Car buyers are more focused than ever before on fuel economy, but some people still need a large truck or SUV.  GM is banking on it. 

The AP reports, "General Motors Corp. is releasing new, more fuel-efficient versions of its full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles later this fall."  GM improved the fuel economy of the trucks by "extending the front lower air dam, lowering the suspension and revising the chassis tuning. The automaker also reduced the mass with aluminum parts, including an aluminum spare wheel and 17-inch aluminum wheels, gave the vehicles low rolling resistance tires and powered them with a 5.3-liter, ethanol-capable V-8 engine that has an aluminum cylinder block and heads." 

How much does all this boost fuel economy?

On average, about one mile per gallon.   

The 2009 Chevy Silverado XFE, and GMC Sierra XFE pickups, and Chevy Tahoe XFE, and GMC Yukon XFE SUVs manage about "15 city and 21 highway mileage ratings versus comparable non-XFE models' 14/20 ratings," according to Jalopnik. 

While that's not a huge improvement, it is a boost of about 5% in highway mileage and 7% in city mileage, and each of the vehicles maintained the same tow rating (actually, the Silverado and Sierra can each tow slightly more weight in the XFE configuration, due to a new six-speed transmission). 

Edmunds Inside Line notes, "The XFE suite of equipment is offered only on two-wheel-drive versions of the trucks and SUVs and only in pickups in the crew-cab body style."

Chevy gave its Cobalt small car a similar treatment back in March, and the Cobalt XFE has been a sales success.  CNET reports, "The XFE accounts for about 8 percent of Cobalt's sales volume. 'We thought it would be in the 2 to 3 percent range,' says Chevrolet spokeswoman Nancy Libby. She says dealers have an 18-day supply of XFEs, the fastest turn of any Cobalt version." 

Bloomberg reports, "GM hasn't released pricing for the new models."  Since the tweaks that increased fuel economy are actually relatively minor revisions for the automaker, the models are unlikely to be significantly more expensive.  GM offers hybrid versions of these same vehicles, but those models are so much more expensive than their gasoline-powered counterparts that they aren't a realistic option for many buyers -- it would take years of driving to recover the added cost of the hybrid powertrain.  It likely won't take nearly as long to recover any added cost from the XFE model, making these a reasonable choice for buyers who actually need the size and towing capacity.

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