And so although they create a custom Monroney Sticker with all the options on a truck is it not false advertising to put 17/19/22 as the fuel economy the vehicle is rated for with said options? The sticker should reflect the options IMO. It’s kind of like them putting 22 mpg highway rating on a Rebel that will likely get 4 mpg less than the sticker indicates. I’m not oncerned with the fuel mileage one bit as my truck regularly gets 18-19 mpg which I think is fantastic for a large V8, but there’s definitely some deception going on.
Oh yeah, it's pure laziness on the part of the manufacturers. The EPA only has so many testing facilities and testers to go around, so they do about 15% of new vehicles each year, according to reports I've read.
I think it IS false advertising, but with the convoluted rules of the EPA, it's A-OK for manufacturers to do this. IIRC, it's a body style thing, so regular/extended/crew cab will each get a test, with whatever bed the MFG wants, and with each engine and 4x2/4x4. So, by my math, that's 18 trucks that need to be run through the test. Rebel would make it 19, if they did like Ford and certified it separately. If they tested the different RARs, they'd have 2-3x as many trucks to test.
I, like you, am not buying a truck to get hybrid fuel economy - it's a truck, I get that. What I DO value, however, is relative fuel economy. That's one reason I went with Ford in 2011 and 2015 - their fuel economy was way higher than GM's. The 2019 RAM 1500's fuel economy is close to what my 2015 F-150 3.5-liter EcoBoost was rated at, which made it somewhat appealing. I don't do "truck stuff" every day - I tow rarely and haul occasionally. What I value is commuting comfort and fuel economy with the ability to go do "truck stuff" in the evenings and weekends. My time is better spent with my wife and kids than standing in line to rent a truck to tow a trailer, haul a load to the dump, pick up bulky items, etc..
-John
