New Mail Vehicle to get 8 mpg

[Nick1994]

Please don’t let this post get political, let’s keep this topic on the vehicle itself.

Looks like the new mail vehicles will get about 8 mpg in their commute on average. I saw somewhere that they’ll use Ford’s Ecoboost 2.0L engines.

I think using the Camry’s hybrid system would be a total win, sure it won’t get 50 mpg but if it could crack 20, that would save a ton of fuel. And insane reliability.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/new...izHTWpRHBi3PjiPNOpJCTxybFFhNSndLFtVRvEQ_plWbk

 

[eljefino]

DeJoy's awful. I hope that isn't political.

There was a "good" electric/ hybrid new LLV and a turkey, looks like they're trying to push the turkey.

 

[HyundaiAbuser]

Really interested to see how the ecoboost holds up to Extremely prolonged use like what these see

 

[Sayjac]

Can't help but say this, first thought, gov't contract, follow the money. 8mpg, SMH.

As for DeJoy, living in his residence state, very familiar with his shenanigans prior to getting his current job. Based on that, I'm connecting the dots here.

 

[ctechbob]

If ever there was a perfect use case for a hybrid, these and trash trucks would be it. (Edit) and in-city busses.

 

[Rand]

some backroom wallet padding going on. lets award it to a defense contractor..mmm hmmm.
initial investment of near 500million.. to get them started..

This is beyond bizarre anyone with 2 brain cells can see what we should have to deliver mail.. vs what we will get.

I was thinking full electric with some sort of ~30hp ultra efficient range extender that kicks on when you hit 20-30%.

If you could keep it in full electric mode for 80% of your use.. still mega win.

 

[PimTac]

With fuel prices going up this turns out to be a huge blunder.

One would think a EV would fit the bill here or at least a hybrid.

 

[CheezWhiz]

Apologize if the article answers this question and I missed it, but - does the low MPG come from the way that mail trucks do so much stop and go and city driving? I mean, even if you used a fairly fuel efficient ICE-powered vehicle to deliver mail, it probably wouldn't get particularly good gas mileage just because of how they are used.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I got a rental car and was upgraded to a Denali. 15mpg overall. I couldn’t believe it. 2021 and that’s the progress we have made? It sure drove nice but I was not expecting that.

 

[Finklejag]

Why would they use a boosted engine in this? I wonder if the USPS has their own mechanics at each post office?

 

[WylieCoyote]

Seems impossible to get such lousy mileage from a 2.0 Ecoboost. I'm more lead-footed than most people, and I regularly got 26 from my Focus ST. That mail truck must be heavy and those drivers must be racing from mailbox to mailbox.

 

[Rand]

Apologize if the article answers this question and I missed it, but - does the low MPG come from the way that mail trucks do so much stop and go and city driving? I mean, even if you used a fairly fuel efficient ICE-powered vehicle to deliver mail, it probably wouldn't get particularly good gas mileage just because of how they are used.

this one is .4mpg better than the 30+ year old model its replacing.. of course it does have A/C.

Why does that mail truck need a turbo? could probably run it on one of those 1liter ecoboosts though.

This is begging for hybrid/electric with regen brakes and a heat pump type A/C-heat for 95% of the time.

 

[CheezWhiz]

I got a rental car and was upgraded to a Denali. 15mpg overall. I couldn’t believe it. 2021 and that’s the progress we have made? It sure drove nice but I was not expecting that.

If you are referring to a Yukon (i think Denali is a GMC trim line), that's what, a 5500 lb V8 powered 4x4 body on frame SUV? Basically a half ton truck with a decent load in the bed. Fuel-saving technologies like AFM help noticeably in highway usage, but in town, there isn't much benefit.

I have a 65 GTO and a 72 K10 powered by a 396. My 2016 6.0 powered 2500HD gets pretty similar to both of the older vehicles when just crusing around on country roads. It weighs at least 2k lbs more than the K10, probably 3k more than the GTO.

 

[Cujet]

I would agree that mail delivery seems to be an ideal situation for hybrid vehicles. Must be a cost saving measure in this situation somewhere.

 

[Blinker]

Frankly, a hybrid isn’t going to fair much better MPG wise. Stopping door to door at every mailbox isn’t comparable to city driving, and it’s not even comparable to NYC taxi driving. It might get slightly better MPG, but 20 MPG is a stretch. Maybe more around 14-15. Then you have to then consider the cost to refresh the drivetrain on a hybrid and to me it’s clear it would be too costly. For the most part a hybrid vehicle is junked whenever something fails in the drivetrain, not many people are overhauling them. In the long run it’s more cost efficient to run an ICE in this type of vehicle.

Side note. Did anyone ever think a vehicle with a windshield that passive was ever going to have efficient aerodynamics?

 

[CheezWhiz]

this one is .4mpg better than the 30+ year old model its replacing.. of course it does have A/C.

Ok, but can they carry more mail? I bet they are a lot safer, and safety equipment like crumple zones can be heavy. Maybe they are significantly heavier than the older models?

Just hard to understand what is really going on here without knowing more. On its face, .4 mpg improvement sounds terrible, but maybe there is some underlying reason that makes that number seem more sensible?

 

[CheezWhiz]

Also, I feel like most of the posts in this thread are not acknowledging what really matters - the smoldering good looks of those new mail trucks! So sexy ...

 

[Rand]

Ok, but can they carry more mail? I bet they are a lot safer, and safety equipment like crumple zones can be heavy. Maybe they are significantly heavier than the older models?

Just hard to understand what is really going on here without knowing more. On its face, .4 mpg improvement sounds terrible, but maybe there is some underlying reason that makes that number seem more sensible?

What is a farce is not going at least hybrid.. hybrid or electric is at its absolute best in this type of use.
low speed stop and go.
look at the maverick.. 2.0 egoboost gets 22-26mpg average.. the hybrid gets 37-40
or round it off to 50% better MPG
does anyone think a hyrbid wouldnt be even better in its BEST CASE USE scenario?

I agree the mpg number is relatively meaningless except to show how stupid their choice was.

Also, I feel like most of the posts in this thread are not acknowledging what really matters - the smoldering good looks of those new mail trucks! So sexy ...

are you trolling did I miss the smilies?

 

[HonorAndHonesty]

Ok, but can they carry more mail?

I believe they hold double the mail.

 

[RhondaHonda]

Apologize if the article answers this question and I missed it, but - does the low MPG come from the way that mail trucks do so much stop and go and city driving? I mean, even if you used a fairly fuel efficient ICE-powered vehicle to deliver mail, it probably wouldn't get particularly good gas mileage just because of how they are used.

That’s what I’m wondering. If so, I’d like to see a Corolla with the same load run the same route and see how it fairs. Probably not much better.