Mileage Wars Are On: Details on GM's New Four-Cylinder Engine

That’s just the beginning. The four-cylinder is a modular engine that will also make its way under the hood of the redesigned Buick LaCrosse, Fox said. How about the Chevy Malibu? Fox said it’s a possibility.

With fuel-saving — and power-increasing — direct injection, the engine makes 182 hp in the Equinox and Terrain. If that means the Malibu could make equivalent power (its four-cylinder currently makes 169 hp), that could help with highway passing — and bump mileage beyond the car’s current 22/33 mpg EPA rating. Unlike the horsepower wars, the mileage wars are something we can get behind. Ford stole the title of thriftiest non-hybrid family car with the 23/34 mpg Fusion. Can GM leapfrog that? We’ll have to wait and see.