Have a look at that sweet piece up above and just imagine your mail being carted around inside. Go ahead, we'll wait. If
Chrysler has its druthers (and stays afloat long enough to make good on its good intentions), it'll soon be producing a fleet of all-electric Town and Country minivans for the United States Postal Service. The automaker has voiced its plans to apply for a federal grant in order to get things moving, though it will be looking to utility companies Duke Energy and ConEd to make it all come together. If all goes well, the vans produced will have a range of around 40 miles, though it's expected that they will have a gasoline-powered motor on board in case that last overnight package requires just a few more miles. 'Course, there's no guarantee that the application will result in a grant, but for all those who appreciate comedy, we can only hope it flies though in record time.
posted Apr 27th 2009 2:11AM
40 miles max range... I can see that those bail out funds to Chrysler has really advanced there battery development..
I think hybrid technology would be much more applicable in this situation.
That's why they want to throw a gas engine in - to recharge the batteries as they run down. The Chevy Volt works the same way - gets about 40 miles all-electric, then taps into a high-efficiency gas engine to act as a generator to rejuice the batteries. The benefits of this system are of course easy range extension, but also it means the car doesn't need to carry anywhere near as big a battery pack as 100% battery-powered vehicles like the Tesla - making the car A) lighter (and thus more efficient), B) cheaper, and C) kinder to the environment (those battery packs are filled with nasty stuff, the fewer packs you need to make, the better).
I would have thought that the easiest way to save energy here is regenerative braking -- it fits perfectly in to the posty's stop n' start lifestyle. You're right though, 40 miles sounds pathetic and insufficient in the majority of cases.
Until the mid 90s, we had all-electric milk floats here in the UK. They would only do 20-30mph and I don't know what their range was, but they were perfect for the kind of driving that a milkman does. They were also silent, which was nice given that the milky deliveries usually happened between 04:00 and 06:30. Strangely they seem to have been replaced with petrol floats now. I'm not sure why.
(In the unlikely event that you actually care, here's Wikipedia to tell you all about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_float)
"Strangely they seem to have been replaced with petrol floats now. I'm not sure why."
this was answered in the link you provided for the class :
"Today, with rounds expanding in coverage to ensure profitability in the face of falling levels of patronage, the limited range and speed of electric milk floats has resulted in many being replaced by diesel powered converted vans."
and in regards to your : "You're right though, 40 miles sounds pathetic and insufficient in the majority of cases."
whatever your precious milk floats got was also seemingly pathetic and insufficient. seeing as they were replaced due to range limitations.
if *only* there was some way to have all the benefits of an electric vehicle... but then also have the range able to be extended if needed... hmmm. OH I KNOW! they could put a gasoline / diesel generator onboard an electric vehicle.
oh right. that is already going to be done. so what is the issue again?
Isn't usps filing for bankruptcy? :) (all those million dollar homes they buying)
Why not just retrofit the existing fleet? The classic mail van is not only classic but also light.
Agreed, plus, isn't the driver's side on the other side?
Isn't Chrysler going bankrupt like, tomorrow?
Nerdtalker, either you're not from the US (left hand driver's seat) or you are extremely ignorant about cars in your country...
Taylor, either you're not from the US (left hand driver's seat) or you are extremely ignorant about the fact that mail vans are primarily right-hand drive in the US...
i imagine that is why Nerdtalker was asking why these mail vans are being made left-hand drive when the majority of home-delivery USPS vehicles are right-hand drive.
010111, you are wrong. Many postal cars and trucks in the US, infact most in my state [PA] have the drivers side on the right. It's required to drive up to a roadside mailbox and deliver the mail without having to exit the vehicle.
Terry, that's what 010111 just said.. that normal cars are left hand side, but post vehicles are right hand.. The left-handed they are referring to is the picture of the van has the drivers seat on the left side.
@ Terry.
you FAIL at the internets
They are considering converting LLVs too.
https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=58c56c9995183c63f6e948c7f46158f0&tab=core&_cview=0&cck=1&au=&ck=
@Terry:
That's what HE said!
This is the problem with the US auto industry, they don't know their market. What self-respecting mail carrier would be seen in a vehicle with the steering wheel on the wrong side of the car?
I don't think I've ever seen a mail van delivering to a primarily residential area, or one that didn't have a centralized mail box like an apartment complex. I thought the vans were mostly used for commercialized areas where the driver would have to get out of the vehicle anyways to deliver or pickup a large amount of mail to one location. I could be wrong; I can't say I've ever paid too much attention to the operations of the USPS.
Haha...this is great news for the UPS drivers out there who will now get even more ass.
I feel as though the regular mail truck is bigger. Is this thing going to carry the same amount of mail?
40 miles?
Uh the vehicle in this photograph has the steering wheel on the wrong side for mail delivery...
Either Chrysler expects our mail men to grow 10' arms or drive the wrong way down the road while delivering mail. Im pretty sure its this type of epic engineering blunders that got Chrysler into its current state of affairs.
Did you expect Chrysler to get something right in the car industry?!
I'd think making these cars Hybrids would make a little more sense but what do I know.
It's part of the government grant. They have to make the vehicles with the steering wheel on the left hand side, and then vehicles are shipped to the home districts of various congressional committee members for a $15,000 per vehicle steering wheel switch.
maybe you and everyone else missed it, but these vehicles are PROTOTYPES... I am sure that they will move the steering wheel to the right side like current mail trucks. Its not that big of deal considering they already make this vehicle in england.
My vote is for a hybrid Jeep, instead of not-yet-production-ready all-electric technology.
I think the 30% stake FIAT is taking in Chrysler to bring the fiat 500 to the USA would make a better mail delivery vehicle then this stupid huge ass electric van. All I can say is, epic fail Chrysler, just give up.
X2
A hybrid jeep or electric would be much better. My mail carrier drives a TJ
id love to see all of you who say chrysler should go bankrupt to lose your jobs because your really not worth more than the awkward silence when chrysler makes it come back which it will dont even trip they employ too many for the government to not keep them going.
Just because a company has a ton of employees doesn't mean it needs to survive. The American auto makers have been asleep behind the wheel (no pun intended) for far too long, making cars no one wants. Now, instead of companies being held liable for their failures, we the taxpayers have to (literally) pay for their mistakes. No tears lost here if Chrysler goes under.
40 miles! You make me laugh! That will all be gone in a morning!
That's because you chose to live in the middle of nowhere. People who live closer to where they work will stay within the 40 mile range 99% of the time. It also has a gas engine that other 1% of times...
Also, keep in mind that just because the car will only run on battery power for 40 miles doesn't mean that it can't run on battery power for longer periods of time. To preserve the lifespan of the battery, the battery is only charged to about 80% and the gas engine starts to recharge it around 50% capacity. If the car were actually allowed utilize the battery from a true full charge to a complete discharge, it would likely have a range of over 120 miles, which is just about the range of the fully electric cars Chrysler is working on.
I'll have to ask the mail carriers that I know for confirmation, but somewhere I read that the average in-town mail route is much less than 40 miles. What would be the point of putting a 100 mile range in a vehicle that would never use it?
The USPS currently uses the Grumman LLV.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_LLV
Years ago, Chrysler had an electric minivan called the EPIC. There were a number of them in service as LAX shuttles, because they featured fast-charge capability that allowed them to rapidly juice up while waiting to be dispatched. I wonder if this is anything other than a rehash of that vehicle.
I don't understand why everyone is going batshit over the 40 mile thing.
Do you honestly believe the majority of the delivery trucks that this is being designed for go less than 40 miles before they... oh I don't know, have to go back and GET MORE MAIL?
40 miles is *perfect* for every city, large town, medium town, and small town. The only places this won't work are towns that don't have a McDonalds.
Actually for those who are wondering about the left-handed driver's seat thing, my father is currently working for the USPS in my hometown. He drives a mini-van to deliver mail (a Ford Windstar if I remember correctly) and has been for the past few years. The driver's seat is on the left like in a traditional car unlike the older delivery trucks. Personally, he doesn't like it because if it's located on the right, it's safer for him to constantly get in and out of the car. Although he does enjoy the better seats and air-conditioning on a hot day...
On top of that, 40 miles is more than enough to cover a mail route in a single day. Postal carriers normally park their car and carry the mail volume for a block or two before needing to return to the vehicle. The engine is rarely on for a very long period of time, which incidentally, is terrible for a gas engine, but great for electric and hybrid vehicles...
They already have minivans all over Portland, OR to deliver the mail. We have the small classic mail trucks as well, but as others said there's a place for these. I live in a large apartment building. The mail "person" has to get out a large bin of mail for the 150 apartments in the building and then haul off all our outgoing mail. No need to be on the right side of the vehicle. Down at our tiny little branch post office there's 6 minivans and 2 mail trucks. As for retrofitting the existing fleet. Just like a personal car fleet vehicles have a lifespan and must be replaced. Nothing lasts forever. There's no point in designing a complex retrofit and deploying that to thousands of vehicles if their 1/2 way through their lifespan.
I'm a mail carrier in South Carolina and this van would be perfect for almost every route in our post office. Most routes are 30 miles or lower. This van is a no brainer for the USPS, so that means it will never be done. A five day work week would also save the post office a ton of money, but that will also never be done because it makes too much sense.
USPS should look at the Xtreme Green Sentinel - http://www.xgpinc.com/products/sentinel.php - now that would be a cool electric postal delivery vehicle!