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Honestly, both the Lightning and the Cybertruck are just bad trucks. Some review of the Lightning I read said it has less than a 100 mile range towing a full l

Honestly, both the Lightning and the Cybertruck are just bad trucks. Some review of the Lightning I read said it has less than a 100 mile range towing a full load. It's a fashion statement, not a work vehicle.

iAMkenough 9mo ago
I counted 49 pickup trucks with empty beds in the parking garage downtown this morning.
- olyjohn 9mo ago
  Half of them sticking out into the roadway blocking half the lane. What an entitlement.
- bluGill 9mo ago
  So? You saw them for one subset of what they are doing. Perhaps the most common one, but still just a subset.
- sroerick 9mo ago
  Wouldn't there be a selection bias, as trucks in parking garages are much less likely to be doing hauling /towing tasks?
- scottyah 9mo ago
  I counted 50 sedans with empty seats in the parking garage downtown this morning.
- jlarocco 9mo ago
  But a lot of people buy trucks so they can tow and carry stuff when they need to, not because they're doing it all the time. Downvote all you want, the sales numbers speak for themselves.
  - iAMkenough 9mo ago
    Point being the majority of pickup trucks you see day-to-day are fashion statements. I agree they are not work trucks, not meant for work tasks.
wolrah 9mo ago
> Some review of the Lightning I read said it has less than a 100 mile range towing a full load. Because of course towing long distances is the only reason you'd ever want a truck. Obviously we can start by acknowledging that the vast majority of F-150s (and other half-ton pickup trucks) sold in the US these days are purchased by people who maybe haul a load of mulch or dirt once a year and otherwise use them as daily commuter vehicles for which no part of their "truckiness" actually matters for any reason other than image. I absolutely agree that these people should drive something that's not a truck, but that's a battle we're not going to win, so I'd rather have them driving an EV truck instead of a gas-guzzling V8. It's an improvement in some ways even if in reality that suburban parent would be best off with a minivan as their daily and renting a pickup from Home Depot for that mulch run. My one friend who has a Lightning is exactly this. She used to have a gas F-150, replaced it with a RAV4 that she didn't like so she rapidly replaced that with the Lightning and loves it. Lots of power, quiet, smooth, and never needs to go to the gas station. I don't think she's ever fast charged it, just plugs in at home and goes about her life. Where I live there are a lot of people who actually do need a truck or truck-based SUV for recreational purposes but don't really go long distances, like towing their boat up to the lake for the weekend, towing ATVs to the trail, or towing a RV trailer to a nearby state/national park where they'll then plug in to the nice 50A outlet and charge back up overnight without having to think about it. There are also an absolute ton of commercial fleets that need pickup trucks for one reason or another but their trucks never leave their metro area and always end up back at the office every night. Lawn care, delivery, etc. where the only downside of the current lineup of electric trucks is that they're all only offered as the ultra short bed crew cab configuration instead of a long-bed standard cab. --- EVs are absolutely the wrong choice for time-constrained long distance travel, like long-haul trucking or the midwestern three-day-weekend road trip, but the Lightning and its GM competition that were actually designed to be good at things instead of a pure image machine are very good at certain roles.
- jlarocco 9mo ago
  But a lot of the people who buy trucks for image want the image of somebody who's going out towing, carrying a bunch of stuff, and doing "truck things". They don't fit the image if they drive an e-truck because e-trucks aren't great at those "truck things. At least that's my theory why the e-trucks aren't doing well, even if they should be. No doubt a used Lightning is a great deal if you only need to carry stuff once in a while.

iAMkenough 9mo ago

I counted 49 pickup trucks with empty beds in the parking garage downtown this morning.

olyjohn 9mo ago
Half of them sticking out into the roadway blocking half the lane. What an entitlement.
bluGill 9mo ago
So? You saw them for one subset of what they are doing. Perhaps the most common one, but still just a subset.
sroerick 9mo ago
Wouldn't there be a selection bias, as trucks in parking garages are much less likely to be doing hauling /towing tasks?
scottyah 9mo ago
I counted 50 sedans with empty seats in the parking garage downtown this morning.
jlarocco 9mo ago
But a lot of people buy trucks so they can tow and carry stuff when they need to, not because they're doing it all the time. Downvote all you want, the sales numbers speak for themselves.
- iAMkenough 9mo ago
  Point being the majority of pickup trucks you see day-to-day are fashion statements. I agree they are not work trucks, not meant for work tasks.

wolrah 9mo ago

> Some review of the Lightning I read said it has less than a 100 mile range towing a full load. Because of course towing long distances is the only reason you'd ever want a truck. Obviously we can start by acknowledging that the vast majority of F-150s (and other half-ton pickup trucks) sold in the US these days are purchased by people who maybe haul a load of mulch or dirt once a year and otherwise use them as daily commuter vehicles for which no part of their "truckiness" actually matters for any reason other than image. I absolutely agree that these people should drive something that's not a truck, but that's a battle we're not going to win, so I'd rather have them driving an EV truck instead of a gas-guzzling V8. It's an improvement in some ways even if in reality that suburban parent would be best off with a minivan as their daily and renting a pickup from Home Depot for that mulch run. My one friend who has a Lightning is exactly this. She used to have a gas F-150, replaced it with a RAV4 that she didn't like so she rapidly replaced that with the Lightning and loves it. Lots of power, quiet, smooth, and never needs to go to the gas station. I don't think she's ever fast charged it, just plugs in at home and goes about her life. Where I live there are a lot of people who actually do need a truck or truck-based SUV for recreational purposes but don't really go long distances, like towing their boat up to the lake for the weekend, towing ATVs to the trail, or towing a RV trailer to a nearby state/national park where they'll then plug in to the nice 50A outlet and charge back up overnight without having to think about it. There are also an absolute ton of commercial fleets that need pickup trucks for one reason or another but their trucks never leave their metro area and always end up back at the office every night. Lawn care, delivery, etc. where the only downside of the current lineup of electric trucks is that they're all only offered as the ultra short bed crew cab configuration instead of a long-bed standard cab. --- EVs are absolutely the wrong choice for time-constrained long distance travel, like long-haul trucking or the midwestern three-day-weekend road trip, but the Lightning and its GM competition that were actually designed to be good at things instead of a pure image machine are very good at certain roles.

jlarocco 9mo ago
But a lot of the people who buy trucks for image want the image of somebody who's going out towing, carrying a bunch of stuff, and doing "truck things". They don't fit the image if they drive an e-truck because e-trucks aren't great at those "truck things. At least that's my theory why the e-trucks aren't doing well, even if they should be. No doubt a used Lightning is a great deal if you only need to carry stuff once in a while.