Me too! However, since I'm pretty cheap....I doubt I will ever actually purchase one. But I'll 'consider' if for sure. And the odd thing is that I'm absolutely NOT a truck guy at all....but oddly enough I really like the cybertruck. As I've said in another thread, I also really like bladerunner...and other sci fi movies that have vehicles like this in them. Also, the potential camping aspects of the truck interest me quite a bit. Did you see the 'tug of war' video? Regardless of what one thinks of the validity of the tug of war, it show the size of the cybertruck very well. It is larger than I thought!
I did see that. Drug my poor F150 like it was nothing ! In fairness though, Doug DeMuro was pretty much right that the Cybertruck would be more fairly compared to a super duty truck, and in that category would be a much closer match. Bottom line though, it uses zero gas ! And that is huge !
I think the shape is simply the most aerodynamic (that's a constant in many previous designs) What other shape could it possibly have been? Once you go with stainless sheet steel it means no curves ,no paint , no curved glass the body is the frame. Cheaper production. If you like Efficiency or Power its brilliant.
I don't know... The pic in post #63 of this thread looks closer I think. Pickup Reveal . . . 8PM (ish) pacific - Musk time. | Page 4 | PriusChat
Actually not. Smooth, gentle curves can be much more aerodynamic, but much more costly to produce. Look at the beautiful curves on the Tesla Roadster. That car has an extremely low drag coefficient, and almost no flat sides.
Yes it's referred to as a faceted design, and when the F-117 came out, the main consideration was radar reflection, not aerodynamics. There's a lengthy Treatise here. Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk - Wikipedia The Nighthawk design was done away with pretty quickly because curves make for better airflow. High probability this pick up / Nighthawk knock-off will never see production - because of its lower aerodynamic characteristics (imo) .
Well, in spite of the higher drag coefficient, I believe Musk has pretty much said, "This is it", and its going to be coming out very close to what we have seen, besides some Government mandated stuff with side mirrors and such...
Sure curves are not economical with stainless sheet manufacturing as such the production models likely wont change much the design simply reflects the minimum drag possible.
In the automotive context, this is an evolution of Giorgetto Giugiaro's "folded paper" concept from 1966.
Actually, at least in theory, it might have better aerodynamic characteristics than a conventionally shaped pickup. If the long gradually sloped edges of the cab function as vortex generators, then turbulent air flow from the cab could be greatly reduced, resulting in reduced drag, and reduced detrimental lift at the rear.
I tend to agree. One of the tendencies of a utilitarian vehicle is that it will change shape and load so much and so frequently that aerodynamic principles can only be applied to specific features here and there. If the battery is big enough to tow the boat all the way home from the lake, the aero profile was never contributing much.
Been on an Interstate recently? <grins> When driving 'Prius style,' I like to use dynamic cruise control to follow trucks, trailers, SUVs, and pickups. Bob Wilson
Hmm So for comparison Bolinger Truck 120kwhr=200miles Cybertruck 100kwhr=250 miles, And even the Bolinger isn't a traditional truck to begin with range is the number 1 EV pickup driver requirement (At least if all the I won't own a plugin without a 1000 mile range comments are to be believed) So maybe aerodynamics matters?
The vast majority of pickups that I see driving around are neither towing anything nor have anything loaded which significantly affects the aerodynamics. The energy efficiency in itself of an electric pickup is not so much of an issue as is the range. With extra range costing in the order of magnitude of ten thousand dollars for an extra 100 miles, every little improvement in aerodynamics saves hundreds of dollars in battery costs.
I think the range claimed to be needed to get people out of their gas trucks is probably greater than what would be needed to sell the same people their second electric trucks.
Q.E.D. The more aerodynamic the lead vehicle, the less benefit to be gained or 'harvested' from following them.
