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

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

#581

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. The U.S. market had a very long run of both large expensive and small cheap pickup trucks, and people consistently have bought the big luxury pickups. It is why all the small trucks were axed to begin with. Even back in their prime, I saw many more F-150s than Rangers. Its an easy up-sell as I'm sure any car salesman will say: well for only a few more thousand you get into a full-size, and from there, add som…

>Even back in their prime, I saw many more F-150s than Rangers. I think you're misremembering. The streets were flooded with Rangers and S10s back in the day. Full sized pickups have been the most popular class of vehicle for decades but that number is grossly inflated by the amount that are bought as fleet vehicles or work vehicles.

Looking at the Ranger, it sold 5.6M units between 1985-2005, its highest selling years.

F series Fords definitely outsold it, but is also a larger product line.

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

#582
post #576
post #411

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The purpose of the CAFE regulations is very explicitly to favor American automakers who make big trucks.

It wasn't the intended purpose. It turned out that way because the Detroit lobbyists were smarter and more motivated than the government policy people, and they bamboozled them.

The congress critters knew what they were doing and didn't do it for free.

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

#583

150 mile range makes it close to useless. As soon as you take it on a highway, the range will likely drop by half. Which means you can only do a round trip of 37 miles before you have to charge. Even a very aerodynamic Model 3 loses half of range at highway speeds. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/vkz0SOnR45Gved9B-q9n...

It really depends on how they define their mileage rating. If it is an inflated number like some EV manufacturers, then yeah. If it is a conservative rating, then it's a useful amount of range for an "in town" vehicle.

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

#584

For anyone curious, if you made a similarly sized gas-powered pickup with an i4 engine, it would be penalized more than a full-sized pickup for being too fuel inefficient, despite likely getting much better mileage than an F-150 because, since 2011, bigger cars are held to a lesser standard by CAFE[1]. 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_average_fuel_economy...

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

This has been a known problem and could be changed if the political will to make common sense policy changes and corrections when needed was anywhere near existing. Unfortunately, we live in a [political] dystopia

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

#585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good news, it can be added. > A Bluetooth speaker holder that fits under the climate knobs is available, but there is also a soundbar that can be installed in the dashboard storage compartment. https://americancarsandracing.com/2025/04/25/best-accessorie...

Technically you could zip tie or duct tape an Amazon Basics Bluetooth speaker to just anything even a lawnmower. This looks like just one step above that. It’s a shame they didn’t add a DIN head unit slot and throw a plastic cover over it, preinstall install speaker wires. Anyone could then DIY a real stereo for less than they are probably selling the Bluetooth speaker/soundbar.

Or even just conduit between all the common places we would need to run cables.

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

#586

The issue with this is they claim the cost savings came from not having a screen and other silly features, but that’s not where money is spent. The real cost savings came a tiny, 150 mile battery. It could easily be <100 miles loaded up after a few years of use, which means there are very few use cases for this truck, and it certainly doesn’t make sense without the tax credit. Cool idea, but there’s no getting around…

Let me introduce you to a concept we call "the city"

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

#587
post #529

As a car audio enthusiast, the biggest obstacle to putting a system into a new high-tech car is bypassing the deeply-embedded infotainment system while retaining decent aesthetics and steering wheel controls. The idea of getting an electric drivetrain and new-car safety with a 90's-style blank canvas for audio is amazing. I hope that the noise isolation and intended speaker mounting locations are good!

feature, not a bug, they want you to buy their $4000 BOSE upgrade which is actually $500 of equipment.

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

#588
post #209

Me, showing this to my wife: Oh, they made a car for you! She's not wrong, though I'm not at a point where I want THIS much minimalism (or lack of range). What a great product though. Now, the Ineos Grenadier? That thing speaks right to my soul.

https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/isuzu-npr-npr-77-35q-li-d...

1/3 of the price including tax credit. Too maximalist?

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

#589
post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electric vehicle tax credits are non-refundable tax credits meaning you can't get a credit for more than you owe. [1][2] Which means no one is getting your tax dollars to buy vehicles (though there may be some infrastructure or manufacturing grants for companies). [1] https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12600 [2] https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-credits-for-individuals-wha...

That's not really true. If the taxes someone would otherwise pay are going to their electric vehicle instead, somebody else has to make up the difference. So yes, other people are getting my tax dollars to buy electric vehicles. It just takes two steps rather than one, if you want to look at it that way.

Congress doesn't retroactively raise tax rates to make up the difference. If the government budget ends up in a deficit, which obviously it does, not just because of this but for many reasons, that is financed via debt. This isn't passed to the population as higher taxes, but as inflation, which affects everyone equally, including whoever got the tax credits in the first place.

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

#590
I think one of the most amazing things about this new company is that its run by women who held prominent roles in the Big 3. Its an intriguing vehicle but a Ford Maverick pickup offers far more value for the same price.

Sad to say but if the thing was made in Mexico and was priced at $15,000 it would be a huge hit. By the time you accounted for the $7500 federal tax credit it would be priced at around a quarter the price of a gas 4 cylinder powered pickup. An entire industry of add-ons and wraps would spring up around it.

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