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Yesterday I brought 2000+ lbs of flooring home with a 1992 Suzuki sidekick and 95 hp. 15 miles and a max 22% grade at the end. I went slow. Main constraints were trailer tires (maxed the load rating), and braking ability. Otherwise the trailer towed well. Suzi Q's drivetrain wasn't...

Correct.

The difference between a front-wheel drive versus a rear wheel drive vehicle is so great that it would take a completely new platform. They would literally have to start over. The main reason is that front wheel drive cars have the engine turned sideways (transverse) instead of front and back...

Our wood sided Ford station wagon had a 454 under the hood. When we moved to Tennessee in '73, our family of five went over the mountains in a VW bus, pulling a U-Haul trailer! I don't recall what gear Dad was in.

I'm going to end up waiting for a hybrid AWD. They're bound to bring one out in a year or two.

A lot depends on how you drive. My Fiesta ST gets 32 mpg when driven hard, and 40+ mpg when I'm playing the mileage game

Truck beds and modern truck styling are not friendly to fuel efficiency. 3700# is 100# less than our 1980 F-150 long bed, which had a 300ci 6cyl, a one barrel carb, and a ridiculously tall final drive for a truck. It reliably got 20 mpg, BTW.

The Ford designed bed topper may improve mileage at highway speeds. It also looks like it prioritizes visibility, which would make it easy to live with.

One advantage is that planetary gears, which have more friction, are avoided.

Set up a lot like a diesel-electric train!

I drive a fusion car for work. My best mileage is in hot weather, I assume because frictional resistance and all the moving parts is lower. The ice also is not running rich as often to compensate a cold engine. I've noticed an AC effect on mileage, but only early in the fuel tank cycle, when it...

The steel beds of pickup trucks are designed to last the life of the truck, even with heaps of abuse and neglect. Bedliner and tonneau cover optional!

The trucks of my youth never had defrosters on the rear glass, and I don't recall them ever frosting up much. Maybe it has something to do with that vertical glass.

I have a standard issue, robust spare in my Fiesta ST which is neither a space saver nor a copy of the primary wheels, black steel rim, different wheel diameter and sidewall height, same overall diameter!

Like many hybrids the Maverick uses an Atkinson cycle engine. This type of engine is a lot more efficient, by some estimates up to 40% efficient at converting gasoline to motion. Atkinson cycle engines suffer from low torque at low RPMs, which benefits greatly when used in combination with...

Fascinating, thanks for the insight.

Most likely the cap would increase overall mileage. The notch behind a truck cab leaves a huge wake. The turbulence behind the single cab full size truck at interstate speeds extends over a half mile back, based on what I've noticed riding behind one on a motorcycle. I think that is the main...

We had an old 8-ft aluminum cap on our old F-150 that was incredibly light. I could take it off myself, although it wasn't easy.

My guess is that the extra height will have little or no effect on gas mileage.