CNN Money Slams Hybrid Pickups

Behold GMC's new hybrid, the K15 Sierra. This pickup truck scores a 3 on the EPA's 0-to-10 emissions scale, with 0 being the worst. It gets a whopping 18 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving. That compares with the 16 mpg attained by its non-hybrid sibling, the K1500 Sierra.

So what, exactly, is green or even fuel-efficient about this vehicle?

You might ask the same question about Chevrolet's C15 Silverado hybrid (19 mpg, compared to the regular C1500's 18). Even some of the new vehicles touted as significantly less gas-hungry than their peers still post mileage ratings that could be bested by a regular old Toyota Corolla with a headwind.

This is kind of ridiculous. The author, Liz Pulliam Weston, is talking about the two least efficient hybrids and blanketing the entire category. Later, she criticizes the Prius' effective mileage by comparing it to the EPA mileage of a non-hybrid Civic.

"I drove a Prius for a week and never saw 60 mpg," Perry said. "I averaged around 42 mpg."

Now, that kind of mileage should make any Hummer driver blush. But it's not that much better than a fuel-efficient small sedan, like a Honda Civic. (The EPA clocks the Civic with Honda's "Lean Burn" engine technology at 36 mpg city, 44 mpg highway.)

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you should compare EPA estimates with EPA estimates and real world figures with real world figures. What's she trying to pull?

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