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A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

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531–540 of 1001 posts

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#531

People say they, and many other Americans, want a cheap and simple truck. They're lying. I know you don't believe me but it's true. Automotive sales numbers are public information. Every single time a VIN is stamped into some metal, that record is public. The gradual decline in the sale of small, simple, cheap trucks is well documented. People want full-sized trucks. People say they love manual transmissions, too. Th…

are you sure that people want "trucks" the size of tanks or is it that the US is now in an arms race focused on vehicle size? Could it be that reasonably sized vehicles are just not available?

The auto companies' argument about what consumers "want" is mostly nonsense.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do see this being great for short utility trips (think running errands, picking something up, etc), and as a utility vehicle (would be nice to be able to have an 8ft bed). Japan and the rest of the world figured this out decades ago. They're called kei trucks. You can buy pre-2000 imported ones in the US from like $5-15k depending on the miles/condition/year/transmission. I have a 1990 Suzuki Carry that is solely…

Aren't there issues with states randomly revoking registration for imported kei vehicles because of emissions/safety/whatever?

I'm in NJ so as long as it's 30 years or older there's no emissions required. If you're in a state that doesn't allow registration of kei trucks then there are companies that make it pretty straightforward to get them titled and registered in states that have very lax laws like Montana.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#533
post #43

I LOVE it! THIS is the kind of truck I'd be looking at to replace my 1998 Ford Ranger. Here is what could be potential deal-breakers: - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. - Lack of good charge management and battery conditioning. Either that, or a cheap and easy to replace battery pack. I'd really like both! - Comparable h…

This truck has 150 miles of range at 100% charge with no weight. I like the idea of the truck, but you won’t be doing “glamping” with it and you probably won’t be using the battery for anything but driving

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#534
post #43

I LOVE it! THIS is the kind of truck I'd be looking at to replace my 1998 Ford Ranger. Here is what could be potential deal-breakers: - Lack of a mobile app. Minimalist design is great, but I still want an app to manage charging and be alerted to any vehicle issues. - Lack of good charge management and battery conditioning. Either that, or a cheap and easy to replace battery pack. I'd really like both! - Comparable h…

> Lack of a mobile app.

OVMS was originally developed for the Tesla Roadster and then adapted to the Leaf, ...

https://www.openvehicles.com

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#535
post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with bench seating is not side impact but accidental steering wheel input during hard cornering. In the typical 10 and 2 hand position having your butt move makes your shoulders move, the shoulders make the hands move, and now you’re understeering. Understeering on a mountain road likely means death, and on other roads a ditch or hitting a phone pole.

Steering position has been taught as 9 and 3 for a long time now… but still fair point. You can add a bit of alcantara to the seat to help you stay in place though. My RDX has it for the sporty-ish trim and it helps.

It's actually more like 8 and 4 or even 7 and 5 to keep your hands and arms out of the way of the airbag

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#537

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Example #5621 that a simple carbon tax would be miles better than the complex morass of regulations we currently have.

I think the best way is to tax fuel itself. This way worse mpg result in more tax. Tax diesel more than gasoline, LNG less.

This is already done, in Europe most of the fuel costs are taxes.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also who sedans and compact cars have largely ceased to exist. The vast majority of new vehicles are crossovers or _light trucks_, which aren't held to the same emission/efficiency standards.

> It's also who sedans and compact cars have largely ceased to exist. Consumer demand is still an important factor. Sedans and compact cars are still out there, sitting on dealer lots with reasonable prices.

Yeah but the only way to protect myself if hit by a freight train is to also drive a freight train.

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Example #5621 that a simple carbon tax would be miles better than the complex morass of regulations we currently have.

I don’t think it would be possible to produce a carbon tax that’s simple

Tax the fuel. Gasoline now has a $X/gallon tax, as does propane, as does coal, whatever.

What is the difficulty with that?

Re: A $20k American-made electric pickup with no paint, no stereo, no screen

#540

If this can’t compete head to head (no tariffs or other import restrictions) with BYD and the like, then I don’t know why one would get excited. Feels like an expensive consolation prize with tons of compromises. I want competition.

It's a pickup for US market because it has no plans to remotely compete with BYD. I think most Americans would go for a 15k Toyota Hilux Champ with similar design ethos, but chickentax.

I would buy 3 at that price, good grief.
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