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First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

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Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#31

For non-Australians, "ute" is the widely-used abbreviation for "utility vehicle".

When I read ute I was expecting to see something like an electric Maloo, not a 4x4.

It's really only since the demise of Ford and Holden in recent years that "ute" has been used to describe an American-style pickup like a Ford Ranger or VW Amarok with an enclosed tray.

Maybe someone will do an electric "Sandman" panelvan conversion. The petrol fumes were always terrible driving around with the back open.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#32

For non-Australians, "ute" is the widely-used abbreviation for "utility vehicle".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_(vehicle)

> Traditionally the term referred to vehicles built on passenger car chassis and with the cargo tray integrated with the passenger body. However, present-day usage of the term "ute" in Australia and New Zealand has expanded to include any vehicle with an open cargo area at the rear; which would be called a pickup truck in other countries.

My first two vehicles were utes: Holden, of course (HJ '74 and HX '76).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_HJ#/media/File:Holden_U...

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#33

Wow, that's a beautiful truck. I wish American utility vehicle designers would go back to a boxier design. Edit: I'd kill for a truck that had Land Rover looks with Ford or Toyota truck reliability.

The truck in the article is a converted 79 Series Toyota Land Cruiser. I would have thought you could get one in USA?

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#34

Wow, that's a beautiful truck. I wish American utility vehicle designers would go back to a boxier design. Edit: I'd kill for a truck that had Land Rover looks with Ford or Toyota truck reliability.

See https://bollingermotors.com/

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#35

Wow, that's a beautiful truck. I wish American utility vehicle designers would go back to a boxier design. Edit: I'd kill for a truck that had Land Rover looks with Ford or Toyota truck reliability.

The truck in the article is a converted 79 Series Toyota Land Cruiser. I would have thought you could get one in USA?

That's funny, this got me googling around and I discovered my mistake. I thought that looked like a retro Toyota grill. Definitely in love with the Land Cruiser 70.

Unfortunately we can't get them in the states. Truly rugged bare bones vehicles have sold so poorly in the U.S. that a base Ford pickup is about the simplest thing you can buy here.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#37
> It’s available in 20 to 120 kilowatt hour battery packs, with modular battery packs in it, and has a 700 Newton meter electric motor in it,” said Possingham.

I bet you he said Newton metre.

It's an extra kicker that people who don't use metric units also get to change the spelling of metric units the rest of us are using.

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#38
post #10

I find it sadly ironic that the industry that's responsible for most emissions and actively influences political position in this country to put profit before the environment is the one that this zero emissions car is being targeted at. With that said, bravo on the implementation and using the 79 as a very solid platform. The sales pitch of the article doesn't sound very compelling though, so I wonder how much succes…

Also ironically, the mining sector is also the driving factor behind a lot of renewable energy innovation projects in Australia. Since mining usually takes place in the middle of nowhere, utilising the sun/wind for energy makes things easier than having to transport fossil fuels long distances. https://arena.gov.au/projects/agnew-renewable-energy-microgr...

Also decomissioned mines are increasingly being used for pump-hydo, eg: https://www.genexpower.com.au/250mw-kidston-pumped-storage-h...

Re: First electric ute engineered in Australia for use in mining and agribusiness

#40

For non-Australians, "ute" is the widely-used abbreviation for "utility vehicle".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ute_(vehicle) > Traditionally the term referred to vehicles built on passenger car chassis and with the cargo tray integrated with the passenger body. However, present-day usage of the term "ute" in Australia and New Zealand has expanded to include any vehicle with an open cargo area at the rear; which would be called a pickup truck in other countries. My first two vehicles were utes: Ho…

Born in the early 70s in Australia, there's something visceral about Holden V8s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMUx4DXDhA0

And the Monaro GTS sedan on the HJ Wikipedia page is my idea of a family car.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_HJ#/media/File%3AHold...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_HJ#/media/File%3AHold...

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