Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird(thedrive.com)
thedrive.com
Why the new USPS mail trucks look so weird
https://www.thedrive.com/news/39427/heres-why-the-new-usps-mail-trucks-look-so-weird
377 comments
Why are looks so important anyways?
Clearly USPS is trying to look after its employees, trying to ensure they have the best vehicle, suited for their work with minimal hassle.
Clearly USPS is trying to look after its employees, trying to ensure they have the best vehicle, suited for their work with minimal hassle.
This article basically is - "The USPS trucks look that way because USPS design says they have to". It would have helped to explain why USPS has these specific requirements - safety, comfort and efficiency.
Why have a specific design anyways? In both Sweden and Spain, the cars carrying mail is typically just a normal half-truck (not sure about the correct name) with the post office branding. Here are two examples: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/DA5TW8/yellow-correos-spanish-post... - https://st2.depositphotos.com/3982569/5739/i/950/depositphot...
Seems to work fine. Packages gets carried in bigger trucks, but still just business trucks with different branding on them. Wouldn't it have saved a lot of cost in the end?
Seems to work fine. Packages gets carried in bigger trucks, but still just business trucks with different branding on them. Wouldn't it have saved a lot of cost in the end?
I had never seen a USPS vehicle until I was a legal adult and moved to college. I grew up in a very rural part of New England, America - on a dirt road. Winter had plenty of snow and plowing wasn't a guarantee at all. Considering the USPS Creed "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" -- Snow is the first one! Our "mail lady"** drove a Jeep Wrangler with the steering on the right instead of the left, and the passenger seat removed to make room for mail.
**She was known as "the mail lady" because our town only had 1 mail carrier. I realize that term wouldn't fly today, but this was rural America 30 years ago and I wanted to give context. Same mail carrier for 20+ years. Worked 6 days a week. Her name was Linda - Bless her for her hard work.
**She was known as "the mail lady" because our town only had 1 mail carrier. I realize that term wouldn't fly today, but this was rural America 30 years ago and I wanted to give context. Same mail carrier for 20+ years. Worked 6 days a week. Her name was Linda - Bless her for her hard work.
"Oddly-shaped mail trucks seem to be a staple of Americana."
As a non-American I have always found this amusing.
Here in New Zealand Post was until a few years ago delivered by bicycle in cities (SUVs or vans in rural areas). They have since moved towards small electric vehicles called Paxster. Basically large four wheel scooters that can ride on both the road and pavement.
https://jobs.nzpost.co.nz/paxster
As a non-American I have always found this amusing.
Here in New Zealand Post was until a few years ago delivered by bicycle in cities (SUVs or vans in rural areas). They have since moved towards small electric vehicles called Paxster. Basically large four wheel scooters that can ride on both the road and pavement.
https://jobs.nzpost.co.nz/paxster
Looks aside, air conditioning is a win for postal workers in hot climates. The Grumman LLV doesn't have it, and postal workers are required to keep the windows shut when they leave the vehicle, even in 115°F days in Phoenix.
Presumably the government gets a price discount for ordering in massive bulk. Any idea what the price per unit is for either the gas or electric version?
The press release kind of vaguely implies a price range:
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/0223-...
> Under the contract’s initial $482 million investment, Oshkosh Defense will finalize the production design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) — a purpose-built, right-hand-drive vehicle for mail and package delivery — and will assemble 50,000 to 165,000 of them over 10 years. The vehicles will be equipped with either fuel-efficient internal combustion engines or battery electric powertrains and can be retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies. The initial investment includes plant tooling and build-out for the U.S. manufacturing facility where final vehicle assembly will occur.
> The contract is the first part of a multi-billion-dollar 10-year effort to replace the Postal Service’s delivery vehicle fleet, one of the world’s largest.
If "multi-billion-dollar" means about two billion and they make 50,000 vans, that's $40,000 per van. If they make 165,000 for 2 billion, that's about $12,100 per van. I guess that range sounds sort of reasonable.
The press release kind of vaguely implies a price range:
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2021/0223-...
> Under the contract’s initial $482 million investment, Oshkosh Defense will finalize the production design of the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) — a purpose-built, right-hand-drive vehicle for mail and package delivery — and will assemble 50,000 to 165,000 of them over 10 years. The vehicles will be equipped with either fuel-efficient internal combustion engines or battery electric powertrains and can be retrofitted to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technologies. The initial investment includes plant tooling and build-out for the U.S. manufacturing facility where final vehicle assembly will occur.
> The contract is the first part of a multi-billion-dollar 10-year effort to replace the Postal Service’s delivery vehicle fleet, one of the world’s largest.
If "multi-billion-dollar" means about two billion and they make 50,000 vans, that's $40,000 per van. If they make 165,000 for 2 billion, that's about $12,100 per van. I guess that range sounds sort of reasonable.
If you are curious about the fuel like me -- 10% of the new vehicles will be electric [1].
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22300281/usps-new-mail-tr...
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22300281/usps-new-mail-tr...
TBH I'd entirely support the NHTSA making the new mail truck's low hood height mandatory on all new vehicles. It would make being hit by an SUV have a far, far safer outcome.
I really like the look. In a few years everyone will forget about it being "weird".
No mention of increased crumple zone, which was probably the entire reason for the redesign in the first place? Sheesh. I assume the article was written entirely based on a press release together with a nice pack of product photos.
The previous models were injury/death traps.
The previous models were injury/death traps.
The designer on Twitter seems to be a bit whiny about having utilitarian constraints. I actually think the truck looks like a truck made to do a job and do it well, thus it looks great to me.
If I could specify exactly what I want a vehicle to do, and have it designed for me, it would look weird too:
1. All electric
2. Can transport a double bass
3. But no bigger than necessary
4. Meets decent safety requirements
1. All electric
2. Can transport a double bass
3. But no bigger than necessary
4. Meets decent safety requirements
I've always wondered certain vehicles were chosen for fleets. However the original mail truck always made sense to me. It was small, durable, and simple with it's OHV engine and solid rear axle. But what about other civil service cars? When I was growing up the de-facto Police vehicle and taxi cab was the Panther platform Ford Crown Victoria. A rear wheel drive, V8, large, lumbering, expensive, complex luxury sedan that mostly lives in cities such as Boston and NYC where it snowed half the year and rarely could ever go faster than 50mph. Yet almost unanimously everyone decided to go with the 12mpg option that had almost twice the moving pieces in it's engine as the competition with smaller engines.
WOW those are cool. I'm excited to see the inevitable #vanlife conversions once civilians start getting their hands on them.
I wonder what they're going to do with the old vehicles that are being replaced. During the last replacement cycle, the used vehicle market was flooded with surplus Jeeps. One of my brother's friends got one for $12 at auction. They were inexpensive first vehicles for teenagers though not all that safe.
My understanding is that UPS scraps their vehicles once they've exhausted their usefulness, which is why you don't see used UPS vehicles driving around with the logo painted over. Would USPS do the same?
My understanding is that UPS scraps their vehicles once they've exhausted their usefulness, which is why you don't see used UPS vehicles driving around with the logo painted over. Would USPS do the same?
I'm always in disbelief at the sheer volume of waste they deliver. I maybe get one meaningful or useful piece of paper a month, the rest is hundreds of pounds of paper, hauled by thousands of gallons of diesel fuel. How this organisation continues to exist in is current form is mind blowing. Nearly everything it hauls could be emailed.
And don't forget the cost to have trash trucks haul the thousands of pounds of waste away, also diesel powered.
And don't forget the cost to have trash trucks haul the thousands of pounds of waste away, also diesel powered.
The new trucks are odd looking for sure, but when they're commonplace they'll just be "normal" just like the current LLV mail trucks.
I'm glad they went with a utilitarian design, seems better to have a truck that does exactly what they want for the lowest cost than to spend money making it look "better" but also more expensive and/or less useful.
I'm glad they went with a utilitarian design, seems better to have a truck that does exactly what they want for the lowest cost than to spend money making it look "better" but also more expensive and/or less useful.
Don’t these “bespoke design” make these tenders skyrocket in price? Couldn’t they have retrofitted a standard van?
These excesses - typically designed to feed the government undergrowth - remind me of what the early Thatcherites complained about.
These excesses - typically designed to feed the government undergrowth - remind me of what the early Thatcherites complained about.
I felt like this article could have been summarized in a single line.
Guess why the new mail truck looks 'weird'? PROJECT REQUIREMENTS such as view and mailbox accessibility.
I know this place has sunk a bit over the years but clickbait?
Guess why the new mail truck looks 'weird'? PROJECT REQUIREMENTS such as view and mailbox accessibility.
I know this place has sunk a bit over the years but clickbait?
By the time they will hit the road or shortly thereafter, electric powertrain will be a better alternative to ICE (Internal Combustion Engine). Poor planning.
My local USPS are driving the Mercedes-Benz Metris van, which replaced the Grumman LLV. What I miss most is the low gear acceleration noise. It was distinct and more times than not, upon hearing this the vehicle outside was the mail truck. The Mercedes is stealth in comparison. The story is just funny right there, but for recent packages having been stolen while I was home. I miss the ‘windup’ LLV.
We have to wonder which way cause and effect are running:
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5e/64/9b/5e649ba44cdc59c8c6f4a605c...
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/5e/64/9b/5e649ba44cdc59c8c6f4a605c...
This made me wonder: has there ever been such a thing as brutalist car design?
(Meaning, a car designed for public services, exposing construction and functional requirements in a sculptural expression, which is not dictated by marketing requirements.)
(Meaning, a car designed for public services, exposing construction and functional requirements in a sculptural expression, which is not dictated by marketing requirements.)
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The article says the constraints couldn't be met any other way. Not requiring a bulky ICE engine in front of the cabin could remove the need for most of the ugly 'nose'.
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This vehicle would be so much more adorable if they'd given it a more face-like front end, like an NA Miata, or anything more fitting to the Cars movie franchise.
I think it looks futuristic and pretty cool, sure it’s a utility vehicle, but it would look totally fine in a movie set in 2041, maybe I am weird.
LLVs are currently horrendously inefficient (fleet average of about 9mpg). They have a ~13 gallon tank for a range of about 120 miles. They drive about 18 miles a day on average (total fleet average, so some are idle and probably the typical route is 45 miles, but 18 miles is good for our purposes) and burn 2 gallons of gas. At $3/gallon, that's about $6 a day in fuel costs (and let's ignore brakes and oil changes). We could put a 75kWh battery in that thing, easily get 250 mile range (double the range of what the LLV is). For an efficiency of about 3.33 miles per kWh, and an average commercial electricity price of 11 cents per kWh, that's 59 cents per day in electricity cost. So every day, the electric one would save $5.40 in fuel costs (net).
Even with that generous 75kWh battery, you're talking just 6 years for it to pay for the electric battery to pay for itself in fuel costs vs the old vehicle. And these things are designed to last for multiple decades, plus this will drastically reduce oil changes and brake servicing costs. Are they really that cash strapped they'll ignore something that can save them that much? The US federal government definitely isn't strapped for cash. Does this really boil down to punitive fiscal requirements for the USPS put on by Congress and DeJoy? Because if so, that's inexcusable.
Or perhaps no one bid a competitively low price for an electric powertrain?