quote:

Originally posted by Z06:
You really do have to keep 'em clean though...

For the win !! Ha !

Friend of mine has one and LOOOOOVES it. I drive a Model S and would not trade it for any other car. I agree the truck is ugly. What nobody in this thread so far has mentioned is the self driving. Is it perfect, not yet, but it is literally life changing. Once you have it you will not ever want to own an automobile without it. The is NO other truck that you can climb into in your driveway speak to it and tell it to take you ANYWHERE in the US, sit back and watch. 100% perfect, no, but getting really damn close and getting better literally by the week. And to the folks that say oh, Ford has Blue Cruise, GM has Super Cruise. These are not in the same league by a mile. Literally like comparing a modern smart phone to two cans and some string.

This past summer on a motorcycle trip, my brother and I rode to North Florida and visited a married couple that my brother is good friends with. (one of the couple is a former coworker of my brother)
My brother wanted to see the new home the couple had custom built per their specs. And help them do a final walkthrough inspection. I only went along to say I rode my bike to North Florida from upstate NY.

Anyway, they offered a ride to the new home in their Cybertruck. Kind of a walkthrough in the new house, before accepting the new home after construction is completed, and before the new owners move in.
My brother and both of the couple work in the Civil Engineering field, and contractors will really struggle attempting to pull any wool over those three sets of eyes.
My brother and I piled in the back seat of the Cybertruck, and as soon as we hit the main road, the male driver said, here hold my beer, I'm turning the traction control off, and I'm gonna smash the go pedal!

Let's just say my brother and I were suitably impressed with the acceleration of a new Cybertruck.
The feeling of your facial flesh sliding around the sides of your face under the wild acceleration brought smiles to our faces!
Good job Elon Musk and Company!
Would I buy one? Likely no. But great fun for a ride.

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
I've seen several around here this year.
I saw a flat black one yesterday - it almost looked like a stealth fighter.

That would be aftermarket paint, right?

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
I've seen several around here this year.
I saw a flat black one yesterday - it almost looked like a stealth fighter.

That would be aftermarket paint, right?

A wrap probably .

Old pics of my 2002 ford ranger vs the cyber truck:

The one thing I do appreciate about it. Innovation. Telsa's pushing the innovation around Computer Vision/AI, EV's, Battery Tech, and manufacturing process. To really change the game in all areas.

As the competition scrambles to catch up. It's forcing innovation in all areas. I've said it before and I'll say it again. They are really a AI / Battery Company that happens to make cars.

quote:

Let's just say my brother and I were suitably impressed with the acceleration of a new Cybertruck.

A characteristic of electric motors, which put out all their torque as soon as they start turning. The little starter motor in an ICE car is capable of moving the whole car (but not for long). But other than ass, can this truck actually haul anything?

Turns out hey have a huge lighting problem in cold climates. The "mood lighting" at the top of the hood does not light the road. The headlights are tucked in above the bumpers. In snowstorms the headlights get caked in snow very quickly because the LED's don't heat enough to melt it off.

It’s getting to the point here on Orange County that you can’t toss a rock at an intersection without hitting a Cybertruck. Double that in Irvine where they all seem to be driven by Asians.

I might have given Elon some style points if he had put a red LED that went back and forth across the front light bar.

quote:

Originally posted by SpinZone:
I might have given Elon some style points if he had put a red LED that went back and forth across the front light bar.

Hey that would work if it talked to you and called you Michael. Michael would you like the aircon turned on? Michael “super pursuit” mode is enabled. Actually I’d rather have the old Trans Am versus this ridiculous shit.

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:

Around here there's tons of super expensive trucks that have never done a single day of truck things.

How would you know that, just curious.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:

Around here there's tons of super expensive trucks that have never done a single day of truck things.

How would you know that, just curious.

What exactly are "truck things," anyway/ Back in the 70s, we did most of the things people use trucks for now with a Caprice station wagon, including towing a camper all over Utah and Colorado.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:

Around here there's tons of super expensive trucks that have never done a single day of truck things.

How would you know that, just curious.

Well owned one for 23 years, probably towed with it 20 times, early on with my Kendon Motorcycle Trailer, mostly picking up one friend who had a habit of breaking down. Sold the trailer, ended that issue. Never off road, no farm, no hauling hay, just some sod and mulch from Lowes occasionally.

There are a half dozen in the neighborhood, I see one that tows a big boat a few times in the summer to go fishing, the rest have companies come by and detail them weekly...

Link

Everyone’s Buying Pickup Trucks, But Almost No One’s Using Them That Way

Automakers often talk about following market trends, but in reality, they’re the ones steering them. Their instincts aren’t always perfect, as sometimes they miss the curve and sometimes they overshoot it entirely, but when the marketing lands, it cuts straight to emotion, leaving logic somewhere in the rearview.

Read: New Ram Hemi Is A Supercharged Street Truck

That might explain why so many people who buy and drive trucks today use them no differently than sedan or crossover owners.

Most truck ads feature towing, hauling, or gnarly off-road heroics. They promise unmatched capability and performance. In practice, the data shows most owners treat their trucks as lifestyle vehicles, not work tools.

Everyday Trucks or Weekend Toys?

Carscoops spoke with Alexander Edwards, President of Strategic Vision, a research firm that surveys some 250,000 car buyers each year. His data paints a clear picture: truck owners love their rides, even if they’re not particularly engaging to drive compared to other segments.

Nearly 90 percent of truck buyers said they never use their truck for business towing, as a mobile office, or as a work site. Yet nearly 40 percent said they drive their truck strictly for pleasure at least once a week.

some good intel at the link, pickups are $60K and up, finding a rubber floor mat, roll up window, base work truck is impossible and if you do it's still close to $50K

Was in Florida a few weeks ago and saw a Cybertruck hauling a mattress and some furniture.

Would buy one if they weren't out of my price range. I dig unique vehicles.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:

quote:

Originally posted by myrottiety:
Around here there's tons of super expensive trucks that have never done a single day of truck things.

How would you know that, just curious.

Well owned one for 23 years, probably towed with it 20 times, early on with my Kendon Motorcycle Trailer, mostly picking up one friend who had a habit of breaking down. Sold the trailer, ended that issue. Never off road, no farm, no hauling hay, just some sod and mulch from Lowes occasionally.

+1

One of the reasons I downsized from a Silverado to a Frontier is that never once in 13.5 years did I do something with my Silverado that I couldn't do with a mid-size truck. Day to day, my Frontier is a lot easier to park in a major metropolitan area than a Silverado too. Frankly, about 364 days a year I'd be better off with a Maxda Cx-5 and a fold-up 4'x8' trailer. Only things holding me back on downsizing again are:

I own the Frontier and don't want payments

It doesn't have all of the wizardry that plagues modern vehicle reliability

Once every spring, I haul something that'd break a unibody SUV.

When I retire in 25 to 37 months, I intend to buy acreage and likely will upgrade to a 3/4 ton or 1-ton.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

Link

Nearly 90 percent of truck buyers said they never use their truck for business towing, as a mobile office, or as a work site. Yet nearly 40 percent said they drive their truck strictly for pleasure at least once a week.

some good intel at the link, pickups are $60K and up, finding a rubber floor mat, roll up window, base work truck is impossible and if you do it's still close to $50K

The article is accurate. The reality is rarely discussed. It is indeed all emotion, marketing, and image/status purchasing. Most people buy a vehicle for image or status, or some capability the vehicle has that they never or rarely use.

I see these expensive, fancy trucks every day. Multi-thousand dollar tonneau covers, lift kits, much larger wheels/tires than factory. Yet I never see any dirt on them from going off road. If they did take it off road, it would certainly have marks on the paint, wheels, dings, something, as off road isn’t cupcake driving. They have tow hitches and a ball mounted that are spotless. Never seen any use. My ball is well used, with marks all over it and I’ve got rust on my hitch from parking it in the lake many times to offload watercraft. I routinely have to use a garden hose with a nozzle to clean the crap out of the bed. Some of us use our trucks for truck shit, but the overwhelming majority do not. It’s crazy how much people will spend on them. $60k, 80k, or more and then put all this aftermarket shit, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars. Their driving, well they could do the exact same thing in a Prius, or a Civic, and save themselves tens of thousands of dollars.
I’ve seen stuff like 4 Runners lately, with an intake snorkel that is on the right front quarter panel and extends to the roof. Seen that several times in the past week. And that 4 Runner had a massive lift kit and 33’s. I guess these dudes are real into looking off road, I guess to them it’s en vogue. They must watch these off roading or overlanding channels on YouTube and tell themselves “I want to look like that!” Again, this is the majority, and not everyone, obviously.

Same goes for sports cars. Specifically vehicles built to turn, and turn quickly, IE the track, a road circuit. It’s what it was built for. Or mountain/canyon, or rural twisty roads, what they call B roads in the UK. It’s the same percentages in that segment. It’s an image buy and they use it to commute to work, an $80k, $100k+ etc sportscar. It lives its life commuting, idling in drive thrus, and being parked at restaurants. The most performance anything the vehicle will ever do is the driver will go WFO on a highway on-ramp. They’ll excessively speed on the freeway. And occasionally douche it up at a light, thinking they are at a drag strip. At the drag strip it’s called a Christmas tree, the lighting system to go. They play Christmas tree with the stop light in a 40 mph street zone.

Bikes, same thing. If you see a sportbike parked, have a look at the rear tire. The left and right edges of the tire are called chicken strips or pussy strips. What you’ll find most of the time is that part of the tire is brand new, never used. It was built to lean, but in reality the same as sports cars, owners will commute on it to work, park it here or there. It will never be used for cornering.

And none of this is new intel. The US vehicle market is abysmal. And it has been. The MSRP’s are ridiculous. Far too many want this and that gadget, all the gadgets or mod cons, upping the price. Now they want the vehicles to drive themselves so they can play on their precious phone. ADAS is the industry term, and it’s driven up the costs too, of every vehicle. All the sensors, cameras, and safety nannies yet wrecks are up, not down, and insurance just keeps getting more expensive. The marketing side will tell you ADAS will save your ass, yet the wreck data doesn’t reflect that and neither does the insurance data. In reality ADAS on the vehicle means it’s way more expensive to fix post collision. And in reality ADAS is just enabling more distracted driving. I’ll believe in it when states start passing laws where distracted driving is treated like DUI. Go to jail immediately. Impound your vehicle. Pay $10k fines and go on probation. 3 strikes = felony.

You don’t have more compact vehicles on the market anymore, like they used to be. Something Japanese, on the lower end of the cost scale, with great MPG, low insurance costs, and reliable AF. Now the Civics of the world are $30k+. And they have ADAS, many of them hybrid, further complicating the build and cost. You don’t have small trucks anymore either, at least until the Slate EV Truck comes out, which I hope really wrecks the entire vehicle market. Reality vs. Image/Status. Been going on for decades. Affordable, sports or performance cars are very few and far in between. Removed for yet more CUV’s. The affordable hatchback, sedan, or coupe, most of them removed for yet more CUV’s. Small affordable trucks, removed, because buyers have frail egos, and need a behometh to compensate for something. Reality isn’t pushed, narratives are. And most people are suckers for marketing over reality.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by WaterburyBob:
I've seen several around here this year.
I saw a flat black one yesterday - it almost looked like a stealth fighter.

That would be aftermarket paint, right?

A wrap probably .

Probably wrong on both counts. Tesla does a lot of finishes that nobody else will do, to customer’s order right from the dealership. We have several dealerships around here, so I see a lot of them. Everything from flat black to pearlescent and vintage colors to color changer finishes.