GMC Sierra EV

[2kwik4u]

The seats are in no way shape or form gonna go to production. WAY too much liability and risk of them moving around or being loose in a wreck. Legal will nix that idea so fast I'm surprised they even let them show it. Suicide doors without b pillar is out in concept only land too, they might do suicide doors, but there will be a b pillar for sure, crash standard require the roof to be crazy strong, and there's no way they're gonna get that kind of strength over that distance without it.

The passthrough I can see having use of. Back in NC we had to replace deck boards a few times, they were 16' long or so. In the Colorado I ran them through the center window cuz I dgaf. But in the f150 it had that little cutout window and would have sat on glass, so we would hang them WAY out past the 5 foot bed. It's a niche case for sure, but I get the appeal. I'm a big fan of mid gates in general though.

I have a sliding/folding second row. I don't see much difference here. Height maybe? Lots of minivans do it as well. I suspect that isn't really an issue.

Somewhat the same with the suicide doors. B-pillar is built into one of the doors and swing out with it. They don't crash test vehicles without doors, so no reason to exclude it from the structure. Makes the latching mechanism more robust, but arguably not any more complicated or difficult to test.

I've put stuff through the back window a few times. Hell I had 12ft boards in my Focus once. Dunno why it seems sketchy to have it in front of me and not beside/behind me. With the front pass thru---where does it go? Does the console float? Some logistics in there to figure out I think. Annecdotaly, the Rivian has an access to the gear tunnel from the back seat, guess this could be viewed the same way?!?!

<--Loaded up Focus for reference

 

[2kwik4u]

I see th.arpund pretty often. I appreciate that they're just an f150, but I think the front is hideous. The big light bar and solid grille look terrible to me.

I still maintain that a PHEV truck is what makes the most sense and would sell the best. The fact that there's now 3 hybrid trucks that don't offer a plug but offer decent EV only rangemeans there's something fishy going on. There's NO WAY that all 3 of them would decide that there's no advantage to it. There is some reason (possibly govt regulations, possibly wall st money) that they're skipping an insanely simple add on to developed vehicles to instead try to sell us gigantic battery vehicles. But if we as a society REALLY wanted to make a difference, we would PHEV everything so that all the small daily commutes, the stop and go, the things that EVs can do were electrified, and the stuff that wasn't the strong point for an EV could be handled by the ICE side of the vehicle. You literally just need to add a charging port to the hybrids already on sale.

Agreed on the PHEV. I think Ford already has the infrastructure on the PowerBoost trucks, just allow a charger to plug into the 220V outlet in the bed to recharge the battery. Like, those wires already exist in the chassis.

To me, the lightning looks like a BraunAbility Conversion Van from the rear 3/4 view. The rear drive unit and suspension just look wildly out of place. I mean I understand how and why it looks like that, but it's not a great look. Some of the graphics and body features look a little rushed, but again, they were working with the space they had and you can only lipstick a pig so far right?

 

[BlkGS]

I have a sliding/folding second row. I don't see much difference here. Height maybe? Lots of minivans do it as well. I suspect that isn't really an issue.

Somewhat the same with the suicide doors. B-pillar is built into one of the doors and swing out with it. They don't crash test vehicles without doors, so no reason to exclude it from the structure. Makes the latching mechanism more robust, but arguably not any more complicated or difficult to test.

I've put stuff through the back window a few times. Hell I had 12ft boards in my Focus once. Dunno why it seems sketchy to have it in front of me and not beside/behind me. With the front pass thru---where does it go? Does the console float? Some logistics in there to figure out I think. Annecdotaly, the Rivian has an access to the gear tunnel from the back seat, guess this could be viewed the same way?!?!

View attachment 192687 <--Loaded up Focus for reference

That's fair, you could have a b pillar in the doors. It takes some extra engineering and isn't as strong (hence not really seeing that in much anymore), but it's technically possible ( I suspect it's not economicallt viable, and that's why even extended cab trucks went away from it).

We have sliding seats too, but they are self contained. The seats slide within a boxed frame, vs the concept that just has a hella long rail. I'm sure there's some engineering about how much travel you can have in that sliding mechanism and still be safe. Or there's some sort of auto latching of the sliding mechanism. Or both. I just don't see that making it to production. Plus, what's the real benefit? That I can slide one seat seat basically into another one? Neat idea, but I don't think it's got a ton of value. I think the jump seats do add some value, and could see a more realistic version of that making it to production, where you slide rows 1 and 2 forward and can pop down a jump seat for limited use. In something like a dodge mega cab there's certainly enough space for it.

 

[BlkGS]

Agreed on the PHEV. I think Ford already has the infrastructure on the PowerBoost trucks, just allow a charger to plug into the 220V outlet in the bed to recharge the battery. Like, those wires already exist in the chassis.

To me, the lightning looks like a BraunAbility Conversion Van from the rear 3/4 view. The rear drive unit and suspension just look wildly out of place. I mean I understand how and why it looks like that, but it's not a great look. Some of the graphics and body features look a little rushed, but again, they were working with the space they had and you can only lipstick a pig so far right?

I think the new tundra is basically the same. Ram etorque might not be, I think it's 48v? Either way, it'd be a minimal investment to add a 120v charging port to any of them, and since the batteries are fairly small, it could be a slow charge and not matter.

 

[TimW451]

I see th.arpund pretty often. I appreciate that they're just an f150, but I think the front is hideous. The big light bar and solid grille look terrible to me.

I still maintain that a PHEV truck is what makes the most sense and would sell the best. The fact that there's now 3 hybrid trucks that don't offer a plug but offer decent EV only rangemeans there's something fishy going on. There's NO WAY that all 3 of them would decide that there's no advantage to it. There is some reason (possibly govt regulations, possibly wall st money) that they're skipping an insanely simple add on to developed vehicles to instead try to sell us gigantic battery vehicles. But if we as a society REALLY wanted to make a difference, we would PHEV everything so that all the small daily commutes, the stop and go, the things that EVs can do were electrified, and the stuff that wasn't the strong point for an EV could be handled by the ICE side of the vehicle. You literally just need to add a charging port to the hybrids already on sale.

I don't know the real reasons why those options don't work out, but when Ford offered the Fusion in all the power options, the plug-in hybrid had the worst value prop. Most expensive and unusable electric only performance/range.

 

[2kwik4u]

I don't know the real reasons why those options don't work out, but when Ford offered the Fusion in all the power options, the plug-in hybrid had the worst value prop. Most expensive and unusable electric only performance/range.

Wonder if there is some continued public opinion issue with a PHEV?!?! Similar to what small diesels had in the US (or still have depending on who you talk to).

Just a thought.

 

[BlkGS]

Wonder if there is some continued public opinion issue with a PHEV?!?! Similar to what small diesels had in the US (or still have depending on who you talk to).

Just a thought.

I honestly think it's just a thing that they want to transition to purely BEV. They being investment banks. Everyone I've ever talked to has agreed that a PHEV is the vehicle they want, and the people I've known who have owned them LOVE them.

While were on the subject of fads we hate... Flush door handles. They're stupid. A nice chunky door handle like on a truck makes life so much easier. There is no need to try to reinvent this wheel.

 

[2kwik4u]

Can't find the dedicated Ram EV thread. Here's a first look at the "Third Row".

Take a Peek at the Electric Ram Revolution's (Sort of) Third-Row Seats

New photos provide a closer look at the third-row jumpseats in Ram's EV pickup-truck concept. Are they useful or useless?

www.caranddriver.com

 

[BlkGS]

Can't find the dedicated Ram EV thread. Here's a first look at the "Third Row".

Take a Peek at the Electric Ram Revolution's (Sort of) Third-Row Seats

New photos provide a closer look at the third-row jumpseats in Ram's EV pickup-truck concept. Are they useful or useless?

www.caranddriver.com

Not much actual info and pretty much all fluff, but that's par.for.the course from C&D these days, they've gone WAYYYYYY downhill.

IF that feature makes it to production, I suspect it goes one of 2 ways. Way 1, weight limits. Probably fairly low, just enough for smaller kids. Way 2, without the midgate, the back wall is fixed in place. It may be a removable piece, but it will likely be bolted in, possibly intended only as a manufacturer bolt in, because consumers can't be trusted to bolt in with a torque spec.

I say this because I think it's going to virtually impossible to meet safety ratings with occupants in a jump seat held in with a latch. I think that piece will have to be a structural element, which will require a more robust attachment than just latching it in place. That will make the mid gate a lot less attractive, so I could see it being an either/or option, where the midgate latches into a frame that's bolted in, and the jump seat panel bolts in to the same attachment points. This was a big difference between the C4 and C5 corvettes, to maintain chassis rigidity on the c4 (longer story as to why this was an issue, short version is "management"), the targa roof had to be bolted in place and be a structural element. In the c5, the chassis was designed to be a convertible without a b pillar for rigidity, and so the roof latches are only there to keep it from flying off.

I will admit, dynamic mechanics isn't my strong suit, so I could be wrong, but there's probably a reason you see so few removable seats anymore, and the ones you do see all mount perpendicular to the plane of travel.

 

[NewBoater]

I’m not going to lie I really liked the concept of this because I have had a Sierra Denali for many years and this is my latest one which is a 2020. I think they are going to be horrendous for towing but we will see. I also was hoping it would be about $80,000 or $90,000 and I probably would have been all in for a trade. But I think I’m going to stick with my 2020 6.2 with 50,000 miles. It’s probably still just worth as much as I originally bought it for which is crazy. And as you can see I keep it very clean.

 

[adrianp89]

Ram must of realized their concept was garbage. They quickly revealed the actual production truck and I like it a lot. Very very similar to current model DT inside and out. This should be an easy sell. They kept it familiar and safe.

Ram's electric rival to the Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck is coming — see the 1500 REV

Ram's very first electric pickup truck is coming in late 2024. Here's what it looks like inside and out.

www.yahoo.com

 

[BlkGS]

Ram must of realized their concept was garbage. They quickly revealed the actual production truck and I like it a lot. Very very similar to current model DT inside and out. This should be an easy sell. They kept it familiar and safe.

Ram's electric rival to the Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck is coming — see the 1500 REV

Ram's very first electric pickup truck is coming in late 2024. Here's what it looks like inside and out.

www.yahoo.com

Agreed, smart to build basically the same truck, but electric. I don't like the tailgate, but the front looks good. If it in fact comes with a gas or diesel range extender, it could be the paradigm breaker and completely invalidate the efforts of everyone else in the space.

If it comes with a range extender that's got a decent size and works while towing or other high load situations, I'd probably buy one.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

Ram must of realized their concept was garbage. They quickly revealed the actual production truck and I like it a lot. Very very similar to current model DT inside and out. This should be an easy sell. They kept it familiar and safe.

Ram's electric rival to the Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck is coming — see the 1500 REV

Ram's very first electric pickup truck is coming in late 2024. Here's what it looks like inside and out.

www.yahoo.com

I really like what Ram did with their EV.

From a drivers point, I like what they have the center console a combination of buttons and touch screen. This is how it is on my 2020 Ram and makes it super easy to change things without having to scroll through the touchscreen.

I don't have any plans to replace my ICE Ram, but maybe in 5 years?

Jim

 

[2kwik4u]

Yeap, it's a truck. Got a battery instead of an fuel tank, motor instead of an engine.

Should sell just fine if the specs are there.

I'm most curious on price point. Ram has been a "value" brand imo for many years. They often sell on price as much as spec sheet and style (as evidenced by the lower resale values, and frequent deep discounts), and I'm curious if they will choose the same path here. Come in with a $75k electric truck and you'll have people backed up out the front door to buy them.

 

[adrianp89]

Yeap, it's a truck. Got a battery instead of an fuel tank, motor instead of an engine.

Should sell just fine if the specs are there.

I'm most curious on price point. Ram has been a "value" brand imo for many years. They often sell on price as much as spec sheet and style (as evidenced by the lower resale values, and frequent deep discounts), and I'm curious if they will choose the same path here. Come in with a $75k electric truck and you'll have people backed up out the front door to buy them.

I could the price going either way. I would imagine these trucks can easily be tooled to be built in the same factory as the current which helps drive costs down. With that being said, the DT arguably has been the best truck on the market since it came out and they took a huge market share (aggressive pricing helped for sure). They can probably ween out of that pricing model into a more level one with Ford and GMC.

 

[BlkGS]

Ram has a weird position, they're both the "value" truck, and the luxury truck. The cheap truck is the Chevy, but if you want a lot of truck in the mid price range points, Ram does that well.

If the Ram Rev has a price parity with the ICE version, they'll sell well. Like, really well. Especially with a range extender. It could be a 3 to 5k upcharge ove the hurricane or hemi or whatever and be a real winner.

 

[@JC!]

I would have bought the concept, the production truck looks like a basic 1500 with a new grill. It was stupid marketing to show that awesome concept just a month before the production reveal.

 

[Jim_in_Delaware]

I am kinda digging the frunk on these trucks, as it gives lockable, private storage that most regular trucks lack. I have a camper top on my ICE Ram, but need to either heavily tint the windows or add curtains for privacy.

Jim

 

[BlkGS]

I would have bought the concept, the production truck looks like a basic 1500 with a new grill. It was stupid marketing to show that awesome concept just a month before the production reveal.

The concept was way too unrealistic. I think they shouldn't have bothered with it, so much of it was simply not feasible from a liability/safety engineering perspective.

I think a basic 1500 with electric options is exactly what the market needs. These complete redo versions will lack the robustness and toughness of a purpose built, tried and true work truck. That's why people LIKE trucks so much, they're built to be abused by construction workers and the like, so they hold up to consumer use like it's nothing. I don't want a truck I have to be delicate with, I want it to be tough as a forged anvil. If it can drop off a curb all day every day, it can handle when I hit a pothole and not have to worry something got bent.

True story btw, friend had a Hyundai SUV of some sort, hit a pothole, had to have most of that corners suspension and wheel replaced cuz it all bent. The mechanic (dealership) was worried the unibody might have been tweaked, that had apparently been something they had seen on that model before that totalled an otherwise fine vehicle out.

 

[2kwik4u]

The concept was way too unrealistic. I think they shouldn't have bothered with it, so much of it was simply not feasible from a liability/safety engineering perspective.

Isn't that kind of what concepts are supposed to be?

I think a basic 1500 with electric options is exactly what the market needs. These complete redo versions will lack the robustness and toughness of a purpose built, tried and true work truck. That's why people LIKE trucks so much, they're built to be abused by construction workers and the like, so they hold up to consumer use like it's nothing. I don't want a truck I have to be delicate with, I want it to be tough as a forged anvil. If it can drop off a curb all day every day, it can handle when I hit a pothole and not have to worry something got bent.

I agree with this premise whole heartedly, but think you're underestimating the capability of a unibody construction. The use case for the SantaFe you saw borked and a pickup is so different, and the quality of materials and engineering is quite different as well. Granted it should hold up to a pothole better than it did, I don't think it's even in the ballpark for comparison with something like a Rivian that has clearly demonstrated it can be abused significantly without mechanical failure.