this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2023
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Ford's CEO says he definitely didn't pay for that viral video of a stuck Cybertruck needing a rescue on a snowy hill::undefined

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Ads cover everything in that shit site.

[–] [email protected] 53 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Ooh that's why it looked so empty with ad-blocker. I was super confused why 90% of the page was just blank white space.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

thanks, with nothing visible below, I thought the 3 bullet points was a sorry excuse for an article.
But I just had to scroll a lot, then there was some actual content. 😀 👍

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

You need some Adblock in your life

[–] [email protected] 35 points 11 months ago (3 children)

There’s nothing a dressed up truck driver likes more than pulling out someone stuck in the mud or snow. It’s like justification for everything they think they have a truck for and guaranteed they’ll tell you about it.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Or they actually just help out of kindness, weird thought I know

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You can help someone out of kindness but also tell the story to every single person at the family party

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Depending on the recovery it could be a really good story haha

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

lol that’s true, but there’s a difference between chatting with a group of people and subtly being like “oh you think your weekend was crazy? Listen to this” vs as soon as you see someone, shake their hand and before you get through pleasantries be like “so I just pulled someone out of the snow” and tell the whole story again though they just overheard it from the other person you told in the room. rinse and repeat for every person you see.

Source: My brother has a big truck. He has a big heart. He loves to boast. He’s terrible at the art of conversation

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

It's bizarre. All my neighbours have massive pickups built in the last five years, and use them to commute. I own a bar and use a 1983 gm pickup twice a month to make my liquor and supply run (Warehouse is twenty miles away but they want 50 for delivery)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I have a small farm and a battered 12 year old F150 XL. It moves once a week, and I commute by motorcycle. I bought the truck in 2022 and it was bizarre. It had half the miles of the next cheapest truck on the lot, and it was half the price. It's a base model, no option truck and nobody seems to want one of those.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

I wanted one a few years ago, but couldn't find anything that wasn't from the 90s and/or beat to shit...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

That's the era the spark plugs all break off, people hate those motors and most everyone knows about this issue

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

It's actually later than the trucks with the 5.4 engines. This one could have had a 3.7 V6, a 3.5 turbocharged V6, or a 5.0 V8. The last year for the 5.4 was 2009.

Edit: I feel I should mention that a 12 year old truck means it's a 2012. I don't understand how 2012 is a dozen years ago, either.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

....I'll admit I was thinking 2010 was 12 years ago

[–] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago

Big pickups are nasty af. Actually useful pickups are sexy.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Then this is a great choice. The ram trx might have a little bit more power (702 hp vs only 700hp in the raptor), but the front end and hood of the ford grants slightly worst visibility (aka looks better). Both come with factory lifts to further decrease visibility and help see over any peasants that are in your way, as well as bleeding edge offroad suspensions which would be great for city driving.

Both trucks get an incredible 10mpg in the city, but the raptor weighs in several hundred pounds lighter than the trx at 6,100lb, for when you something light and economical, but still heavy enough for a tax write off. The ford also offers an active exhaust system, so you can bypass your resonator (muffler) with the push of a button and let everyone within a quarter mile enjoy the sound of your supercharged v8.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

I used to do long haul. The visibility seemed better in a 2017 International Eagle, that's a square nose one, than a 2016 dodge one ton. The dash was so high compared to the seat, that massive bulge of a hood, you could lose sight of a 5 foot tall bollard a fair distance ahead of the trucks passenger side easily.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago

It looks so old now. And those little wheels are ridiculous. What a waste of money.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 11 months ago

I believe him. You don't need to pay for that kind of comedy, the Cybertruck is a joke on wheels

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Considering the state of trucks today I can absolutely buy a cyber truck getting stuck and needing a tow. Like seriously init that thing like 100 grand. It's just a another sedan with a tailgate instead of a trunk.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It’s just a another sedan with a tailgate instead of a trunk.

Except when your attention drifts away from the road at the just exact wrong moment and you get into a serious car crash with a small vehicle or pedestrian, instead of the image of the murdered human bodies crushed under the bloody hulk of your stupid pickup haunting you (and potentially your family) for the rest of your life, the low sloping hood of your sedan scooped the pedestrian up onto your hood or the bumper/crumple zone of your sedan engaged with the other vehicle and a bad day was just a really bad day.

Fuck huge pickups

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

I mean, the CyberTruck is much lower than those pick up trucks, and also has a slanted hood.

The truck could also pop the hood like the model 3 (edit highland, this is new feature) does to add a cushion zone for them, but it's probably still too high to be as effective on a car?

I mentioned this before, but I'm really curious if any vehicle with an air suspension could drop the car lower before the pedestrian is hit. Just like they pop the hood on the 3, could it go lower it if there's an imminent crash? Is there a way to go even lower than the lowest setting in emergencies? Seems like a good safety feature to add if not.

I'm still worried about the edge causing damage though even considering all the above, and it is still higher than a regular car.

Edit: Also if they raised the back suspension before an accident would that make for a better or worse hitting angle?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I love your thoughts here. I hadn't ever thought of ways you can last minute engineer a way for the vehicle to keep the pedestrian from being crushed rather than thrown up

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Thanks =) Makes me wonder how fast you could adjust the air suspension if needed. I assume that the speed it goes up/down is probably related to comfort and durability, but how fast could they change it in an emergency situation? Maybe it's not fast enough? But maybe we could alter air suspensions in the future to have some sort of emergency drop capability that would be faster.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It would probably need a firing mechanism like airbags; that creates a vacuum in the air shocks. That would suck it down but may need to be reloaded by repair shop.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

but may need to be reloaded by repair shop.

That seems worth the cost if it can save a life or reduce the damage done to one.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Just a piece of trivia. Look at the CEO of Ford. Crazy to think the family had a comedian and CEO.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Did you not see Tommy boy? Car and car part companies are in their blood.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

That is why I find it so funny. It's just very fitting.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Maybe he was inspired to not be a guy living in a van smoking doobies down by the river.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Comedians. Don't forget about Kevin.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 11 months ago

I have never heard of Kevin. I must google now

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Why did the CT fail? Is it only 2WD? Bad power distribution algorithm to wheels? Stranded on belly (low clearance)?

EDIT: Yes possibly bad power distribution, but I don't necessarily trust the source.

He said on Instagram that the Tesla didn't have locking differentials — a mechanism that can help improve traction on difficult terrain— "due to software issues." He also said the tires had not been "aired down" to improve traction.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago

Iirc it was mostly a stupid driver with improper tires on terrain that didn't quite look as bad as it actually was.

The cybertruck doesn't have differentials at all, so it shouldn't need locking diff's.

The entire point of having differentials is to make sure the power from the engine isn't being misdirected to a wheel with no traction, but the cybertruck has independent motors for each wheel.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

The couple of seconds' worth of video I saw told me a few things:

  • the truck had been spinning out for a long time there

  • that situation was going to be tough for most trucks

  • it had terrible traction, possibly a matter of not having all-season or snow-specific tires

  • it appeared to be driving all wheels, can't say whether or not they were distributing traction or slip intelligently

  • couldn't tell if anything was high-centering anywhere but it didn't look it

  • driving in situations like that are why I leave tire chains in my truck

  • the tree sticking out of the back was comical

The cybertruck is a pavement princess

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Based on the older video of the CT failing to climb a rocky/dirt hill, I'd say they have a lot of work to do on their power distribution/traction control systems. Thankfully since it's all controlled with electric motors and not a traditional transmission/transfer case/solid axle setup, it should be able to be fixed or mitigated with OTA updates.