If there is enough room in that bed for about 4 100watt solar panels so I can stop and recharge during daylight, I guess I have found my apocalyptic bugout vehicle!

Closer to a real truck anyway. Though I hate short beds. Can't put anything in them really, can't sleep in them, a tool box would take up half of the available room, etc.

I just bought a new truck after some asshole rear-ended me and twisted the frame on my old one. I had a Toyota Tacoma. 15 years and 300,000 miles. Just got another Toyota because they are extremely reliable.

Would I have purchased the Tesla? Doubtful:

1. it's ugly as sin. I just don't like it
2. I wonder about the range
3. Electric cars do not do as well in the cold and Alaska gets cold (although not this year)
4. I wonder how Tesla as a company will do. If the company goes under, where does one get parts, service, etc.? I keep reading that they have yet to turn a profit and that makes me reluctant to buy one of their vehicles
5. I realize I'm just an old fart who doesn't trust these new-fangled things.

The concept is interesting and in a few years might be worth while but I've learned from computers that its best to wait a bit and get the bugs and kinks worked out.

Wonder how much Musk is saving on production by just having to bend steel for body panels rather than truly having to tool body panels for styling? Then again material costs might make the cost savings on the simplistic design of the body moot.

Tesla Cybertruck
 

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3a8403823c.jpg

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is that true? I had a Chevy Volt and it was exceptional in cold weather, both for running well and for driving in snow and ice. Is that something for which Chevy was just more successful than other electric manufacturers?

They operate fine, but your range is usually reduced since producing heat is actually pretty battery intensive. Think electric space heater. I probably lose 20% of my range on really cold days in my Leaf.

Batteries don’t work as well in the cold, it really just shortens the distance they can go on a charge a little. It also affected your Volt, but with the gas aspect you might not have noticed.

I never had that issue at all, but maybe because it was garaged while not operating it never started out cold. Never used the gas except on road trips. It would occasionally run the gas engine itself with a message that said it had gone too long without running. Good to know though for when I do buy my electric apocalyptic bug out vehicle!

Batteries don’t work as well in the cold, it really just shortens the distance they can go on a charge a little. It also affected your Volt, but with the gas aspect you might not have noticed.

This is my understanding. And while winters here have not been as bad the last couple of years, I have seen several winters where it did not hit 0 for weeks on end. My concern has been that even if I kept my truck in the garage (I don't*), that truck sits outside while I'm at work all day. And it doesn't take long at -30 for anything to get really cold.

*Like all good Alaskans, I have a block heater in my engine that I plug in at night. It's why you see rows of electrical outlets in pictures of Fairbanks. The plug is a little heating coil that keeps the engine block warm, or at least warm for the temperatures, so oil isn't as thick, starting is easier and the engine gets to operating temperature faster.

If I may ask, where do you live in Alaska?

I live in Palmer but work in Anchorage. Right now, it's wet and sloppy and can't really decide if it wants to snow or rain, which is pretty crappy.

Cool. I've only passed through Anchorage briefly, so I know little about it. The southeast peninsula seemed interesting to me, and maybe not as cold if one lived there. I find the area intriguing.