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lol

 

It's impressive for sure. The performance benefits of electric powertrains are tough to overstate. But how useful is that much power? I think the Lightning has an absurd amount of power for what it is. Going 0-60 in 4 seconds is a neat party trick, but moving 7,000 lbs that fast is murder on tires. I'm more ginger on the pedal than I was with my Model Y because of how much the Lightning wants to spin the front tires. I'd expect Tesla does a better job calibrating the power balance, though.

I think Cybertruck is a big miss for the mainstream market. It's a great value for what it is, but so much of the engineering effort and production cost goes into things that the average person doesn't care about. There will be people interested in paying $20K extra for world-class performance, but most of us don't give a crap if it's bulletproof. Door ding resistance would be useful, but not a great tradeoff for being butt-ugly IMHO.

I like air suspensions and faster charging, but I think it will be difficult to produce the Cybertruck for a competitive price with the Lightning. I'd appreciate the smaller size and better tech, though, so I'd be happy to own one if the deal was right. That probably wouldn't happen for quite awhile, though.

 

I'm not thrilled by the CT appearance either. I'm holding out hope for the new Ram coming soon. Only one I have a deposit on atm. Then there is one other idea I've tossed around in my mind for years. A restomod 70 El Camino. EV powertrain and all the modern conveniences of today's vehicles. Something that could be a DD. They have retrofit kits available for most platforms, this one from GM. https://www.chevrolet.com/content/da...yer_PR14-2.pdf I wouldn't use that exact kit though, not enough HP.

 

That system looks pretty slick, but I think it's cost-prohibitive for most of us at $70K for a turn-key kit. That 66 kWh pack probably wouldn't get more than 150 miles on something as inefficient as an old El Camino.

Tesla has shown unique willingness to drastically lower prices, so I keep hoping things change. I'm still in love with my Lightning, but I could see a dual-motor Cybertruck if prices significantly came down whenever the time comes.

 

But wait.... There's more!

 

I'm waiting for Optimus Prime to come busting out of the cyber truck.

 

The design and engineering portion (stars at 7:40) of the video below is quite interesting.

 

$5k annually for insurance? Only rich people with disposable money will ever drive these hideous looking contraptions, and then only until the first accident that disables the truck in which case it'll be thrown away.

 

Doomsayers will doomsay. We have a bit of history about being on the opposite side of things, so why stop now?

I don't think the Cybertruck has a chance of ever going as mainstream as the Model 3 or Y because of its polarizing looks and limited appeal. I think it'll remain a small-volume niche truck until demand falls off, and they'll hopefuly find ways of lowering production cost to make it more competitive. I'm more impressed with the Lightning every day, but I could see owning a Cybertruck if the deal were right. I don't want to drive a sharp-edged silver triangle, but I'd enjoy the smaller size and a few of the other unique features like rolling tonneau and air suspension. No chance at their current pricing, though.

Remember all of the naysayers back in 2014 when Ford unveiled their all-aluminum F150? Body shops, insurance companies, and truck buyers adjusted.

 

No problem going to a automotive store to purchase that replacement wiper blade

 

Seen a few aluma duty's with crack aluminum bed panel adjacent to the cab reported on this site. Our '17 Aluma duty had two holes in the bed from T posts. In all the years we've never had a hole in a truck bed.

Military Grade...

 

That term is one of the most misleading and meaningless terms, but they still use it eight years later.

Would you say punctured beds are a more common problem than those rusting out? I know what I prefer in Minnesota.

 

Over 4' long 50"

 

Don't have a rust problem in Texas or much of the country.

 

"Military Grade" does not have the same meaning it did years ago, not even close.

Growing and eventually going to high school in the midwest, I didn't know that there were vehicles without rust until I left home. Never again will we live in the north. I live just north of the arctic circle in AK for 6 years and some other frigid climates, never again...