Vision of fuel-efficient future hiding in plain sight

When I arrived at the medical office for a vision test, I was placed exactly 20 ft. from the familiar wall chart. There I stood, waiting for my turn to recite a diminishing scale of letters, wondering if anyone ever fails to see the giant letter “E” atop the chart.

The E looks so obvious; why is it even there? Surely every person must plainly see the starting point of this exercise. And why an E? In the evolution of optometry, who selected the giveaway question to be an E? My mind wandered while I waited for medical staff to arrive and grade my ability to see something in plain sight.

How often in life do we face a difficult problem and conclude it can only be solved through an equally complicated solution?  When the computer stops working, do we always investigate to see if it is still plugged in, or do we get out the screwdriver and immediately look for a failed component?  

In transportation today, we face a massive challenge, a complicated problem which may seem almost unsolvable. We face the challenge of decarbonization and a connected departure from our reliance on fossil energy. 

It has become very clear that our generational survival is contingent on adopting new and non-polluting sources of energy, thereby creating a global challenge to overhaul the fuel foundation which has built our modern world. Indeed, this is a very complicated problem. 

Solving for the transportation challenge at hand will require the brightest of minds, the passage of time, and a steady, purposeful conversion to clean new technologies.  

But wait—is there something simple which has parked itself right in front of us? Something obvious which we fail to see? Have our human problem-solving tendencies prevented us from focusing on an obvious solution, hidden in plain sight?  Perhaps it's like the giant E on my eye chart. We instinctively look beyond what's staring us in the face because we have convinced ourselves there can only be a complicated solution.

In 2022, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration reported the average fuel economy of a diesel-powered Class 8 tractor to be 6.9 miles per gallon. In 2023, a similar study of a smaller sample group reported this number in the vicinity of 7.7 mpg. Today, experts agree the national average is somewhere north of 7 mpg.  

In September 2025, NACFE partnered with leading fleets in Canada and the U.S. to study various available powertrain technologies.  Studied under efforts known as Run on Less – Messy Middle, NACFE tracked the on-highway performance of 14 different trucks powered by battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, natural gas, and of course the incumbent, diesel.

Two of the trucks studied in the Run were not built from exotic new technology. Two trucks were diesel powered—the type of truck anyone can purchase today from a dealer’s lot, and at a price not requiring a subsidy.  

During this 18-day real-world study, these two diesel units hauled freight across the U.S. at 80,000 lbs. GVW, covered more than 22,000 miles combined, and averaged 11.6 mpg. Yes, an “average” of 11.6 mpg, representing an incredible 60%+ reduction in fuel consumption and emission output compared to the national average.  

How on earth is this even possible? Engine and truck manufacturers agonize over single digit performance improvement, yet here are two off-the-shelf diesel tractors operating 60%+ more efficiently than the national average.

What is the secret sauce here? Where is the NASA technology no one else has access to?  Big surprise: This incredible performance is based on a series of solutions which are accessible and right in front of us: 

• Modern equipment
• Expert-level drivers
• Aerodynamic chassis and trailer treatment
• Trailer gap minimization
• Lower road speed
• Idle reduction
• Intelligent tire management

This is nothing we didn’t already know. 

That’s it. Eureka! The giant E represents ‘Efficiency.’

Certainly, the NACFE-reported results are industry leading and based on a smaller vehicle sample size. The point here is not that the national average will become 11.6 mpg. Rather, great improvement is possible right now with the tools and knowledge we have at our disposal. 

In good order the trucking industry will deliver new solutions and improved technology, but why not return today to the basics of business, return to the principle of industry best practice adoption, return to the goal of saving money and lowering emissions by 60%, all made possible through tools and techniques we’ve already studied and widely reported?  

Clear vision for the road ahead and quantifiable real progress may start with simply returning to that which we already know—recommitting to the principle and practice of optimizing vehicle operating efficiency.

It doesn’t need to be difficult.