General Motors Corp. announced today that within a few years it will begin producing fuel-efficient, hybrid gas-electric versions of its full-size pickup trucks and city buses, just days after Ford announced its intention to boost the fuel economy of its SUVs by 25 percent over the next five years. GM Vice Chair Harry Pearce said he was “seriously annoyed” by Ford’s announcement because GM’s light trucks, which include SUVs, currently have better fuel economy than Ford’s light trucks — and Pearce pledged that GM models will still be leading the competition in fuel economy 20 years from now. Pearce: “We have spent years achieving this leadership position. And I think it’s extremely important that when we talk about fuel economy, we talk about deeds, not words.”
