Want a BIG 'Merican EV ute / truck.

[figjam]

Getting my usual daily dose of the latest motoring news this morning ............

Ford ........... https://www.msn.com/en-au/motoring/...p&cvid=f1d3aa2677bd4518adc7abc1171f862d&ei=11

GM ..... https://www.msn.com/en-ae/news/othe...veals-excessive-complexity-weight/ar-AA1bwp16

It seems reality is bigger, more complex and heavier than dreams of a pollution free vehicle appeared a few years ago.
More resources = more research costs = longer range = bigger batteries = more vehicle weight = less payload ? = less practicality ?

The idea of these vehicles (even ICE versions) on Australian roads with muppets on a base level car license is terrifying, made worse by the likelihood of towing a ginormous caravan on a narrow regional country.

 

[Immortality]

Fortunately (or maybe scary) here in NZ you are limited to 6000kg (13,200lbs) GVM on a class 1 (car license) and anything over 3500kg needs extra paper work with regard to weight. Still, you see plenty of these large 4x4's towing trailers and moving a lot faster than the 90km/h speed limit for a vehicle with trailers.

Some of the yank tanks are rated to 40,000lbs (18,000kg) these days. Scary

 

[figjam]

I may be talking out of my RS here ....... but in NSW, where does it mention that you can hook up a Silverado (GVM 3,300kg) to caravan / trailer (up to 4,500kg) and head off to Dead Dingo Creek on the same licence as a Toyota Yaris auto.
Something not right there.

A class C – Car licence lets you drive:

• vehicles including cars, utes, vans, some light trucks and car-based motor tricycles. You can also drive tractors and certain implements such as graders
• vehicles up to 4.5 tonne Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM)
• vehicles that seat up to 12 adults, including the driver.

 

[J_D 2.0]

The really stupid thing is that most of the carbon emissions of an EV is tied up in the battery so the bigger the battery pack the longer the break even point is on carbon emissions!

I wouldn’t at all be surprised if there is no carbon emissions payback period on these lard arse trucks and SUVs, ie: they never break even against an ICE vehicle (especially against a smaller one like a Honda Civic etc) in their expected lifetime.

John Cadogan has mentioned this a few times in his YouTube videos, that building big arse EVs isn’t going to save the planet at all and manufacturers should be building smaller and lighter vehicles, not heavy ones. I’m in complete agreement with that statement, you can’t bang on about saving the planet while producing the heaviest vehicles possible to move a single person from point A to point B.

What makes a lot more sense is vehicles like the Aptera, which is small and light enough to never need to be plugged in to charge for most people. Just the solar panels on the body produce sufficient charge to drive it down the road a decent amount of distance.

https://aptera.us/

 

[Derekthetree]

Giant EV trucks are as pointless as giant ICE trucks.
They are proportional to penis size.

Same with lift height on a jeep.
Or a V8 is a saloon