Toyota and Ford today announced a deal to collaborate on hybrid-drive technology aimed at light trucks and SUVs. The agreement is expected to lead to new fuel-efficient powertrain designs that will begin showing up on light-duty vehicles sold under both the Ford and Toyota brands in the later part of the decade.
Pickup truck owners are a different, more loyal breed, according to automaker lore. They want their size, power and don’t care about fuel economy. Turns out the lore and lure are gone. Turns out pick-up owners are just like the rest of us. They don’t want to spend $100 filling up their tank, especially with a slumping housing market and fewer jobs to be had.
