Towing with Tesla Model X

[2kwik4u]

Look what I found on a dealership lot this weekend. Sales guy that walked out said it wasn't claimed yet, and I could drive it home for sticker price ($76k-ish).

Styling looks rushed in general. It doesn't look bad, just doesn't really look great either. I didn't drive it (had the kids and was on a timeline to make a soccer game), but he offered to let me.





Color was nice though. The logo's are a little much. Doesn't feel like enough truck for $76k

 

[BlkGS]

We both know that his manager would have thrown an ADM on that thing in a second if you had been serious about it.

I don't think any of these EVs are nice enough for the money they ask vs a gasser. But that's part of the deal with an EV, pay for the powertrain, get the downmarket interior as a perk.

76k is a lot of money.

 

[buckbuck]

Most Ford dealers now have Lightnings on the lot but they cannot be sold. They are for demonstrations only. Are you sure the salesman said you could buy that specific truck and not one like it?

 

[2kwik4u]

Most Ford dealers now have Lightnings on the lot but they cannot be sold. They are for demonstrations only. Are you sure the salesman said you could buy that specific truck and not one like it?

He said I could buy that one. No idea if he knew he couldn't sell it or not. I hate that high pressure sales "come meet you on the lot" crap anyway, so I was mostly dismissive of what he was saying. I just wanted to peak at the interior and look around the outside to see what it was like.

 

[2kwik4u]

We both know that his manager would have thrown an ADM on that thing in a second if you had been serious about it.

I don't think any of these EVs are nice enough for the money they ask vs a gasser. But that's part of the deal with an EV, pay for the powertrain, get the downmarket interior as a perk.

76k is a lot of money.

I think the Rivian's interior is pretty good. Haven't sat in one yet, but the reviews all put it up there with luxury brands on quality and touch/feel response. I have high hopes for the EV Silverado, but not high enough to hold my breathe it's any better than a standard refresh model (which is quite nice to be fair) pickup.

 

[2kwik4u]

Some interesting reading from Car and Driver

Tested: How Towing Affects Electric Pickups—Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, and Ford F-150 Lightning

Towing a trailer with an EV pickup might be easy, but it kills range fast.

www.caranddriver.com

 

[adrianp89]

Can't tow with this one, but digging the styling:

https://electrek.co/2022/08/17/dodge-shows-banshee-electric-charger-concept-an-ev-with-exhaust/

 

[tabbibus]

Can't tow with this one, but digging the styling:

https://electrek.co/2022/08/17/dodge-shows-banshee-electric-charger-concept-an-ev-with-exhaust/

It look really nice. I don't get the fake exhaust / engine noise tho.

 

[adrianp89]

Some interesting reading from Car and Driver

Tested: How Towing Affects Electric Pickups—Hummer EV, Rivian R1T, and Ford F-150 Lightning

Towing a trailer with an EV pickup might be easy, but it kills range fast.

www.caranddriver.com

PHEV is going to make sense for trucks. Eventually someone will realize this. Probably Ram.

 

[BlkGS]

It look really nice. I don't get the fake exhaust / engine noise tho.

I think it's kinds ugly personally, but could be the shots of it. The fake shifts and sound make sense to me. A lot of buyers, especially ones in the muscle segments, want that feel. A lot of buyers care more about how the car feels and makes them feel more than outright performance metrics.

I haven't heard the sound clip of it yet, but reading about it makes me think it's going to be a high pitched wail I'm not gonna love.

 

[BlkGS]

PHEV is going to make sense for trucks. Eventually someone will realize this. Probably Ram.

PHEV makes more sense for pretty much every consumer vehicle except like short distance city commuters.

The new dodge hornet thing is a phev. Phev Pacifica has done well too. It's a little odd that nobody is using electric as the main drive motor in a phev yet. Maybe gm still has some ip from volt preventing it.

 

[adrianp89]

I think it's kinds ugly personally, but could be the shots of it. The fake shifts and sound make sense to me. A lot of buyers, especially ones in the muscle segments, want that feel. A lot of buyers care more about how the car feels and makes them feel more than outright performance metrics.

I haven't heard the sound clip of it yet, but reading about it makes me think it's going to be a high pitched wail I'm not gonna love.

It literally sounds like a large cat to me.

Listen to the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT EV's Simulated Exhaust

We're not sure how to feel about this.

www.roadandtrack.com

 

[2kwik4u]

yet. Maybe gm still has some ip from volt preventing it.

If they are, they sure aren't using it for shit. Give me a Powerboost equivalent in a Sierra package and I'm in. Something like a 25-30kWh battery, a 7k-ish onboard invertor, and a small diesel engine on a GM platform and I'm in. Take all my dollars right now.

I'm really not a huge fan of RAM trucks, but if they get a PHEV figured out, I'll give them another look.

*edit* We should coin a new acronym.....PHET Plug-In Hybrid Electric Truck.....I'm gonna start using it */edit*

 

[BlkGS]

If they are, they sure aren't using it for shit. Give me a Powerboost equivalent in a Sierra package and I'm in. Something like a 25-30kWh battery, a 7k-ish onboard invertor, and a small diesel engine on a GM platform and I'm in. Take all my dollars right now.

I'm really not a huge fan of RAM trucks, but if they get a PHEV figured out, I'll give them another look.

*edit* We should coin a new acronym.....PHET Plug-In Hybrid Electric Truck.....I'm gonna start using it */edit*

I'm not 100% up on powerboost, but isn't it just a big ass inverter like you could buy at harbor freight? And also maybe the name for their hybrid system?

 

[2kwik4u]

I'm not 100% up on powerboost, but isn't it just a big ass inverter like you could buy at harbor freight? And also maybe the name for their hybrid system?

The Powerboost is a hybrid. Standard, Non-plug-in kind. They get around 24mpg or so in mixed use, and in general are nothing to write home about. I think the battery is pretty small, something like 1.5kWh or so. It's slightly different in that the electric motor has a separate clutch from the motor and isn't integral to the transmission, so it offers some interesting use cases........like serving as a generator.

The "Pro Power Onboard" feature is a fully function 7.2kW generator. Uses the inverter from the hybrid system, and allows the engine to be used as a power source. Fuel burn is around 1gph which is similar to diesel high output generators, and better than your typical home use generator. Sure it's kind of like a big ass inverter, but it will run for DAYS on a tank of fuel and operate like a standard generator. Basically pull up, plug in, turn on the system, turn on the load, lock doors and walk away.

If I could get past Ford styling, it's honestly a REALLY good solution for a "swiss army knife" of a vehicle. The 7.2k generator is only like a $500 option as well, so it's a great value for what you get IMO.

If Ford would throw a 20kWh battery in there, and let me charge it from my house at night, that would be an even better setup. I have to to think the hardware is there, just need to find space for the larger battery. I'm told the '25 models will be a complete redesign from the ground up. Hopefully they can add some of this capability when they can shed the existing ladder frame and body architecture that is limiting available space.

 

[BlkGS]

The Powerboost is a hybrid. Standard, Non-plug-in kind. They get around 24mpg or so in mixed use, and in general are nothing to write home about. I think the battery is pretty small, something like 1.5kWh or so. It's slightly different in that the electric motor has a separate clutch from the motor and isn't integral to the transmission, so it offers some interesting use cases........like serving as a generator.

The "Pro Power Onboard" feature is a fully function 7.2kW generator. Uses the inverter from the hybrid system, and allows the engine to be used as a power source. Fuel burn is around 1gph which is similar to diesel high output generators, and better than your typical home use generator. Sure it's kind of like a big ass inverter, but it will run for DAYS on a tank of fuel and operate like a standard generator. Basically pull up, plug in, turn on the system, turn on the load, lock doors and walk away.

If I could get past Ford styling, it's honestly a REALLY good solution for a "swiss army knife" of a vehicle. The 7.2k generator is only like a $500 option as well, so it's a great value for what you get IMO.

If Ford would throw a 20kWh battery in there, and let me charge it from my house at night, that would be an even better setup. I have to to think the hardware is there, just need to find space for the larger battery. I'm told the '25 models will be a complete redesign from the ground up. Hopefully they can add some of this capability when they can shed the existing ladder frame and body architecture that is limiting available space.

I think the bigger issue is that the market moving money wants all battery vehicles. They see EVs as a "market disruption event", and want all the companies to change entirely. Ford could find room for a battery pack like that easily, there's a ton of space under the bed, or they could even raise the bed slightly and put it there. They're not doing it because the money that wants to make more money wants all electric.

It's really a shame, because what consumers want doesn't really line up with that. Consumer has clearly shown they want light duty diesel trucks, the ecodiesel and babymax both basically sell out, I think the Ford baby powers trike did too, but Ford wanted to push the hybrid f150 instead.

I want a lowered awd sport truck, that still works for truck stuff, but nobody cares what inwant lol.

 

[BlkGS]

It look really nice. I don't get the fake exhaust / engine noise tho.

Watched Raitis rides video on it. I like most of the outside styling, the front doesn't work for me. Not sure what it is, but I can tell it's fixable. The interior isn't bad, needs less concept car.crap though (like the weird door panel insert thi gs).

The sound... eh, I haven't made my mind up on. It's better than nothing for sure, but it kinda sounds like an autotuned Dyson vacuum. If I didn't have it in my head that it could be a v8, I'd probably like the sound. I think it'll be interesting to see how it works in practice with their transmission thing.

The rest... 100k msrp for the top model is insanity. That's 30k more than a hellcat chally today. Sure, it's faster, but that's just too much money for a 2 door Dodge that's not a Viper. And that's the expected starting price, not fully loaded. The new emblem they're using is stupid, and I hate the front light bar and the emblem being lit up.

I think it's a good effort at an electric muscle car, but I think going cold turkey switch over is going to be a disaster for dodge. While I get more than most that muscle car buyers are increasingly muscle suv buyers, and it seems like Durango is gonna hang out for a while still, it seems like a very bad choice to go all in.

 

[2kwik4u]

What’s New with the Upcoming Ram 1500 EV Pickup Truck – Let’s Set the Record Straight

What is the real story behind the upcoming Ram 1500 EV pickup truck and the Ram Revolution truck? Let's set the record straight. Ram spokesperson says the f

tfltruck.com

Some interesting info on Rams offering on this new segment. @BlkGS looks like we might just get that range extender after all.

 

[BlkGS]

What’s New with the Upcoming Ram 1500 EV Pickup Truck – Let’s Set the Record Straight

What is the real story behind the upcoming Ram 1500 EV pickup truck and the Ram Revolution truck? Let's set the record straight. Ram spokesperson says the f

tfltruck.com

Some interesting info on Rams offering on this new segment. @BlkGS looks like we might just get that range extender after all.

I still think having a battery pack that large is a waste. 30 kwh would be plenty for a daily driver even in a truck, and bring the battery costs down tremendously. You could pair it with a 25 gallon tank and have an insane range with virtually no loss in space. Frankly, you could likely do it on a typical truck platform, putting the battery under the hood with a small generator.

 

[adrianp89]

I still think having a battery pack that large is a waste. 30 kwh would be plenty for a daily driver even in a truck, and bring the battery costs down tremendously. You could pair it with a 25 gallon tank and have an insane range with virtually no loss in space. Frankly, you could likely do it on a typical truck platform, putting the battery under the hood with a small generator.

I would like to see at least a 50kwh in a truck. The Jeep has a 17kwh with 15 usable. 45 usable should give me over 75 miles normal and 30 mile towing.

The problem is where does the battery go? I don't think there is much room on a standard chassis. Maybe tuck it under the bed (like where the spare goes), or hell give me 6" less of bed space and put it in the bed. There is no way a battery is fitting under the hood, plus it would get too hot from the motor.