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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

#81

Post by patagonia »

connicpu wrote: post #61
ryandrake wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, it's pretty exciting. I'd like to see how much more they could strip out to reduce the price and still have a viable commercial product. I guess I'm living firmly in the past, but $20K still seems to be a high price for a car. Then again, I haven't bought a car new since the 90s, so I'm probably just an old fart who hasn't grokked what things cost today. I still remember the day when the base-model Corolla start…

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics[1], $9999 in 1995 is equivalent to $21,275.25 today, so it's a pretty spot on price for a barebones car. [1]: https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

Except, with advances in computational design and engineering, manufacturing automation, and moving to plastic for the body I would expect a reduction in price, in real terms. Not impressed.

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

#83

Post by aaronbrethorst »

alephnerd wrote: post #36
kstrauser wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All true but totally irrelevant. I wouldn't get this to make a cross-country trip, but I would absolutely, 100% get this to have an errand vehicle that never leaves the metro area.

> All true but totally irrelevant Not really. The average pickup truck purchaser's has a household income of around $110,000 and 75% live outside cities [0]. When they are purchasing a pickup, it is meant to be both a daily driver and an errand vehicle. Not have 4 seats AND having a lower range makes it a niche vehicle from a consumer sales perspective. This is most likely being targeted at fleets, which tend to have…

>> All true but totally irrelevant

> Not really.

The person you're replying to shares their perspective about why they think your complaints are irrelevant to them. You can't "not really" someone's lived experience. Well you can, but it sounds smug and out of touch.

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

#84

Post by ty6853 »

neural_thing wrote: post #47
ryandrake wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, it's pretty exciting. I'd like to see how much more they could strip out to reduce the price and still have a viable commercial product. I guess I'm living firmly in the past, but $20K still seems to be a high price for a car. Then again, I haven't bought a car new since the 90s, so I'm probably just an old fart who hasn't grokked what things cost today. I still remember the day when the base-model Corolla start…

According to this, there is only one new car model of any kind selling for under $20K in the US these days https://www.carfax.com/rankings/cheapest-cars

One would be wiser to based on annual depreciation in real $ plus time value of purchase price. I suspect out of new trucks a tacoma would be the cheapest since the depreciation is low to negative (IIRC recently a Tacoma was worth more 1 year old than new).

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

#85

Post by thebruce87m »

alephnerd wrote: post #7

It has a base range of 150 miles [0], which won't resolve range anxiety worries as the average American travels 42 miles a day [1] and only has 2 seats. I think it will do well for hobbyists and EV enthusiasts, but it would be hard to compete with a slightly pricier Tacoma. When people buy a pickup truck, they often use it as a daily commuter as well. > Got a road trip planned? These trips are all doable on a single…

> It has a base range of 150 miles [0], which won't resolve range anxiety worries as the average American travels 42 miles a day [1]

What am I missing here? Charge at home and you’ll easily do those 42 miles every day surely?

Especially since your other point said these would be aimed at those outside of cities and those people will presumably have parking/charging at their home.

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

#86

Post by bryanlarsen »

taylodl wrote: 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…

> a cheap and easy to replace battery pack.

Battery expansion is a user installable option. It might not be as easy to replace the main battery, but the expansion battery will be, and will make it easier to install newer tech down the road, etc.

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

#87

Post by hansvm »

ty6853 wrote: post #35

I love it. However I wonder about the overlap between people that need a truck and this particular truck. I have only owned trucks when I needed to go out in the middle of bumfuck nowhere with a payload, in places with poor access to electricity. If I need to go in bumfuck nowhere without payload then there is no need for the truck, and if I need a payload in the city it's just way way cheaper to have it delivered wh…

I definitely worry about the ability of this thing to drive through a couple feet of water safely.

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

#88

Post by rgbrgb »

Kind of a big light phone [0]. China has had these for a bit, I’d guess there’s a decent market for them, though hesitant to buy the first production model of any car, given how dependent we seem to be on warranties and market forces to ensure manufacturing quality and the poor survival rates for new car companies. Interested in v2 for sure.

[0]: https://www.thelightphone.com/

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

#90

Post by danans »

From the related Ars article[1]:

> Rather than relying on a built-in infotainment system, you'll use your phone plugged into a USB outlet or a dedicated tablet inside the cabin for your entertainment and navigation needs.

How is a "dedicated tablet" different than an infotainment system, other than not having vehicle telematics and controls? Also, a regular tablet UX would be dangerous while driving, and typically they don't have their own mobile data connections.

1. https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/04/amazon-backed-startup-w...

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