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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

2019 GMC Yukon Graphite Edition offers Denali engine and features without the chrome

A sporty-looking option package called RST was recently introduced for the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban that also offered the option of a 6.2-liter V8 and magnetic suspension. Now GMC is getting in on the action with the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL Graphite Edition. The trim package adds a number of visual enhancements, and, if you're so inclined, has a performance version with the same 6.2-liter V8 and magnetic suspension as the Tahoe RST and Yukon Denali. As for appearances, the Graphite Edition adds black trim almost everywhere, including the roof rails, grille, fog light surrounds, and window surrounds. It also adds 22-inch wheels, regardless of whether it's just the appearance version or the performance version. The appearance package has machined-finish wheels, and the performance package has black painted wheels. As previously mentioned, the performance version of the Graphite Edition adds magnetic suspension and the 6.2-liter V8 with 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque found on the Denali and the Tahoe and Suburban RSTs. It's coupled to a 10-speed automatic transmission, and gets a rear axle ratio of 3.23:1. It also gets a few other Denali features such as a color heads-up display, Bose noise cancellation, a 170-amp alternator, and a trailer brake controller. The Graphite Edition can be had with both two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. The Graphite Edition can only be had on Yukon and Yukon XL SLT models. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but it's likely it will be a bit more affordable than buying a Denali model. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 GMC Yukon SLT Graphite Edition Image Credit: GMC GMC SUV gmc yukon gmc yukon denali

GM recalling 521,817 cars in two campaigns

General Motors is issuing two, separate recalls covering a total of 521,817 vehicles worldwide. The larger campaign covers 468,887 units of the 2011-2012 Chevrolet Malibu. Specifically, 437,045 of these are in the US, and the rest are outside the country. In these sedans, a steel cable that connects the seat belt to the vehicle can fatigue and separate. GM knows of 36 claims about the problem but only one minor injury. According to The Detroit News, this happened when a taxi driver hit his head. To fix things, dealers will replace the "outboard lap mounting bracket," which will move the tensioner rearward. They'll also inspect and if necessary replace the steel cable and lap pretensioner. In the second campaign, 52,930 examples the 2015 Chevy Colorado and 2015 GMC Canyon have seat frame attachment hooks that were installed incorrectly during assembly. GM hasn't received any reports of crashes, injuries, or fatalities about this problem. Dealers will inspect the affected trucks and repair as necessary. GM spokesperson Alan Adler told Autoblog that he didn't yet have a specific date when affected owners would receive official mailings about either of these recalls. GM Statement General Motors is recalling 48,309 2015 model year Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks in the U.S. because certain seat frame attachment hooks were not properly attached to the vehicle body during assembly. Dealers will inspect the potentially affected seats for proper installation and repair if necessary. GM knows of no crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this condition. The total vehicle population of the recall is 52,930 including 4,620 vehicles sold in Canada. General Motors is recalling 437,045, 2011-2012 model year Chevrolet Malibus in the U.S. because the flexible steel cable that connects the safety belt to the vehicle can fatigue and separate over time as a result of occupant movement in the seat. Dealers will replace the outboard lap mounting bracket to relocate the tensioner slightly rearward. Dealers will inspect the cable and, if necessary, replace the lap pretensioner. GM knows of 36 claims, no crashes or fatalities and one minor injury reportedly related to the condition. The total vehicle population of the recall is 468,887 including Canada, Mexico and exports.