Trade in Tacoma for an EV Truck?

this is a great thread... i appreciate the forward discussion.

Here's whats confusing me.... will be see the Cyber Truck before we ever see a EV or Hybrid Tacoma? C'mon Toyota. Seems like they have all the pieces... why not throw them together in a Tacoma body?

 

I’m sure it’s coming, but I don’t think they will be super common. People that want a hybrid go for a Prius or smaller car. The hybrid Tahoe’s and other larger vehicles really don’t sell that well as far as I know. I don’t think the demand for hybrid trucks and SUV’s is really that high

 

I think it's the other way around....those large vehicles don't exist. The only choices out there are the small vehicles.

There is no hybrid Tahoe / Suburban / Expedition / Sequoia / full size truck hybrid available these days. A few are rumored to be on their way, but nothing is set in stone yet.

I think they'd be huge sellers if they were as reliable and efficient as the smaller vehicles from the same manufacturers. A hybrid Sequoia with the gas mileage of a Rav4 and the reliability of a Prius? Sign me up.

But I'd go for a full EV Sequoia or Tundra too

 

That's not a huge surprise though. Toyota is always way behind on the tech front, especially on their trucks/suvs.

I think a big reason why we haven't seen as many larger vehicles (especially SUVs) is the range you can get from an EV vehicle today. You get maybe 300-400 tops. You can't road trip very well on that short of a range and charging infrastructure isn't that great right now. So you're limited on where you can take these larger vehicles with your family, I know people that would blow through that each day running their kids around to soccer, taekwondo, dance, school, etc.

 

Why have a truck at all then? Just trade it in for a small car.

 

Zero desire for an electric vehicle. The places I want to be don't have chargers.

 

Not quite correct. Prius sales in the US have been eclipsed by the RAV4 Hybrid, and conventional looking hybrid versions of other cars are selling very well. I think GM screwed up with the mild hybrid full sizers a while back, but the global success of hybrids including for taxi use validates the technology.

To @RPVTaco, I put in a pre-order for a Cybertruck. Yes I think it’s pretty ugly, but to be honest most pickups are. And some of the styling choices seem practical, and I also suspect it may be less angular by the time it hits production. As for range, that’s my big worry, but 90% of the time it shouldn’t be an issue. And I’m hoping that in real world offroad use, with low speeds (and thus less wind resistance) and lots of “idling”, the actual range will be better than highway range. My TRDOR can maybe go 400 miles on the highway, but only 200-250 miles off pavement. Suddenly the 3 motor Tesla looks pretty good. I have quite a few friends with Tesla’s and reliability and durability don’t seem to be significant issues. And a lot of fixes are over-the-air SW updates; no convincing a dealership to flash update your Taco because it’s always looking for the wrong gear. Finally, while these trucks are more expensive than most Taco’s, they seem competitive with Ford/Ram/GM full-sizers when comparably optioned. None of them are cheap.

 

The main reason I would only get Tesla is the supercharger system. Put in a destination and car knows which supercharger to stop at and how long to charge to get there fastest. Plus with autopilot, makes long highway trips much more relaxing, although still need to be alert.

 

The supercharger stations give Tesla a heads up over the competition. I wasn’t a believer in electric cars until I had a chance to keep a Model S for an unlimited mileage weekend drive. I was sold after 10-minutes of driving around town. I placed my Dual Motor Cybertruck deposit in November.

 

I agree completely - 'Soon' is subjective. But look at how far electric vehicles have come since the Tesla Roadster. This is true also for CHARGING technology.
Batteries are improving quite fast these days, and costs per MWhr (megawatt-hour) are falling at accelerating rates... (due to the volume required by EVs, but also for other uses such as Energy storage). Investment, and R/D in both EVs and Batteries is much, MUCH greater, that it was, and it is growing at an impressive pace...

Some have pointed out that there are many EVs that are not on sale yet... the point is that there are so many of them and they are coming. Some are in delay, yes (as if that did not happen with ICE which are known inside and out...) - but Polestar has announced that they remain on track despite COVID. (you'll see their cars and E-motorbikes in their showrooms).

Progress in Formula-e (& Moto-e) has been amazing in the last 5 years. A LOT of R&D effort is focused in e-motor sports from the top sports car manufacturers...

I am confident that 'soon' is the right word - simply because 'soon' has so far been pulled increasingly soon-er.

Here is a new electric off-roader. It sort of looks like a proper Truck, no?
Well, - I guess not really... But it looks fun.

 

I'm wondering about the relative size of this. Side by side? Tacoma? Tundra?

 

I saw this in case anyone is interested.... NIKOLA BADGER Reservations available June 29th for selection at 11 am ET with a chance to win a Nikola Badger...

https://nikolamotor.com/badger


https://twstatic.net/attachments/7fe60038-78aa-481c-a3db-2b6b138ec9f9-jpg.3934016/

 

I may just put down a deposit...

 

I like the Rivian R1T but at $90,000CAD the sale of my current truck would just cover the taxes and a year of insurance.

 

This also seems to be true for the Film Industry, many guys from LA have been working here in Chicago.

 

A lot more incentives to productions to film outside of LA. Tons of production in Canada as well for that reason. I’ve been lucky to stay consistently busy in the industry in LA but would love to move out of CA soon.

 

One segment I see an EV/Hybrid being well received in would be the shop delivery truck market
Easy enough to test with dealers first.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk9jSPo-ezs

Get one of these

 

I was on the waiting list when it was $65k then they released the price of $120k. Yeah no. I like it but for $120k I’d like a new Porsche 992 instead.

 

Toyota has plenty of EV technology. I am sure if a Tacoma Prius was viable they would be building one.