People are not buying EVs

None of them are into making big trucks

 

I’m not saying that it isn’t a good truck - I’m saying that although other trucks may have certain aspects where they perform better, the combination of what it does well enough and it being a better vehicle makes it a better truck from the perspective that you are picking the best vehicle in a class of vehicles called midsized trucks.

 

Cummins doesn’t really have a choice but to try to do something on the internal combustion front.

That’s what they are known for.

 

HDs from the Big 3 can pull in excess of 35,000 lbs. Which EV is in development to do that? Can a unibody Tesla even handle that stress?

 

Anything unibody is not a truck. Ripping the rear of my Crand Cherokee and making a bed out of it doesn't make it a truck.

 

Cybertruck has an "Exoskeleton", come on guys, let's talk physics, not science fiction.

 

I'm making more

 

It's all about compromise and what the use case of the buyer is.

When there's chatter about an electric pickup there's always someone coming in with the "well I tow 6,000 pounds 400 miles daily, this sucks!" and of course electric as-it-is today isn't going to fit their use case. I doubt they'll replace trucking directly but for say, intra-facility work, I'd say an electric semi has a place. Yes, there will always be use cases EV won't cover well.

We can talk about the Ridgeline's inferior towing, independent suspension and it's lack of articulation, unibody construction, relatively poor ground clearance, angles, relative cost, etc. (and in my opinion, it's width along with it's platform-mates, but I digress)

But you should acknowledge it's more car-like driving, the ride benefits of independent suspension, increased interior space granted by the lack of a frame, better fuel economy, all-weather AWD benefits (versus futzing with part-time 4WD, the Auto-4WD systems aren't standard.), etc. Probably things whoever is doing the declaring feels a typical new buyer would prefer and definitely would be a better match for a lot of people out there.

"Best" can be the biggest payload, the most torque and that's one way to look at it. But if I decided tomorrow that off-road driving was no longer for me, my current "best SUV" choice for my use case (take a wild guess!) drops below a last-gen Highlander.

I like to call 'em pickups anyway to avoid the whole AWD/4WD semantics and I'm sure there's no shortage of folks who think open bed = "truck" as much as you may disagree. I bet that's aimed at the typical older new car buyer who probably lives in a suburb and wants an open bed but isn't hitting the trail or pulling a horse trailer - those folks know their requirements already.

Speaking of...


As for hydrogen, I can't see it going far. Use in a fuel-cell as it is now is ideal versus burning (got to drive a Nexo before, was pretty neat) but it's crazy pricey (of course that can change) and I'd rather the energy put into the process be used to charge EVs and heavy vehicles getting some hybridization.

I know folks like that Tesla-with-the-generator trailer as some big dunk on electrics but if that Tesla is doing all it's in-town driving on electrons, it will absolutely be a net benefit over a gas car since it'll effectively be a PHEV with extra steps. And hey, they'd have some freedom to choose how it's charged - generator powered by ___, solar, pedal power (kidding!) - rather than us folks tied solely to gasoline.

I don't think any current EV will shift out of park when plugged in though, would be a neat hack though.

 

If you watched the tractor pull video I posted, you’d see that they were hooked up to a 40k lbs tractor sled. Cybertruck out pulled them.

 

That’s silly.

Cars used to not be unibody, they used to be body on frame. Literally the first pickup was a Ford Model T that had a bed in the back.

Did that make them trucks?

If an El Camino is a truck, because it was body on frame and had a bed, then it’s hard to argue that a Maverick, Ridgeline, etc. aren’t because they perform exactly the same function.

Meanwhile, they are classified by the EPA as trucks.

Functionally a truck. Legally a truck.

 

Yes, after all there is nothing in existence that uses the term exoskeleton. It’s a made up word.

 

I swear, if you burn popcorn in the microwave one more time, I’m going to start reheating fish.

 

It’s a neat party trick but I’m not convinced at it’s correlation to practicality. We had the whole space shuttle pull for the Tundra, that freight train for the Lightning. I definitely see the top-end Cybertruck giving them a run for money just from motor + tire alone (didn’t catch if it’s different) on a track like that but of course we won’t know how applicable it is yet especially long-term.

Unibodies have clearly never been more capable but I’m not too confident Tesla can/would build a solid long-termer. Same company that decided industrial-grade displays was good enough instead of automotive and paid the price for that. Crossovers have never been more capable off-road (maybe except for angles) but the usual cooling (whether center clutch, transmission, etc), traction control/articulation, lighter duty construction limitations do apply to varying degrees.

But I do look forward to TFL trying it out.

Speaking of Popcorn…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Limpr1L8Pss

 

I'll see your fish, and raise you Indian food!

 

You've obviously never had good Indian food.

 

I once flew London to LA with a sinus infection - which was great because they served Indian food on the plane and normally the smell overwhelms me to the point of dry heaving.

I have been blessed/cursed with a great sense of smell, but certain foods are simply overwhelming to the point where I can’t be near them.

 

I leave this here with the observation that this clearly is the sort of vehicle that would actually be more useful for many than a brodozer:

https://youtube.com/shorts/hh45Lth8iNI?si=CRdGFM3gGckB3lJf

 

Since most of us here like to shit on EVs, I saw about 14 Teslas charging at a Wawa, all owners looked bored on their phones, a couple were outside their Teslas pacing back and forth... but holy crap, 30 mins for only 75 mile range???

https://energy5.com/wawa-tesla-charging-stations-what-you-need-to-know-before-you-charge-your-tesla#

oooooof

 

That's exactly why I wouldn't buy one. If I truly was super conscious about MPGs, I'd get a Prius Prime. As is, I already travel lots.

Ain't nobody have time to charge for 30 mins on a road trip.

 

It's 175 miles in 30 minutes, not 75. But I don't like planning, so long trips would get annoying.

Sadly I only rarely drive more than 100 miles in a day, which would be 3 bucks charging while I'm sleeping or free while I'm working if I didn't have a 15mpg brick instead.

 

Thanks for the correction. Still a lot of time to be planning and stopping and such.

 

Worth noting that there’s the trade off between longer, more frequent stops across the country (plus all the uptime/apps/etc. headache of current charging networks) versus the time savings of no more gas station visits around town + oil changes. (assuming the reduction gearbox is engineered properly unlike some earlier HyunKia EV’s…)

But of course you’d need a regular, reliable charging place while you sleep.

My apartment complex has a handful of Blink network chargers offering a stupid cheap electricity price but I don’t believe for a moment it’ll be like that long-term especially since it’s 16x more up the street. (3 cents vs 48/kwh, ~20 cents in the apartment for reference)

 

Another thing to consider. If enough people go electric, there will be huge increases in rates and taxes. Guaranteed.

 

... or they'll tax per mile. EVs are literal smartphones on wheels. More so than most modern ICE vehicles.

 

If EV truly are magnitudes cheaper to operate then it should be boycotted by environmentalists, who always opposed wider freeways on the grounds of induced demand. What do they think will happen if driving is suddenly much cheaper?

 

They have to wait until most people are driving EV's before they start taxing them. They're hard enough to sell as it is.

Unfortunately, whenever I hear about environmental groups in the news it's not because they did something smart. I don't believe they really think things through half the time.

 

I think California is working on taxing EVs by miles driven every year. It would require some sort of mandatory mileage reporting... What could go wrong with that?

 

Most new EV's are geared towards the high-end with tech bling which I don't appreciate (and bring back the donut spare!) but I bet most new ICE vehicles come with a telematics suite and are similarly smartphoney now - the 4Runner has had such a system for years sending Toyota all the details about the car and it's driving unless we opt-out.

Of course, the most optimal solution would be walking/biking/mass transit becoming a better transportation option as opposed to "just another lane bro!" but you gotta take your "wins" where you can get them.

(I'd love to see more folks in buses driven by professionals so more space on the road for my butt who enjoys driving)

You're also zooming in on cost/mile and not the whole picture. Plenty of ways to offset that cheapness whether upfront purchase price, charging convenience, etc. that make it not quite the only cause for congestion hell. A bicycle is dirt cheap per mile after all. (no insurance, no license required, cheap parts/labor compared to a car, not affected by OPEC... freedom!)

If people were really bent on cost savings and per mile then the Mirage and Bolt probably would be a lot higher on the sales charts than they are.

I'd imagine it could easily be rolled in with the safety inspection or registration.
Some other places have a flat-rate registration fee like Texas to replace the lack of gas used to tax. Not sure what I'd prefer there.

 

In Wisconsin EVs and hybrids pay more for their registration.

 

Man, are you going to be surprised when you find out just how many places your car’s license plate and location are stored in.

Sometimes cop cars aren’t even bothering to pull you over for speeding because they are more focused on data acquisition.