[Cobaltss_King]

I just looked thru my phone. Of the 17 people I know who own pickups, 15 use them regularly as pickups (hauling stuff regularly). Add me and make it 16 users, 2 posers. And I'm not located in a 'farm belt'.

But it’s well documented that the leap in pickup sells came from full size sedan owners adding to the already high percentage of pickup owners who don’t use there trucks hardcore.

 

[hoser]

I just looked thru my phone. Of the 17 people I know who own pickups, 15 use them regularly as pickups (hauling stuff regularly). Add me and make it 16 users, 2 posers. And I'm not located in a 'farm belt'.

I bet 30-40% of the HD diesel trucks around me are driven by dolled up women getting coffee or running errands. Most of the guys that hop out of them with their Under Armour shirts, hats, socks, and Crocs on are dumb-founded when I ask them what they tow. As I walk through parking lots I look at the beds which almost all have Tonneau covers, but the ones that don’t the beds are mint, no dirt, not a scratch in them. Then I look at the receiver hitch, most of them the paint is brand new from never having a drawbar in it. I literally talk to guys and ask them why they have their trucks when they don’t own a trailer or haul a single thing, their response is, “because trucks are cool”. Had a friend text me three days ago about what diesel truck he should get and I asked him why he needs a diesel, he said because he always wanted one because he thought they were cool. 80% of my neighbors have trucks, most HD trucks, they don’t own trailers, they don’t haul a thing, and they are dressed for the office when they drive by. My FIL had to buy a cool new truck even though I told him he needs to buy a Avalon, he bought the truck. He never drives it, he doesn’t tow except for a two place snowmobile trailer to pick up dirt or something, which the Avalon would do. It just sits. He drives his wife’s CR-V. I have countless friends that own trucks that don’t own trailers and probably don’t even know how to open the tailgate on their trucks. I could go on and on and on.

I am on the road quite a bit, and yes there are pockets of areas where people buy trucks and do work with them, but that’s rare. Go out to Portland area and south of there, the number of wasted trucks out there is unbelievable.

Because you know 15 people that use their trucks is a VERY small sample to base facts on. I could think of probably 30 or 50 friends off the top of my head that use their trucks as trucks, but that still pales in comparison to the amount of mall crawlers out there.

 

[TruckMan]

I guess most of you people aren’t from Texas…

 

[Greg Burr]

I guess most of you people aren’t from Texas…

Would they choose this version over an ICE?

 

[TruckMan]

I bet 30-40% of the HD diesel trucks around me are driven by dolled up women getting coffee or running errands. Most of the guys that hop out of them with their Under Armour shirts, hats, socks, and Crocs on are dumb-founded when I ask them what they tow. As I walk through parking lots I look at the beds which almost all have Tonneau covers, but the ones that don’t the beds are mint, no dirt, not a scratch in them. Then I look at the receiver hitch, most of them the paint is brand new from never having a drawbar in it. I literally talk to guys and ask them why they have their trucks when they don’t own a trailer or haul a single thing, their response is, “because trucks are cool”. Had a friend text me three days ago about what diesel truck he should get and I asked him why he needs a diesel, he said because he always wanted one because he thought they were cool. 80% of my neighbors have trucks, most HD trucks, they don’t own trailers, they don’t haul a thing, and they are dressed for the office when they drive by. My FIL had to buy a cool new truck even though I told him he needs to buy a Avalon, he bought the truck. He never drives it, he doesn’t tow except for a two place snowmobile trailer to pick up dirt or something, which the Avalon would do. It just sits. He drives his wife’s CR-V. I have countless friends that own trucks that don’t own trailers and probably don’t even know how to open the tailgate on their trucks. I could go on and on and on.

I am on the road quite a bit, and yes there are pockets of areas where people buy trucks and do work with them, but that’s rare. Go out to Portland area and south of there, the number of wasted trucks out there is unbelievable.

Because you know 15 people that use their trucks is a VERY small sample to base facts on. I could think of probably 30 or 50 friends off the top of my head that use their trucks as trucks, but that still pales in comparison to the amount of mall crawlers out there.

How do you get any real truck work done if you’re spending all day asking truck owners in every parking lot what they tow?

 

[TruckMan]

Would they choose this version over an ICE?

Nope. Texas is large and spread out. Many people hunt and camp and fish. The range isn’t good enough yet for most people I think. If you only need a truck for around town and don’t go long distances then it’s probably fine. But I know tons of people with trucks that need the range at least a few times a year.

 

[RedSkyBlackDream]

While I love the Sierra EV, I’m kinda over this spread of $75K+ electric vehicles. Where are the affordable ones promised?

 

[hoser]

How do you get any real truck work done if you’re spending all day asking truck owners in every parking lot what they tow?

Since those things would comprise about 15 minutes, I guess my work day lasts a lot longer than yours, so I get a lot more real work done than you would. And since my real work involves filling-up sometimes three times a day at stations, I tend to be standing within talking distance to many people while I am waiting for my tank to fill. And walking through parking lots and casually looking at trucks while running errands or getting groceries after I do my real work doesn’t seem to take a lot of time either.

But I only haul a few thousand pounds in the bed or tow at 33,000 pounds with my truck. I guess I regularly have the bed full with steel, firewood, lumber, or equipment. I don’t like to go off-road much, but I tend to uproot trees or haul loads of gravel, rock and sand in the bed. Sometimes if I don’t need all the tools and equipment in my large enclosed trailers, I’ll just throw tools in the bed of the truck and work out of it instead of the trailers. Not sure if any of that is real work. But that’s a cute little truck ya got there. Did you have the bed shortened or do they actually make them that short now?

 

[TruckMan]

Since those things would comprise about 15 minutes, I guess my work day lasts a lot longer than yours, so I get a lot more real work done than you would. And since my real work involves filling-up sometimes three times a day at stations, I tend to be standing within talking distance to many people while I am waiting for my tank to fill. And walking through parking lots and casually looking at trucks while running errands or getting groceries after I do my real work doesn’t seem to take a lot of time either.

But I only haul a few thousand pounds in the bed or tow at 33,000 pounds with my truck. I guess I regularly have the bed full with steel, firewood, lumber, or equipment. I don’t like to go off-road much, but I tend to uproot trees or haul loads of gravel, rock and sand in the bed. Sometimes if I don’t need all the tools and equipment in my large enclosed trailers, I’ll just throw tools in the bed of the truck and work out of it instead of the trailers. Not sure if any of that is real work. But that’s a cute little truck ya got there. Did you have the bed shortened or do they actually make them that short now?

Wow. I’m so impressed! All that REAL work you do every day, 20 hours a day, 8 days a week. I guess my job isn’t real, but it sure pays with real money! So I don’t have work so much and have plenty of time for family and hunting and boating.

And yes, my truck and bed are plenty big. I even have a tonneau cover to keep it clean! I also have nothing to compensate for. Did your truck come with truck nuts from the factory or did you get those installed after market?

 

[desert-rat]

I don't think GM did a good design of the new Silverado/GMC EVs. Ford did good with the new Lightning EV....it still looks like a truck. But I do hope GM does good in sales though. But I believe Ford did a good decision to keep a truck-look design.

 

[Cobaltss_King]

I don't think GM did a good design of the new Silverado/GMC EVs. Ford did good with the new Lightning EV....it still looks like a truck. But I do hope GM does good in sales though. But I believe Ford did a good decision to keep a truck-look design.

You do realize that they are developing a new platform that the next gen lightning will be on. The lightning looks the way it does because they had no choice in beating GM to market.

 

[09W]

Platform is immaterial to exterior shape. Next gen Lightning truck platform is still going to have it's motors & batteries in the same exact location.

What Ford needs to work on is a 6.5' bed for the next gen (and the question looms; why isn't there one for the "stopgap" chassis since it already exists?? I'll answer my own question: too heavy a truck in that configuration & too much torsional stress on the battery pack with a circa 157" wheelbase). Oh, and an 8' bed for the eventual Super Duty EV.

 

[desert-rat]

You do realize that they are developing a new platform that the next gen lightning will be on. The lightning looks the way it does because they had no choice in beating GM to market.

Yeah, I know. I just think the new GM EV trucks look a bit cheesy. Nothing truck like about it. Except for the "bed" if that's what it still is. I can't swap the bed if I wanted to like I've done with my '69 GMC...the original bed was damaged so I found a donor truck and swapped beds. It was cheaper that way. As a millennial, I just don't like all this tech in vehicles today like other millennials. I like a simple vehicle without all the gadgets and sensors. I drove my brothers 2022 Tahoe Z71 and my Uncle's 2023 Equinox for a day. I tried but didn't like them. Poor steering wheel feed back. Terrible throttle feel. Too many annoying buttons. All I want are my crank windows, cable throttle, highdrolic steering, and a stereo with some knobs. No touch screens or infotainment. That is why I went old school...'69 GMC '87 Chevy, '01 Cherokee, '06 Grand Prix, and somewhat modern '09 Cobalt which only has electric R&P and electric throttle. That's as new as I'll go as far as I can help it. The '87 Chevy 305 is my favorite one to drive. No alarm or keyless entry, no power locks or windows, tried and true column shifter, foot parking break, manual seats. I swapped the 2 TBI fuel injectors, 8 spark plugs, boots ,distributor cap and rotor, coil all in about an hour. Easier to work on. Easier to figure out. No need for scanner. Just listen to the engine and you'll know.

 

[tkrelston]

Overall it really is a good design, but less than 800 horsepower for the Denali is sad with the Hummer setting the bar! In my mind Denali should be higher set than Hummer!