961–970 of 1001 posts
Hot take: this, as some like Ars Technica have observed, stands a decent chance of being a real game changer. Everything about this vehicle launch appears masterful, from its technology to its branding to the obvious care taken to ensure that in almost every respect it is so superior, and offers so many no-brainers, as to make anyone who can (both individuals and especially, fleet managers), buy these as fast they ca…
There’s a lot of stereotyping of truck owners going on in this thread which is kind of funny given how pro-EV HN normally is. It’s like the aesthetics of a pickup truck is offensive to some people. Kind of bizarre and not something I’m used to seeing but I guess I live in Ohio so that probably has something to do with it. A lot of people just want to move stuff, they don’t want to like…burn your house down while wear…
On my drives, I usually count how many pickup trucks are carrying something/anything. I have one this is Austin, Kansas City, Seattle, Los Angeles. My assumption when I started was that this data would differ by location and about 40% trucks would be carrying something. In reality the average is 2 out of 100 trucks carried anything in my counting. The highest I have seen in Los Angeles with 6 trucks carrying somethin…
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Why would low speed high torque operation be bad for range? Are the electric motors less efficient at lower speeds? Hill climbing and off roading probably has bad gas mileage too?
It is easy to understand. Think about trying to pedal your bike in the mud with 5mph. You will run out of energy way earlier compared to biking on perfect, flat tarmac with 10mph. To overcome friction, you need additional energy. The electric F150 comes with ~3.7 gal equiv. of gasoline worth of energy. The gas powered comes with ~25 gal tank. If we assume 90% efficiency for the electric motor and 25% for the gasoline…
Since rock crawling is all about low end torque with guys installing two transfer cases so they can go 4 lo-lo and redline at 3 km/h I would have thought the low end torque of electric motor would be better than gas.
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I could legitimately see every job site having at least one as a rolling power station. That could be a very useful and popular niche, construction sites without power at early phases of construction aren't rare and power tool batteries are expensive.
I would be really interested in understanding the breakdown in F150's as sold by model number. For a lot of truck owners, there's going to be some resistance because they love having a v8 engine etc. I don't see those people moving over quickly (although they might be swayed by the acceleration/speed). But if you're using one as a tradesperson, this seems like an absolute no-brainer. You're not driving enormous dista…
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the $40k cybertruck gets you 250 miles. (...in late 2022)
The Lightning isn't supposed to be going until 2022 either, and Ford is having supply chain issues with chips, which this truck probably needs more than any car they've ever made, so we'll see which ships first.
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> No comprehensive supercharger network. Agreed. I've been driving a Leaf since 2015 (two different generations by now) and the main reason that makes road trips unpalatable is NOT range. Not at all. Charging more often? Sure, whatever. Unless it's a business trip or a trip across the country it's fine. I've discovered some stuff I'd probably would never have otherwise, by routing via chargers in small towns. No, the…
>>> US highway speeds are crazy Crazy as in high or low? I-5 between San Francisco and LA is about ~70mph limit. That's ~113km/h. A lot of highways in Europe are often at 130km/h sometimes going up to 140km/h limit. P.S. And if you think those limits are even remotely observed, try a road trip in Italy or Bulgaria :P
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Taking a pickup for a grocery run is like using a jackhammer to push in a thumbtack.
I own a cow. Because I own a cow, I often need to get bales of hay from the local co-op. I need a bed (or a trailer) to bring those back to the farm. A pickup can do this. I grow vegetables. Because I grow vegetables, I occasionally need to pick up a yard of compost. I need a bed to bring that back to the farm. A pickup can do this, too. I own a tractor. Because I own a tractor, I need to be able to tow said tractor…
If you're using the pickup to haul to and from the jobsite 99% of the time, sure it doesn't make sense to buy something else to do errands around town on the weekends.
You'd be in the minority though.
Most household pickup owners in North America use them as a car. Here in Alberta there are more pickups sold every year than any other vehicle category. They are simply using the wrong tool for the job, and defend their 'fashion' choice by the once a year they throw in a bag of compost from home depot.
Furthermore, most North American households have 2+ vehicles, they do in fact have a choice as to which tool to use for groceries.
The aspect I'm most curious about is towing range. I have a 5000lb travel trailer that I tow about 200km away a few times a year. I'm pretty sure I'd be out of luck with a vehicle like this. It has the ability to pull the trailer with ease, but most preliminary estimates are that range would be two digits with that sort of load. In my current vehicle I do stop for gas midway, but it would be an entirely different sit…
The occasional heavy-duty trip is a reasonable use case for a range extender (as in, an IC engine gen-set) either towed or on the truck bed.
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Taking a pickup for a grocery run is like using a jackhammer to push in a thumbtack.
Good thing we live in the USA and can drive whatever we want to the store.
We seem to think because we have the freedom to drive a V8 half ton dually less than a block to the mailbox with the aircon blasting, that it somehow makes it any less of a stupid thing to do.
Most North Americans translate whatever freedoms we've been granted into one: the freedom to thoughtlessly consume and squander without restraint. I guess it remains to be seen whether your freedom is a good thing or not, but the way things been going I suspect it aint gonna go your way forever.
Even a 5-year-old knows: if you keep using your transformer as a projectile aimed at your brother, it's gonna be taken away.