CathInfo.com

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/2021-auto-sales-are-ford-shares-surge-f-150-demand-toyota-overtakes-gm-us

Really?  I can't imagine truck owners lusting for electric pickup trucks. Is that market segment really metrosɛҳuąƖ?

There are a lot of Millennials and Gen Z-ers who want trucks as a vanity symbol more than for the practicality of it. Given that these generations tend to lean Left, these being electric "trucks" (golf carts with a truck body) feeds into the green virtue signaling as well.

I mean, if you live in the city and do construction or something like that it makes sense in a way. A lot of places offer free charging. Free fuel for a big old pickup is lucrative, you have to admit. Away from the cities there is nowhere to charge but at your house, and the range is generally pathetic. It takes about a million years to charge most of these (unless you always lightning-charge them, which I believe damages the batteries over time) so it really only makes sense for people in the cities. Obviously most people in the cities do not need trucks but some do. I agree that the market for people where this is actually a good thing and not just a status symbol is pretty slim. 

To my understanding a lot of these electric vehicles are actually super powerful/torque heavy. Look into the electric vehicles from Rivian for instance. Super capable, very interesting, but the range is reportedly nowhere near what they claim. Rivian is insanely expensive too. Who knows about the long term reliability. 

As far as Ford goes, even if I had a good reason to own an electric truck I certainly wouldn't buy anything from them until it had been out on the market long enough for extensive testing. Who knows WHAT could go wrong with these new vehicles. If I have my way I will never buy a year model vehicle again. It's just a really good way to get ripped off with zero recourse when your new $30+k vehicle turns out to be a total lemon. 

Another thing to consider with electric is that they can just shut down the grid whenever they want, and then your range is what... 350 miles? Maybe? If you remembered to plug the car in after work? No thanks!

I am off grid, so that doesn't affect me, but these vehicles take so much power that we would have to upgrade our set-up substantially in order to be able to even use one. Even then you still have to worry about the car batteries degrading which is super expensive. There are a lot of problems overall with electric. 

Any comments on the diesels that Jeep is putting in their Gladiator trucks?

As a preliminary foray into the marketplace, we looked at a diesel Gladiator.  With its thin plastic roof it promised to be as noisy as a string of aluminum cans clanking behind the "Just Married" car. At least it looked like a safe ham radio installation was possible.

Here's a pet peeve. Nobody has a factory option for navigation that will overlay USGS topo maps. All that's necessary is to upload the map files and a toggle for the street and topo functions.