Cyber truck.

[El Presidente]

Can any of these trucks right now tow two ton for 300 miles? 

Has anyone taken a Ford 150 Lightning on the beach? What were the results in terms of the effect on range? 

[Baccy]

On 12/3/2023 at 4:09 AM, Corylax18 said:

Will all new vehicles be electrified in the next 25-30 years? Almost Certainly. But the battery technology of today simply doesn't allow for them to be consistently better than ICE powered vehicles. 

That's what many are saying but I find it hard to believe, unless EVs and that industry do a lot of improving in that timeframe. As you state, the batteries/range capability/charging facilities all need expanding. In their current state there are many drawbacks and a lot of people just simply don't like them for one reason or another, especially if means plopping down their hard earned money for one. This change may be forced at some point but as things currently stand there will always be a need for ICE powered vehicles for certain critical purposes. 

[ImTripN2]

Tow No! The Ford F-150 Lightning Struggled in Our Towing Test (motortrend.com)

 

[MrBirdman]

17 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Can any of these trucks right now tow two ton for 300 miles? 

Answer is a resounding no. Hate to be a broken record here but, again, that’s not especially relevant to the crowd these are being marketed at right now. It might be different in other countries, but in the US the market for trucks is far, far larger than the subset of buyers who actually need them for work or towing a boat. For these people, owning a truck is a personal expression more than it is about utility. An EV truck allows them to satisfy that desire with the added cachet of an EV. Also, given the MPG on ICE trucks, the fuel savings likely balance out more quickly than they do with smaller EVs. It’s a sensible business move.

I think both EV tech and electrification have a ways to go before we see widespread adoption of EV trucks for construction professionals, shipping or towing.

[El Presidente]

7 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

I think both EV tech and electrification have a ways to go before we see widespread adoption of EV trucks for construction professionals, shipping or towing.

Brett, most people who own a 4x4 Truck never take it off road or tow anything more than a box trailer 

There is a reason why the advertising campaigns for these vehicles have them crossing rivers and climbing rocky trails in the countryside. .........the catch is that the owner can take it off road if they want to.......and hence the owner is an alpha 

[99call]

I find it interesting that the person Musk most reminds me of is Howard Hughes (all be it a less impressive version).  And much like Howard, he's falling to pieces in front of everyone's eyes. I find it so sad that he doesn't seem to have anyone in his life, that is really prepared to step in and look after him.

One of the many flaws of capitalism is the inability to recognise the chairman of the board is basically Rainman.  All their thinking is..... juice him till the pips go squeek!

[MrBirdman]

6 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Brett, most people who own a 4x4 Truck never take it off road or tow anything more than a box trailer 

There is a reason why the advertising campaigns for these vehicles have them crossing rivers and climbing rocky trails in the countryside. .........the catch is that the owner can take it off road if they want to.......and hence the owner is an alpha 

Oh I’m well aware. But that works both ways - if people can do the mental contortions necessary to convince themselves they might one day take the thing off road or whatever, some can presumably take the further step of convincing themselves that an EV is the most economical or coolest or whatever way to do it. 

And owning an EV in the US is (for some) a flex in and of itself. Lots of truck owners will laugh, but some will love the idea of the combined EV-truck flex. Especially younger buyers - many of whom genuinely just want to drive an EV, even with all the compromises they entail. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think these are silly. But I also think owning a truck that is used like a sedan is silly. I’m clearly not the arbiter of public taste, though, and for now these EV trucks have proven more popular than one might expect.

[99call]

4 minutes ago, MrBirdman said:

EV

EVs.  Ideally should be the Beatle of the future the small, safe, stripped down, no thrills. cheap. Well designed, nicely styled,  utilitarian vehicle of the working classes.    The fact that EVs seem to be aimed at rich people exclusively is just like an extension conspiring to keep it on the shelf which America/the rest of the world did for decades

[SCgarman]

The Cybertruck is nothing more than a flex/gimmick. Nobody here in the US that owns a full size Ford/Chevy/Dodge/Toyota pickup with a real utility bed is going to scrap what they have and replace it with a Tesla "truck". Nothing can outdo a gasoline or diesel powered V8 in a full size truck. Once again a gimmick vehicle. For those who have more money to burn than common sense, LOL

[BrightonCorgi]

1 hour ago, SCgarman said:

The Cybertruck is nothing more than a flex/gimmick. Nobody here in the US that owns a full size Ford/Chevy/Dodge/Toyota pickup with a real utility bed is going to scrap what they have and replace it with a Tesla "truck". Nothing can outdo a gasoline or diesel powered V8 in a full size truck. Once again a gimmick vehicle. For those who have more money to burn than common sense, LOL

How many current Rivian buyer may've bought a Cyber Truck if they could've at purchase time?

[DaBoot]

Looks ready to get some graffiti on it if parked in the wrong neighborhood.

[El Presidente]

 

I must have tucked right this morning. I promise to tuck left tomorrow 

 

 

[Fuzz]

Elon really needs to upgrade his graphics card.

[Duxnutz]

They had one on display in Boston this week. Looked alot better in person than what I’ve seen previously. 

[El Presidente]

Personally I like the practicality that you can just throw your mountain bike in the back and go!

[SCgarman]

7 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Personally I like the practicality that you can just throw your mountain bike in the back and go!

It doesn't even fit! We'll see how many farms in the USA midwest use these "pickups" as work vehicles. Chuckle!😂

[MoeFOH]

[Bijan]

4 minutes ago, SCgarman said:

It doesn't even fit! We'll see how many farms in the USA midwest use these "pickups" as work vehicles. Chuckle!😂

This is a "standard" way to transport bikes. Rather than dump them in a pile in the truck bed.

I can't speak to people who use them as actual work vehicles. But a lot of truck sales here are seemingly people who don't use them for work.

[rckymtn22]

7 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Personally I like the practicality that you can just throw your mountain bike in the back and go!

The bike looks real, The truck does not, looks like it is made out of cardboard that some hack put together.

[MrBirdman]

2 hours ago, rckymtn22 said:

The bike looks real, The truck does not

I think that says it all right there!

[BrightonCorgi]

On 12/4/2023 at 5:13 PM, 99call said:

 Ideally should be the Beatle of the future the small, safe, stripped down, no thrills. cheap. Well designed, nicely styled,  utilitarian vehicle of the working classes.   

Nobody wants that.  Ask Tata how well the Nano worked out. 

[El Presidente]

2 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Nobody wants that.  Ask Tata how well the Nano worked out. 

Not quite right.  The Chinese BYD Dolphin electric in Oz is selling well. Approx $25,500 USD. They only launched it here in October so early days .

The battery of the BYD DOLPHIN 60.4 kWh has an estimated total capacity of 62 kWh. The usable capacity is 60.5 kWh. An estimated range of about 210 miles is achievable on a fully charged battery.

[99call]

7 hours ago, BrightonCorgi said:

Nobody wants that.  Ask Tata how well the Nano worked out. 

I think it depends which country you are in a the type of car culture that exists there. Currently in the UK, there are a large amount of commuters travelling by themselves, not carrying any cargo. Restrictive parking etc etc.  I think the electric messerschmit remake would fit that gap perfectly. But the price tag for that is likely to be beyond the people who would make best use of it

[BrightonCorgi]

10 hours ago, 99call said:

I think it depends which country you are in a the type of car culture that exists there. Currently in the UK, there are a large amount of commuters travelling by themselves, not carrying any cargo. Restrictive parking etc etc.  I think the electric messerschmit remake would fit that gap perfectly. But the price tag for that is likely to be beyond the people who would make best use of it

There's a lot if's in that and the companies that could make such a car are not doing it for a reason.

 

14 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Not quite right.  The Chinese BYD Dolphin electric in Oz is selling well. Approx $25,500 USD. They only launched it here in October so early days .

That car has only been on sale for two months in Australia.  Let's see how popular they are on year 2 or 3.  Nano had great sales initially.  After that you seen driving in a Nano which wasn't flattering.

 

[djrey]

I work in the automotive industry and electric cars are not all they are hyped up to be. A disposable product at best that is worse for the environment in many ways than its gasoline counterparts. The depreciation of these vehicles is wild as technology rapidly advances at a much faster rate than internal combustion does. Just like your iPhone, a few years down the road you are already obsolete with a 70% battery retention. Go try to sell your iphone 11 and see what you get.

Flipping to the latest and greatest electric car may not be a concern for many wealthy adopters (the majority of electric vehicle owners). But how about middle and lower income classes that see their car as an investment and plan on it lasting 10-15 years? Also, many claim the environment to be a factor of buying an electric car. Hope they aren't planning on swapping it out every few years then as that certainly doesn't align with their supposed views. 

I overlook the level two chargers at work and admire the EV owners who find the time in the middle of the day to pull up and charge as they read or take an hour long nap. Guess an 8 hour long work day isn't their thing. 

The push for EV is no doubt politically driven with the motive to shove it down consumers throats as most manufacturers are being strong armed into increasing their fleet MPG's via less reliable EV's and 4 cyl turbos. The future is hydrogen but the past 10-15 years should have been spent looking into making more efficient hybrids and diesels, which were easily making over 40 mpg in our 3 series Wagons. 

I for one do not have the money to keep replacing cars or drive out of my way to hang out at charging stations. I have a Toyota Tacoma with a manual transmission. A vehicle that will have no issue going 10, 15 ,20 years and well over 500k miles. That to me in environmentally friendly. 

Also a good article -

2023-10-TrueCostofEVs-BennettIsaac.pdf (texaspolicy.com)