Sometimes not having the same choice as the US is a good thing

[Phil xxkr]

6 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Yeah LX600 looks slightly better in right environment: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2022-lexus-lx-review/

Can't say it is much worse than Cullinan or Bentayga... I just don't like SUVs overall.

However, if you envisage it as offroader on desert road, then it kind of looks right:

 

Problem is that we as a nation in UK unnecessarily buy massive SUVs and drive them in the city, which is just silly. 

By volume we are nation of terraced and two up two down houses with huge gargoyles of houses in cities are there any similarities? 😎

[Mr Vlad]

At the end if the day taste is an INDIVIDUAL thing and by distinction should NOT be mocked by disagreement. The LX600 is a vehicle which needs the right colour to make it look good. Its definitely not to a majority of folks taste. Me? Don't like it.

Good post Colin. You just knew it'd get the goat up of quite a few lol 😆 

[Linas.P]

56 minutes ago, dutchie01 said:

This car to me is a prime example of the totally backward american way of thinking when it comes to cars. Here we are 2022 and they come up with a van that averages 8.9mpg !!  Maybe this was acceptable in 1955 but even if you are totally against any form of battery propulsion this is a total engineering disgrace and i honestly cannot invent one single argument to defend this.

In a nutshell this philosophy explains why there is not one ( 1 ) single car in the current line up of Ford/GM/Chrysler that is even remotely competitive in the European market. Bizarre agressive styling, low tech engines with horrific fuel consumption, cheap plastic interiors, below average fit and finish and average crash protection. In case of trucks this is even worse as these are not categorized as cars so no need to have thesame standards. Bolt on chassis, springleaves no roll over protection and so on. Crap vehicles produced for customers that are easily satisfied. 

The big 3 have been shrinking for the last 10 years and if they dont reinvent themselves they are toast.  

There is some truth in it, that is what you get when you go for protectionism in the market. 

However, we kind of need to get things into perspective. USPS are buying trucks, not vans. US average MPG for Tucks are 6MPG, it is considered great if fleet achieve 8.5MPG and most efficient available trucks (not fleets) are at 10.5MPG.

Now I don't know the answer to the question whenever they need to buy trucks to do last mile deliveries, or it would be better to do it using electric vans, or these trucks they buying meant to be used for last mile delivery (by the looks of it they are) however that is not question we traying to answer here. When we look at the fleet - USPS will be amongst the best fleets in US if they can achieve 8.4MPG average, and even their current fleet is fairly decent. If you think Europe is better, then you are mistaken - Euro IV Trucks achieve ~34.5L/100KM or 6.8MPG in Germany. Note as well, that MPG quoted is American, so that equates to 10.6 British MPG or 24L/100KM. 

In short - there is nothing wrong with Oskosh Trucks. Perhaps the question we should ask - does USPS needs trucks or the vans would do?

So it seems outrange is here, because ecomintalist Karen in her Prius thought that 8.4MPG is horrible figure, but have not realised this is not cars we talking about and fuel economy for trucks is not the same.

Don't forget as well that big 3 own a lot of European makes Fiat/Chrysler... GM and Ford has now disinvested. There is some truth car americans are easily satisfied, but that is the market... frankly being car owner in US is so much better. Yes quality of the cars is not comparable to Lexus, but they simple, last long if maintained, cheap to buy, cheap parts etc. You know when you can buy Ford Mustang 5.0 for the price of Golf in UK... then it is very different place... and I know for sure which one I would have to choose.

That our governments are literally at war with motorists it doesn't mean it has to be that way. I am not saying US is perfect, but neither is EU... I think balance sits somewhere in between.

[Mr Vlad]

I'm intrigued by these fuel figures for those American trucks? being 8 mpg. UPS being mentioned so by trucks they're probably 5- 7 ton trucks. They run stop start between just a couple hundred feet to a couple of miles. If they're only getting 8-9 mpg then they all need shooting. By comparison the trucks here average nearer 20 mpg. From what I've heard amazon are buying hundreds of EV vans which I'm personally wondering if these EV vans have enough of a range considering the drivers won't be driving them economically lol. Just thought I'd mention this.