Comment by fragmede
3 days ago
Explain how to fit a GMC Savannah into a compact car parking space that's 5 feet shorter than it, with vehicles on both ends of that parking space and also the GMC is two feet two wide for, and I'll listen to how the Nissan NV200 or the Ford Transit van isn't a two ton truck.
Obviously if you're hauling a 4 ft cube of depleted uranium, it's not going up be up to the task. But getting 25 mpg vs a two-ton work truck's eight mpg adds up. A lot if you're driving 300 miles a day. If you're a locksmith in a city your hauling needs are different than the general contractor or someone more specialized, that actually has one ton of equipment and a trailer generator to bring to the job site.
The argument that light work vans are small and underpowered so no one should use them is the same argument as big pickups are big and stupid and no one should use them, just from the other direction. Different strokes, as appropriate, for different folk who have different needs than you.
>Explain how to fit a GMC Savannah into a compact car parking space that's 5 feet shorter than it
The same way you do a Sprinter. <eyeroll>
You are confusing the Transit and the Transit Connect. I actually really love the Transit Connect.
I am complaining about the Transit, Sprinter and their ilk.
As an aside, the Ducato is ironically actually best in North American markets because none of their the diesel engine options are great in terms of ownership cost or frequency of downtime but the Pentastar they got when they bought Chrysler is ok, if over-taxed to the point of lesser reliability in such an application.
> I am complaining about the Transit, Sprinter and their ilk.
Good thing you specified that in your comment [1] then, where you wrote
> Fiat, Mercedes or Ford
and never used the word Sprinter once, so of course I should deduce that was the vehicle you were talking about, along with the full size Transit, especially since the linked Road and Track article was discussing the Transit Custom, which has never reached the states and is of the smaller NV200 size class, so please forgive me for the confusion.
The great thing about the Sprinter is that it's big and tall and spacious inside. Unfortunately, the problem with the Sprinter is that it's big and tall, which is a real problem in high wind conditions. Yeah it could stand to have a bigger engine and beefier chassis, no argument from me there, but I have a carpenter friend who uses it to haul around his tools and lumber and he loves his so much that he bought a second one. The Sprinter's not got the powertrain of a GMC Savannah or RAM 2500 or F-250 Super Duty, but saying it's only good for moving boxes full of air is hyperbole.
As far as vehicle turnover goes, given the stronger union protections that workers in the trades in Europe get, not having to drive a busted 15 year old work truck that veers to the left because the suspension is shot and gets eight miles to the gallon doesn't seem like, to me, a bad thing! The most brilliant electrician I know owns his own business, but is driving a 15-year work truck that should have been replaced 10 years ago, but he can't afford to replace it.
IMO, the real question is who's going to be first to come out with a work truck/van that's comma.ai compatible. That thing makes driving long distances so much more stomachable. Not going to hold my breath for Waymo or Tesla or anybody else to compete there. Well except Mercedes, but that still likely to be a premium Mercedes car feature for a long time and not something on any of their brands work vehicles. Supposedly some F-150's can take it, but afaik those ones are the premium package, already have Blue Cruise, and aren't fleet vehicles anywhere (I'd love to be wrong though!).
[1] https://archive.is/8X2MD
The opinion that these vans are too light for the uses into which they are sold is not a novel one. It is probably the predominant one among people who turn wrenches on both the old ones and the new ones.
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