by Gabrielle DeSantis

There’s no denying that we’re entering into the golden age of the electric pickup truck. With carmakers ranging from Ford, GMC, Tesla, and Rivian investing boatloads of cash into development, the results will surely be spectacular. However, it seems the traditional truck buyer and the electric truck buyer want slightly different things from their daily drivers.

In fact, a new study by PIPLSAY surveyed Americans to see which parts of these new vehicles mattered the most. Surprisingly, looks and features ranked at the very bottom of the list. Unsurprisingly, the top spot went to the truck’s actual specifications.

What is the most important feature an electric pickup truck needs to have?

Regardless of which electric pickup truck you’re looking for, all of the major models expected to arrive soon were part of this study. This includes the Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Hummer, Rivian R1T, Atlis Motors Vehicles XT, Lordstown Endurance, and the Bollinger Motors B2.

According to PIPLSAY, 34 percent of the buyers interested in a brand-new electric pickup truck cited specifications as their most important component. This includes things such as how much electric range the truck offers, as well as horsepower and towing capabilities.

From there, 28 percent said the most important factor was the truck’s price. Given the premium some of these trucks ask over a conventional internal combustion variant, this finding is far from surprising.

Next up, only 20 percent of buyers said the truck’s brand was the most important factor. Since these electric trucks are brand-new products, strong brand loyalty will likely help sales.

Here’s what American buyers cared less about

RELATED: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Receives Over 20,000 Reservations in 12 Hours

Since an electric pickup truck has to serve a practical purpose, prioritizing performance and price is key. As a result, this study found two areas Americans cared the least about. That’s because only 13 percent of Americans reportedly cited the truck’s features as the most important aspect. This includes trim levels, luxury extras, and interior specs.

Lastly, we’ve got the looks category. Only five percent of Americans answered that how a truck looks matters the most from a buyer’s perspective. This is particularly interesting since several models on this list, such as the Cybertruck, B2, and R1T, bank on their futuristic styling to draw attention.

Since these models will enter the U.S. market relatively soon, only time will tell how well they will sell.

How much does an electric pickup truck cost?

Since price is one of the most important traits electric pickup truck buyers want to know, let’s see how much these trucks will cost you. Below is a list of the models covered in this study, along with their associated base price. Keep in mind that some of these models are still in development and don’t have specific pricing available just yet.

The post Study: Electric Pickup Truck Buyers Value Specs and Price Over Looks and Features appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Are you uncomfortable knowing there are completely autonomous trucks among us? There are numerous autonomous semi-trucks breezing down the highways of America every single day. Should we be concerned? Is it safe?

Some day there will be tons of advantages for the owner of a fleet of autonomous trucks. But what about the rest of us? A company called TuSimple recently sent a truck from Nogales, Arizona, to Oklahoma City. It carried a load of watermelons, in case you wondered.

How far did this autonomous truck travel?

Though just under 1,000 miles separate the two cities, the company routed the truck through Dallas, Texas. According to its press release, the first 65 miles and last 200 miles used a driver. A human driver. But between those two points, it was all TuSimple’s technology truckin’ down the highway. 

As long as everything goes perfectly, which it did, it significantly cuts down on time versus using a human driver. If you believe the hype. “A human driver can complete the entire trip in 24 hours and six minutes, while TuSimple demonstrated its autonomous system can make this trip in 14 hours and six minutes, which is 42% faster,” says the press release.

Of course, this claim is deceiving. That’s because the 24 hour time stated for a human driver includes mandated off-duty time. That’s because the feds mandate drivers who drive 14 consecutive hours have to take 10 hours off before continuing to drive. 

There was really no difference between human and autonomous driving times

So the roughly 10 hours difference between the two numbers is solely based on the mandate. While the downtime has to be factored into scheduling, in real terms, there was no difference in the times. And, an attendant must be with the truck during autonomous periods as a fallback in case of glitches. 

So isn’t that the same as having a driver handle the entire route?  Then the question becomes once these trials are completed, will there still be a requirement for an attendant? If so, then where are the savings? 

We realize that truly autonomous driving is still years and years away. And who knows how long an attendant will be required after that? We know that the point is to one day eliminate drivers. But is all of this time and money really worth it?

A typically loaded semi-truck weighs 80,000 lbs

In the meantime, we all are guinea pigs. A typically loaded semi-truck weighs 80,000 lbs. So this is a vast experiment in launching 80,000 lb missiles down the highway with no driver. We all get to be part of it good or bad. 

Lately, hacking into infrastructures like oil pipelines and meatpacking plants is one country’s idea of grins and giggles. Once the US gets up to speed with autonomous trucking, will these clowns find it fun to play with the software of trucks? Overriding the controls for observing a catastrophic outcome would be these hacker’s wildest dreams. 

There are a lot of safety concerns that will need to be foolproof before everyone is on board with autonomous driving. Until then, there will continue to be completely autonomous semi-trucks among us. 

RELATED: GM Head Tells When Autonomous Cars and EVs Take Over the World

The post There Are Completely Autonomous Trucks Among Us appeared first on MotorBiscuit.