No more full size cars from GM

Bedlam wrote:

8.1 Van wrote:

Pedestrian safety may be an issue with the Cybertruck design whether Musk is driving or someone else. Europe mandates certain designs that help protect a pedestrian when hit:

Really ?

"The new Sprinter is available for order now in the European market and will be launched there in June, with a gradual introduction into other markets to follow."


New Sprinter Van to Offer Electric Drive

What does a Euro electric van have to do with pedestrian safety or GM reducing their automotive line?

I was pointing out that that the new Cybertruck design (which you posted) may cause more pedestrian injuries than typical designs and even GM's move to more Trucks and SUV's may not be good for injuries. In the case of vehicles that ride higher with more chassis clearance, there is a better chance of a pedestrian getting caught underneath.

So the Cybertruck is worse for pedestrians than Sprinter vans and pickups ? How ?

My folks (early 70's) were, "CAR FOR-EV-ER! SUV NEV-ER!" types until I convinced them to try a Chevy Trax. One of my buddies bought one, I rode in it, and suggested they test drive one. They LOVE theirs.

I call it the vehicle you can fall into, and fall out of, and never be off your feet.

All wheel drive, turbocharged, easy to park, just the right height for older folks with bad knees and hips to get in and out of... Not to mention GREAT gas mileage. Upper 20's and low 30's.

Bedlam wrote:
We have 1650 sqft of living space and it was new construction when we moved in. It was the only unit with a 4-car driveway in the complex and we saw it built up from the foundation. Ours has no way to get living or sleep space without stairs, so I call it a young person's townhouse. These stairs will keep you young until they wear you out.

Yepir. Stairs are good. Ours is a two level split. 1550 without garage. Sounds like you have a huge driveway though. Nice. We are within a few years of going down to one vehicle when we retire in a year or two. . Although the wife put in a reservation for a cybertruck. Not too sure how that will go yet. :).

We have 1650 sqft of living space and it was new construction when we moved in. It was the only unit with a 4-car driveway in the complex and we saw it built up from the foundation. Ours has no way to get living or sleep space without stairs, so I call it a young person's townhouse. These stairs will keep you young until they wear you out.

Bedlam wrote:

Reisender wrote:
We have noticed garages getting smaller. When we downsized to a lock and leave townhouse it was difficult to find a modern townhouse with a garage even big enough to hold something the size of our leaf. Part of it is our workbench and garage storage but still. A bunch of places we looked at wouldn't allow for even a few side cabinets without making it difficult to open the door. Older houses and townhouses had bigger garages. Anyway, we found our nexus. But a Tesla model S will not fit. Admittedly they are a big car although it was on the short list for a awhile. Meh, We'll probably stay with a leaf for awhile. Fits ...barely. :)

That was very true until we found our 3-level townhouse. I found a floor plan that has 825 sqft of shop and garage (roughly 25'x33') on the bottom level which was actually an upgrade from our previous home. Mine is still lacking height for vehicles over 7' and lacks power feeds to run shop tools or high amperage charge stations. We saw plenty of 2-car garages that were less than 18'x18' and did not even look at the smaller single car options.

The small garages are not the only problem: Many of the homes we looked at had 20' or shorter driveways which limits you to a standard cab long bed or extended cab short bed truck. I have seen many neighborhoods where larger vehicles have to park on the street because they do not fit in the garage or driveway.

Yah. You are pretty much describing our driveway. Maybe 22 feet. Two parking spots out and one in. We found a few like yours but wrong location and older. Just wasn’t right for us. We also wanted to be under 2000 square feet. We ended up at about 1550 square feet with two bedrooms and three baths. Walking distance to EVERYTHING. Works for us. We had a stove plug put in the garage for our one EV and a 240 volt 15 amp in the driveway for our other. Good combo. Surprizingly we do most of our charging outside on the 15 amp 240 volt EVSE in the driveway. We are at our max on our 100 amp panel although the driveway circuit can apparently handle a 20 amp. Meh. Either way it’s charged in the morning.

Reisender wrote:
We have noticed garages getting smaller. When we downsized to a lock and leave townhouse it was difficult to find a modern townhouse with a garage even big enough to hold something the size of our leaf. Part of it is our workbench and garage storage but still. A bunch of places we looked at wouldn't allow for even a few side cabinets without making it difficult to open the door. Older houses and townhouses had bigger garages. Anyway, we found our nexus. But a Tesla model S will not fit. Admittedly they are a big car although it was on the short list for a awhile. Meh, We'll probably stay with a leaf for awhile. Fits ...barely. :)

That was very true until we found our 3-level townhouse. I found a floor plan that has 825 sqft of shop and garage (roughly 25'x33') on the bottom level which was actually an upgrade from our previous home. Mine is still lacking height for vehicles over 7' and lacks power feeds to run shop tools or high amperage charge stations. We saw plenty of 2-car garages that were less than 18'x18' and did not even look at the smaller single car options.

The small garages are not the only problem: Many of the homes we looked at had 20' or shorter driveways which limits you to a standard cab long bed or extended cab short bed truck. I have seen many neighborhoods where larger vehicles have to park on the street because they do not fit in the garage or driveway.

8.1 Van wrote:

Pedestrian safety may be an issue with the Cybertruck design whether Musk is driving or someone else. Europe mandates certain designs that help protect a pedestrian when hit:

Really ?

"The new Sprinter is available for order now in the European market and will be launched there in June, with a gradual introduction into other markets to follow."


New Sprinter Van to Offer Electric Drive

What does a Euro electric van have to do with pedestrian safety or GM reducing their automotive line?

I was pointing out that that the new Cybertruck design (which you posted) may cause more pedestrian injuries than typical designs and even GM's move to more Trucks and SUV's may not be good for injuries. In the case of vehicles that ride higher with more chassis clearance, there is a better chance of a pedestrian getting caught underneath.

We have noticed garages getting smaller. When we downsized to a lock and leave townhouse it was difficult to find a modern townhouse with a garage even big enough to hold something the size of our leaf. Part of it is our workbench and garage storage but still. A bunch of places we looked at wouldn't allow for even a few side cabinets without making it difficult to open the door. Older houses and townhouses had bigger garages. Anyway, we found our nexus. But a Tesla model S will not fit. Admittedly they are a big car although it was on the short list for a awhile. Meh, We'll probably stay with a leaf for awhile. Fits ...barely. :)

NJRVer wrote:

Lynnmor wrote:

NJRVer wrote:
When you look vehicles today compared with what was on the market in the '60's and 70's, todays vehicles are huge.

Growing up we used to think of a Pontiac Bonneville as an absolute monstrosity.
Now park one next to Lexus and the Pontiac looks small in comparison.

:h The Bonneville was 7 inches longer and 7 inches wider with a foot longer wheelbase and an engine more than twice the size.

Hardly amounts to much difference 7" longer.

Engine size has nothing to do with it.

A lot of todays vehicles can't fit in a garage from the '60's or 70's.

Give it up bud. The big boats of the 50s, 60s, 70s-90s are every bit as big or bigger physically than today’s big cars. And most of the engines were bigger too.
Not sure what you’re getting it.

Pedestrian safety may be an issue with the Cybertruck design whether Musk is driving or someone else. Europe mandates certain designs that help protect a pedestrian when hit:

Really ?

"The new Sprinter is available for order now in the European market and will be launched there in June, with a gradual introduction into other markets to follow."


New Sprinter Van to Offer Electric Drive