4 ms·

This is pretty much dead on. I live in a rural part of the US and there are tons of old, worked-on trucks. The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 han

This is pretty much dead on. I live in a rural part of the US and there are tons of old, worked-on trucks. The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years is, frankly, laughable. I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country.

empthought 10mo ago
Less than 20% of Americans live in most of the (very large) country. The rest live in cities and suburbs.
- kryogen1c 10mo ago
  And how do you think vehicle ownership compares between those two groups?
  - empthought 10mo ago
    In the cities and suburbs—-where the vast majority of trucks are garaged—-they are generally an obnoxious luxury good. Which is why new pickup truck models are so often not fit-for-purpose as a working truck of any kind. Like an EV F-150.
- acheron 10mo ago
  Those census definitions are not good. I’m sure the place I went to high school is considered “city” by that definition, but the average HN poster would not recognize it as one, and there were lots of farm working trucks around.
  - empthought 10mo ago
    It turns out that anecdotes don't constitute data. If the place you went to high school is considered "city" by the census definition, then I guarantee the majority of pickup trucks in the area were obnoxious luxury goods that never hauled a single thing to or from a farm.
    - NetMageSCW 10mo ago
      And you would be wrong.
tricolon 10mo ago
> The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years is, frankly, laughable. Why is it laughable? I'm not following your argument.
bsder 10mo ago
> I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country. A van is almost always a better choice if you're actually looking at functionality. Shielding from the elements is way more useful than some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use. Sure, a very small number of people go offroad and need that clearance--however, the number is small relative to the number of people who could get away with a van.
- zdragnar 10mo ago
  > some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use Spoken like someone who hasn't lived past the suburbs. I needed some plumbing work done last winter and had to hire someone new because my preferred plumber couldn't access my road with his van. The lack of AWD/4x4, lack of ground clearance, inability to tow are all massive drawbacks for several lines of business. Tonneau or hard covers and enclosed trailers take care of shielding from the elements just fine.
  - Mawr 10mo ago
    That's not past the suburbs, that's a ridiculous outlier. Congratulations, you live somewhere without paved roads, which puts you at what, 0.00001% of all Americans? That's your argument?
    - zdragnar 10mo ago
      Thank you for proving my point. 35% of all roads in America are unpaved: https://highways.dot.gov/safety/other/unpaved-roads-safety-needs-and-treatments https://highways.dot.gov/safety/other/unpaved-roads-safety-n... Vermont, New Mexico and Colorado notably all have more than 70% of their road network unpaved. 80% of all tribal land roads are unpaved.
      - bsder 10mo ago
        And now lets overlay the number of trucks vs population. Note where most of the total number of pickup trucks (not per capita--flat out total) are. Hint: most of the trucks are NOT in the rural areas due to the fact that the rural areas, by definition, do not have that much population. Also, rural areas tend to have old beater cars because gas prices are an issue and pickup trucks generally get quite a bit worse gas mileage than a basic sedan. The problem is that the vast majority of pickup trucks are, in fact, being sold in the suburbs which don't have any of the problems with having to go off of a road.
rootusrootus 10mo ago
> The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years I should hope there is. The battery is good for 400-500K miles. The first real maintenance (which is still just flushing the coolant) happens at 200K miles. These trucks will be easier to keep on the road than you think, they're dead simple.

empthought 10mo ago

Less than 20% of Americans live in most of the (very large) country. The rest live in cities and suburbs.

kryogen1c 10mo ago
And how do you think vehicle ownership compares between those two groups?
- empthought 10mo ago
  In the cities and suburbs—-where the vast majority of trucks are garaged—-they are generally an obnoxious luxury good. Which is why new pickup truck models are so often not fit-for-purpose as a working truck of any kind. Like an EV F-150.
acheron 10mo ago
Those census definitions are not good. I’m sure the place I went to high school is considered “city” by that definition, but the average HN poster would not recognize it as one, and there were lots of farm working trucks around.
- empthought 10mo ago
  It turns out that anecdotes don't constitute data. If the place you went to high school is considered "city" by the census definition, then I guarantee the majority of pickup trucks in the area were obnoxious luxury goods that never hauled a single thing to or from a farm.
  - NetMageSCW 10mo ago
    And you would be wrong.

tricolon 10mo ago

> The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years is, frankly, laughable. Why is it laughable? I'm not following your argument.

bsder 10mo ago

> I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country. A van is almost always a better choice if you're actually looking at functionality. Shielding from the elements is way more useful than some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use. Sure, a very small number of people go offroad and need that clearance--however, the number is small relative to the number of people who could get away with a van.

zdragnar 10mo ago
> some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use Spoken like someone who hasn't lived past the suburbs. I needed some plumbing work done last winter and had to hire someone new because my preferred plumber couldn't access my road with his van. The lack of AWD/4x4, lack of ground clearance, inability to tow are all massive drawbacks for several lines of business. Tonneau or hard covers and enclosed trailers take care of shielding from the elements just fine.
- Mawr 10mo ago
  That's not past the suburbs, that's a ridiculous outlier. Congratulations, you live somewhere without paved roads, which puts you at what, 0.00001% of all Americans? That's your argument?
  - zdragnar 10mo ago
    Thank you for proving my point. 35% of all roads in America are unpaved: https://highways.dot.gov/safety/other/unpaved-roads-safety-needs-and-treatments https://highways.dot.gov/safety/other/unpaved-roads-safety-n... Vermont, New Mexico and Colorado notably all have more than 70% of their road network unpaved. 80% of all tribal land roads are unpaved.
    - bsder 10mo ago
      And now lets overlay the number of trucks vs population. Note where most of the total number of pickup trucks (not per capita--flat out total) are. Hint: most of the trucks are NOT in the rural areas due to the fact that the rural areas, by definition, do not have that much population. Also, rural areas tend to have old beater cars because gas prices are an issue and pickup trucks generally get quite a bit worse gas mileage than a basic sedan. The problem is that the vast majority of pickup trucks are, in fact, being sold in the suburbs which don't have any of the problems with having to go off of a road.

rootusrootus 10mo ago

> The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years I should hope there is. The battery is good for 400-500K miles. The first real maintenance (which is still just flushing the coolant) happens at 200K miles. These trucks will be easier to keep on the road than you think, they're dead simple.