On 3 Apr 2020 at 23:54, Jim Walls via EV wrote: > Actually it's personal, not work.
That sounds like an expensive hobby. I'm guessing that the fuel tax is only the beginning. But then, EVs can be an expensive hobby too. > I can well imagine the performance of a vehicle that can carry 1.4 tons, > and runs on a 1.9l engine. Ought to make an original Volkswagon bug > seem like a speed demon. :) And yet somehow European and Asian tradespeople manage to do their jobs, even in mountainous regions. One of the interesting differences between America and almost every other country (except Canada and maybe Australia) is the way trucks are used. Almost everywhere else, trucks are for WORK. People hardly ever drive trucks as personal vehicles. Pickups specifically are rare beasts in Europe. Tradespeople mostly use vans, which keep their materials and tools secure and dry. In Korea, I've seen lots of cab-over pickups (Kia Bongo being the classic example). They're widely used for hauling stuff - again, for work. Most of They have larger beds than US pickups, and use half the fuel. Safety isn't their long suit, though. Somehow, the rest of the world manages just fine without our heavy, oversized, overpowered, low-capacity pickup trucks. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that in much of the world, fuel costs 2-4 times as much as it does here. > Part of that is that dang near no one wants to drive a stick shift > vehicle anymore. Maybe one reason Europeans and Asians don't need overpowered vehicles like ours is that they know how to use a manual transmission properly, having never driven anything else. The US response to an immovable object is usually more force. Other cultures are more apt to look for a longer lever. Or a lower gear. :-) > Another part is vehicle safety. It's far easier to add capability to > a vehicle when you don't care if it will protect the occupants. EU safety standards are pretty strict. Some places in Asia, not so much. As for the UK, I expect that by the time they get done with Brexit, their cars will have nails sticking out of the steering wheel hubs and spikes on the front bumpers. (See also: Grenfell Tower.) > I can't give you any specifics, but how much weight and space in that > Chevy Colorado is devoted to safety - quite a bit. I don't know either. Pickups have never been known for being safe vehicles, though. The reality is that the fundamental design of US pickups hasn't changed much since the 1950s. I'm not an engineer, but from what I understand, it's harder to build crumple zones into traditional pickup body-on-frame construction than it is with monocoque. > Nice idea - not gonna work. It took a month to equip my truck with > power, radios, lights, and a few other things. Maybe not for you, as long as you have hobbies that call for off road driving. But not everybody needs all those add-ons, nor does everyone need to (or want to) tear up the back country on weekends. > Now what I can, and have done is to rent a more suitable vehicle for > more traditional purposes. Most of us own what we drive daily and rent the vehicle for specialty uses, but I see how that would work better for your situation. > > And BTW, I do like driving a stick shift (except in stop and go rush > hour traffic). Rush hour would be less crowded if everyone drove an EV 1/3 the size of your typical bloated US pickup truck. I know, I'm dreaming. :-\ David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA EVDL Administrator = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = EVDL Information: http://www.evdl.org/help/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Note: mail sent to "evpost" and "etpost" addresses will not reach me. To send a private message, please obtain my email address from the webpage http://www.evdl.org/help/ . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
