GM bests Ford, Ram in pickup mileage battle, because that’s a thing that exists

Pickups trucks may not seem like a good example of commerce and environmental concerns working well together, but that's what's happening in Detroit. The latest example: General Motors touting today that its new 2014 full-size pickups — the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra — will get better mileage and more power from the most common V-8 engine than Ford's F-150 makes with its highly promoted Ecoboost twin-turbo V-6. They look like the same old metal boxes, but pickups have gone high-tech in pursuit of every last drop of gasoline

GM says the reworked 5.3-liter V-8 that 75 percent of Silverado and Sierra buyers will take gets an EPA-rated 16 mpg in city driving and 23 mpg on highways in two-wheel-drive models; the four-wheel-drive version shaves one mpg off the highway figure. That engine will churn out 355 hp and 383 lb.-ft. of torque — enough to give GM temporary bragging rights in tow ratings at 11,500 lbs., albeit for a truck with special towing equipment.