America needs more trucks like this
One thing that is made fun of in the United States is trucks. Personally, I have nothing against the guy who buys an F-150 to drive around and pick up stuff at Home Depot on the weekends. It’s nice to have a versatile vehicle that can take you to the office or haul an RV through the woods. The fact that efficient little trucks like the Ford Maverick or the Hyundai Santa Cruz are selling well shows us that a lot of people really want functionality and not just looks.
But, as most know, not all truck owners are like that. We have a lot of people who buy a giant truck and never use it for truck stuff. They’ll put a big truck on top of a giant raised suspension, put tires on it almost as big as a monster truck, and then never get it off the sidewalk. Some people even try to make them look like a tractor-trailer by redirecting the soot-black exhaust out of a giant pipe or two at the front of the truck bed. And then there are the flags on those spotless trucks that probably couldn’t tow a trailer:
Many small entrepreneurs are going in this direction with their vehicles. The idea is not that they need the truck to do the job. Often times a modest truck like a Ranger or F-150 would do, but having the biggest truck with the longest bed on the biggest lift is supposed to impress their customers and make them think they must be pretty good at work or they wouldn’t have as much money. Never mind that the truck is on a 120 month payment that they won’t be able to make in the next recession, but today’s customers don’t know that.
Things are changing, but they won’t change much for some people. Take the Hummer EV for example (yes, I know GM is sick of us tearing it up). Yes, it’s cleaner than the vehicle it probably replaces, but it’s unlikely to ever be cleaner than an F-150, even while burning gasoline. It will still be a 9,000 pound flex for people who want to conspicuously consume without paying $5 for gas.
The European alternatives we love to hate…
Yeah, I know. America does not want to import all the fashionable ideas from Europe. We don’t want the metric system. We don’t want tough gun control laws or single-payer health care enough to get these things passed in Congress. If we wanted to be Europeans, we wouldn’t have kicked out European leaders in the 1770s and then done it again in 1812 for good measure. After all, Battery Park was not named after energy storage devices.
But that doesn’t mean we hate everything European. Many Americans like European sports cars, for example. Men are also flexing their beautiful European watches. Plus, we didn’t just watch and laugh as Hitler and the Nazis took it all (at least not after Pearl Harbor). My grandfather froze his feet and could never walk properly helping the Europeans with this fascism problem, and he never regretted volunteering at 17 to go do it.
The thing is, we have to make something from Europe look cool for it to catch on in the United States. Shooting Nazis with the big guns on top of a half-track is cool. Driving a BMW is cool. Wearing a SIG Sauer is cool. You know what’s not cool? The Smart Fortwo (even Mercedes-Benz can’t capitalize this), or a Yugo. You will laugh at yourself for driving this.
…until we pay European gas prices
But attitudes can change quickly when gas prices go crazy. Yes, I know people outside of the US have had expensive fuel for a long time, which is probably why they tend to have more efficient vehicles than us. I have a family member who normally drives (and often uses) a double ton diesel. When I recommended he go for a Maverick for trips that don’t require hauling a big trailer with a tractor on it, the guy at the local Ford dealership actually laughed at him.
“We don’t have one at the moment, and we can’t get you one.”
Now he’s actively buying Chevy Bolt EVs (like me), and neither of us can get one either. All the affordable options that don’t make a huge dent in your wallet and inspire wailing at the gas pump are simply not to be found right now.
The US auto industry was simply not ready to meet people’s needs at current gas price levels, while their European counterparts have been doing so for a long time.
Something like the Opel Vivaro-e would be a good option today
Seeing people using their truck to work for a living wrestling sucks. They are not bad people. Many of them want something better. But the market simply did not provide better alternatives in volume.
When I came across this European work van, I saw how perfect it could be for so many people if something like this was offered in the US:
It looks reasonably spacious in the cabin and it has an extremely versatile bed. Put the sides up to carry small things. Fold the sides to carry huge items. Swap the sides for taller ones to carry loose items, like landscaping tools. Swap out the whole bed for something with plenty of space for tools and materials for just about any job out there.
It also has the specs. It has a 75kWh pack that can charge up to 100kW, which is enough for most work vehicles that stay local or regional. Range is just over 200 WLTP miles, which still likely means 175 EPA miles, meaning even people with lead feet will get 150 miles out of it even on the highway.
It’s no speed demon, but it’s no slouch either. It has 136 horsepower and nearly 200 lb-ft of torque (better than many four-cylinder work trucks people bought in the 90s). So it’s perfectly serviceable and probably even a bit nice when you know the torque is instantaneous from zero RPMs instead of having to wait for the little motor to fire up.
If you’re from Stellantis reading this, you should definitely consider doing something like this for the US. Many, many people would buy one right now. Just be sure to leave some space behind the seat for our “truck guns”.
Featured image by Stellantis.
Enjoy CleanTechnica’s originality and cleantech news coverage? Consider becoming a member, supporter, technician or ambassador of CleanTechnica – or a patron on Patreon.
