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Typical PR. Look no further than “they’re going to be profitable between now...” OEMs can launch 1000 EVs, or 10,000, but buyers have to BUY. And if that dream that everyone is lazily and effortlessly charging overnight was true, the constant clamoring for and building thousands of public chargers would also not be happening.

Those of us that have been around in the auto industry for a while remember the Ford Maverick car. Some loved it, some hated it. Now it would seem that evidence is mounting based on trademarks, filings, etc. that Ford is bringing out a mini pickup truck to the US market and the name chosen for the Ford Rangers little brother is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MAVERICK https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ford-ranger-maverick-small-pickup-truck/ https://www.tfltruck.com/2020/04/leaked-2022-ford-maverick-truck-could-this-be-the-next-ford-ranger-or-bronco-based-pickup/

^ ‘63. Might be a ‘421’ emblem on the fender, but it’s mounted a bit high. Something going on non-factory in the rim department. Have seen a number of ‘car/aircraft’ interchanges that used ‘60s Pontiacs- they built some excellent powerplants. EDIT :: a NASA site says the car had a Tri-Power 421, but it also stated ‘just like Daytona 500 cars did’ but the race circuit only used 4bbls, and there they were all Super Duty engines.

The main intersection is Bloor and Runnymede, an inner suburb called Bloor West Village (some call it Bloor White Village) maybe 8km from Bloor and Yonge. Most the homes, schools and this library were built between 1910 and 1930. That library did have an addition about 15 years ago. My son's school is older, same age as our home but not as nice as the library. Kids playing there in the 30's, local high school in the background

When one has a certain narrative stuck in one's mind, one will invent all kinds of theories to justify one's opinion. Reality says otherwise.

Ford is doing it. And Ford knows trucks. It's not a replacement for a Fiesta or Focus, but it is a welcome addition to their lineup. It is rumored to start under $20k. My Colorado was $37k. I owned 5 S-10 pickups, they were plenty big enough. I am on my 4th Colorado, and one thing I miss about those old S-10s is the smaller size, and all the advantages of that tidiness.

No oil changes ever, no major maintenance every 100,000 miles let alone the still tagged mid 45 to 50K maintenance auto's still list. Leaf and Bolt give far more than 50 miles in 30 min when on a fast charger and the tech is constantly improving. Chevrolet lists for the 2020 and earlier models 90 miles in 30 min. But the 2021 as a 2022 model on the new bev platform is stated to be considerable faster, more inline with gassing up an ICE auto. So all things change and improve just as ICE did over the last 100 plus years. 2020 Nissan Leaf gives 80% battery capacity in 40 min for a Quick charge connection. Yet, plug in at night at home and always have a full battery in the morning. EV's DO NOT need tires more often than an ICE auto. You sound like SMK about his MB love affair. I get it you love ICE auto's, nothing wrong with that, but the future is changing so get used to it. Chevrolet Bolt Maintenance Schedule: Here is the excellent Chevrolet VOLT Maintenance Schedule: Equal in Size, Chevrolet Trax Maintenance Schedule: So let's try again about which auto is more expensive to maintain between EV and ICE.

Keen interest in the Maverick here. Colorado/Ranger have grown too much over the years, imo. A minitruck is needed in the US. I've always admired from afar the minitrucks available south of the border.

Doesn't matter if it's $1500 MSRP. Wow, Morris is clearly insane. A "Mad Scientist" is as kind a description I can think of.

According to Ken Morris, VP and head of the Electric / Autonomous vehicle division at GM, Mr. Morris believes GM will be ALL ELECTRIC Sooner rather than later in what people think. To quote the write up at Electrek web site: Projections out to 2030 say that we’re only going to have 15% electric vehicles on the road by 2030. I believe and we believe the number will be much higher once people start to experience electric vehicles. He was asked if he believed we would have to wait a full decade before we saw vehicles customers would want to buy. My hope and gut feel is that there’s going to be an inflection point in the mid-2020s where suddenly people are going to be buying these at a faster rate than anybody expects, just because the driving experience on these vehicles is fantastic. And when you get used to charging your vehicle like a phone at night, when you charge it, and you don’t worry about it, you never have to stop at a gas station. There’s a lot to be said for that kind of lifestyle. They posted a statement from him a year ago when he was head of Global Product Integrity. I would say GM’s speed of that transition in terms of volumes is probably less huge than you would expect. IHS data says 90% still ICE 10 years from now. But you never know what’s going to happen when really good electric vehicles come out in volume, and the infrastructure starts coming around. He was then asked if the collapse of oil prices would kill GM's EV program. If you can sell a vehicle that doesn’t use any gas at all for the same price of a vehicle that does burn gas, you don’t have to do that math of, is it worth the payback or not? We’re not there yet. Today we’re getting much closer, the research does tell us that for now a customer will pay a select premium for an EV vehicle, but they’re not going to pay a big premium. And so, our job is to get those things as close together as we can. Morris wants GM to offer EV at a “broad band of price entry point.” He said that range of prices will come, and be profitable, “very quickly between now and 2025.” Morris was asked if the Pandemic would slow down or kill any part of the GM EV Program. We’re working from home, so engineers are working from home, and designers are working from home, but they’re going through extraordinary lengths to make sure that we’re maintaining the timing on the programs. We’re constantly going full-throttle to maintain timing on these programs. My guess is when we’re able to come back to work, and we’re able to get our hands on hardware and clay models and all those things, we may have to work harder, maybe put more resources on these programs to keep them on time. But there’s no slowdown, none. But a shift to electric vehicles is not possible at all without a fervent belief in the technology. Morris believes. With each statement about an “all-electric” future, GM raises the stakes. We’re still more than a year away from production of the GMC Hummer EV pickup, scheduled to begin in late 2021. By that time, the 2022 Bolt EUV will launch. The Cadillac Lyriq luxury SUV launches in 2022. Other GM EVs scheduled for production are the GMC Hummer EV SUT, two Buick SUVs, and a hand-built flagship Cadillac sedan dubbed Celistiq. That mid-2020s inflection point is quickly approaching. https://electrek.co/2020/05/01/general-motors-says-it-will-be-all-electric-sooner-than-people-would-think/

You are right, we are just west of High Park and walk there pretty often. My parents actually had their wedding reception in part of the park that photo was taken over 50 years ago. They lived downtown but could not afford a wet wedding so they had it at the park where alcohol was not permitted. The park is actually barricaded and closed as of yesterday to ensure too much crowding does not occur during the cherry blossom bloom about to occur. They set up a live Webcam in lieu but the quality looks like a 2009 setup.

The teal and white is a neat little color combo. It conveys that beach cruiser look that I like. And you are correct about the fundamentals. It has cargo carrying capabilities that are unmatched for its size. People don’t realize that it’s only an inch shorter than a Tahoe and you’d have to get one of those or an Expedition to get more room to haul your stuff. I am getting my money’s worth on that alone.

The Flex hung on as long as it did because it's a fundamentally good idea. Station wagons are a fundamentally good idea. I always liked the Flex for its retro-modern aesthetic. I like the dark teal color with white roof, or the ginger ale color.

Looks like it has been added onto in the back. A lot of "Gallic" in this here building. Wow. Bloor W. near what? Looks way quieter than Bloor and Yonge around these parts!

I am worried about that too... Just hoping I can still go back to mine.....

^ Of course; driver skill is #1. ?

There's a lot of factors involved, wheelbase being just one. Longer vehicles have more leverage to slide. Period RWD cars often had much wider tires than subsequent FWD cars- wider tires = shoeshoe. It's largely an invalid comparison between 2 very different vehicles that started the narrative. What would be illustrative is comparing a -say- early 70s fulls-size RWD car vs. a period Toronado / Eldorado; similar weights, power, lengths & tire size. Only issue I ever had winter snow driving was a regular cab / long bed RWD pick-up, which must be like 80/20 weight distribution. Everything else I had: Bonneville, Catalina, Safari, etc, etc all did fine in the snow.

The Buick probably didn't have snow tires..at first I thought the car on the far left was an Eldorado, but I think it's a '73 Grand Prix--can see the taillights under the snow. The car in front of it in the center of the pic looks like a '73 LeMans ..might be a '64-65 Cutlass 2dr in front of it (dark car)...then a Beetle further to the right, This looks like I-90/2 heading downtown from the east, along by the lakefront airport.. My Dad got through E. Ohio/Pittsburgh winters in the 70s in big Mercurys and Lincolns by putting snow tires on all 4 wheels and weighing down the trunk w/ a couple bags of Quickcrete mix.

Andrea Bocelli just gave a live solo performance for Easter at Milan's cathredal (Duomo di Milano) upon being invited by the city and the (arch)diocese. In the beginning, he's inside the church but, at the end, he is singing outside the church and they pan over some of the world's great but empty cities. One of the lines in the lyrics of the last song is especially noteworthy. Happy Easter to our members who celebrate it. And anyone else who wants to share a day of peace and rebirth in general.

Does anyone really NEED a small pickup truck? I thought midsize pickup trucks could take care of what would be overkill with a fullsize pickup truck.