C8 ready for sale in as few as 20 months, or for the 2017 model year. Click over to Car and Driver to have a close look at this important set of spy photographs, as well as a rendering of what a finished C8 might ultimately look like

Sinkhole Opens Up In National Corvette Museum, Swallows Eight Cars

More cars are being moved inside the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. to avoid falling down the same sinkhole that swallowed eight classic sports cars early this morning, Autoblog reported. Museum officials said the hole was discovered when motion sensors activated around 5:45 a.m. The rescue mission can be viewed on the museum's live feed cameras, which weren't working after the sinkhole emerged. A 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and a 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil," both on loan from General Motors, were among the cars that fell into the sinkhole. The museum owned the other affected Corvettes, which included a 1963 Corvette, a 1984 PPG Pace Car and the 1 millionth Corvette ever produced. The state of the cars at the bottom of the hole isn't known, but trial lawyer and sinkhole expert Ted Corless said the cars may be a total loss for the museum and GM. "Most states, including Kentucky, exclude damage caused by sinkhole activity," he said. "There will be, in all likelihood, a claim made, but a lot of policies would specifically exclude these kinds of damages." Corless has 15 years experience dealing with sinkholes. He said that typically neither the building, nor the cars themselves are protected under their insurance policies. "I would have to say, more likely then not, they're going to have an uninsured loss measured in the hundreds of thousands of dollars." The museum is closed Wednesday while a structural engineer assesses the damage. Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Test Drive View 9 Photos Related Gallery 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Test Drive View 9 Photos Weird Car News Chevrolet GM corvette