I was having a conversation with my brother and his friend yesterday while watching the football games and one of them brought up a good point. The CyberTruck probably wasn't designed to shift over any Ford F150 or Ram 1500 guys, but it will likely take someone who wouldn't have considered a truck and bring them into the fold. An analogous vehicle would be Honda's Ridgeline, tons of comments out in the world full of "experts" lament that it isn't a real truck and blah blah blah, but it wasn't meant for those people either, Honda built it for people who love Hondas and otherwise liked the platform. I'm agnostic about the design of any of them, I still just think the CyberTruck looks pretty cool. I don't know if it's any more impractical than the guy who buys a 60K Jeep, lifts it and makes it something out of Mad Max to drive it to and from work and Costco every other week. (fixed a spelling error)
Ridgeline owner here. Wanted a truck that drove nicely and was reliable. Wasn’t worried about having a body on frame setup or the torque to tow a house.
I see your point, but if they aren't going after the 1/2 ton crowd, they are really missing the target for the 3/4 ton crowd. I know more than most people do about vehicles and I can't see much of a place for this except for posers. The Ridgeline has is place, albeit higher priced than it should be and mpg where many 1/2 tons or other midsize trucks with more capabilities exist, but it is probably the best on road vehicle with a bed that you can buy. The same for the maverick and any other SUV with a bed, pros and cons for everything.
We get 26-28 mpg not towing with ours and it was cheaper than even a plain Jane Ford F150 base 4x4 when we bought it new. I don't think we paid to much compared to any other truck.
25 to nearly 30 mpg is what many 2.7 Ecoboost V6 f150's get. They are rated up to 26 mpg EPA . It sounds like the GM 2.7 turbo 4 gets mpg pretty close to that as well.
If you are just driving it to work and back, maybe Costco on the weekend - it drives (much) nicer than a pickup. But Honda J-Series maintenance and the general upkeep on these larger platform vehicles is nothing to sneeze at. Newer vehicles with the J35 V6 and DI will be even worse. I had our 2013 van quoted at three shops here, a reputable local dealer, a Honda/Toyota specialty shop (dealer "alternative" if you will), and an independent. $2k+ to execute the 105k mile service to the letter plus a couple preventatives "while you're in there". Timing belt & WP, Coolant flush, Front seals (cam/crank), the timing belt tensioner & pulley, spark plugs replaced, valve clearances measured/adjusted with new valve cover gaskets installed. At almost 130k on the clock, I just put the third set of brakes on it, including pads, rotors, re-man calipers (this time around, sorely needed), new flex lines, and a fluid flush. $800 in decent aftermarket parts. Just prior, I had replaced a failed alternator (whining, didn't give up 100%) and completely replaced the serpentine belt, idlers, and tensioner. Again with decent re-man OEM or OE supplier parts. Did a power-steering flush with a new reservoir/filter. Upcoming work.... Next up, the front suspension is tired. Struts aren't leaking - yet, but the boots and mount rubbers are shot, so... The control arm rear compliance bushings are DONE, and the sway bar bushings/end links show signs of wear. I could hang on for a few more months, but the CV axles are starting to "pop" audibly around sharp turns so I gotta tear into the front-end anyways.... And yeah, I threw in wheel hub bearings since the originals are pretty rusty (thanks a lot NY) and I don't really want to tear into this front end again just for those. Not to be outdone, the rear suspension wants some love too. It really is time for rear-shocks and the passenger-side spring perch (cheap plastic part) and bump stop are out to lunch, as it makes an audible grinding/groaning noise over bumps. Might as well do bushings and possibly wheel hubs (bearings) in the rear suspension while all of that is apart...... RIGHT? It's likely the rear motor mount is going to need attention, as is typical for Honda V6 vehicles. I just haven't gotten in for a good look yet.... Will need a full set of tires here in the next couple months too just to top it off. And yup, TPMS sensors will need replacing too since they are original and I don't trust those batteries to last for another set of tires. Gotta do something with the headlights (restore or replace) as well, since night vision has gotten pretty poor due to the Carolina sun absolutely beating the snot out of anything painted, plastic, or rubber. This van gets driven gently, 90% of usage is by my wife. It doesn't tow, and she drives like your grandma's older sister going to church on Easter Sunday. Gets religious full synthetic oil changes every 7,500 miles and I drain/fill about 3-4qts of trans fluid every other change. On the "B" services as indicated by the maintenance minder. The engine is rock solid as is the trans, but both are known for serious issues past 100k+ if not impeccably maintained. Still gets awful mileage hovering around 18 - 20 MPG city, and opens up to maybe 22 on highway well-loaded. If I wasn't the one wrenching, the costs would likely exceed the value of the vehicle just in work I have completed or will complete in this 6-9 month period. I'm not complaining too awful much , but a truck, on an actual truck platform, would need maybe half this amount of work for the same miles driven. It just won't seat 8 (including the dog and everyone's crap. ) cruising down the highway with The Incredibles on the DVD system. We're keeping this thing since she likes it better than the newer options (She likes physical buttons for controls and digging around in the infotainment menus to turn on the rear defroster has zero appeal...) so I'm maintaining it to run 200k+. We may or may not keep it that long, but at least I know it'll get there and with the bonus of not being a basket case for the next family.
Had a coworker with similar costly upkeep on a 3.5 Honda Odyssey. Oh, today is our friends wedding that is one of the local guys that bought a new Ridgeline. He's the one that now wants to buy a boat that I had to explain towing capacity and boat ownership to. He had a first gen Honda pilot forever, so I get the Honda loyalty thing. I let him drive my truck with the empty trailer back from the boat launch one time like 4 years ago. Lol They also are having valet parking for the reception afterwards. I don't let people that I don't know, drive, much less park my truck. So unless it's not possible, which I highly doubt, I'll park my own truck thank you very much.