New Ugly A$$ Postal Trucks

[Jason B]

I could care less about what it looks like as long as they deliver my mail and whatnot on time. I mentioned the Ford Transit van as they do sit fairly low and appear to be able to hold more packages and mail while being cheaper. It may not sit as low as the chosen vehicle but low enough while also being able to stand in and with a short hood. A lot of electricians and plumbers have been using them and I get why. At the end of the day, its a moot point as there is nothing I can do as all the government does is steal our money and spends it on useless projects though in this case, we will call it an exception to the rule as it has been long overdue.

Yes, all those useless projects like national defense, healthcare, interstate highway system, space exploration, social security etc. Who needs all those things?

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[Racket]

If I was a mail carrier, I don't think I would have a problem with these replacing the old Grummans from 1987.


"Noisy and fuel-inefficient (9 mpg), the Grummans are costly to maintain. They’re scalding hot in the summer, with only an old-school electric fan to circulate air. They have mirrors mounted on them that — when perfectly aligned — allow the driver to see around the vehicle, but the mirrors constantly get knocked out of alignment. Alarmingly, nearly 100 of the vehicles caught fire last year,

I got carbon monoxide poisoning driving one of those death traps.

 

[yamahaSHO]

I could care less about what it looks like as long as they deliver my mail and whatnot on time.

You can care less, when you care a lot.

 

[GreyAreaRanger]

To deliver mail? It doesn't matter if they're good for some other task.

Ah, an empty government whine. I guess I should have just skipped over.

My point was that it was a versatile vehicle that could be configured to multiple job duties as the user saw fit. In the second post, I was actually praising the useful spending of our tax dollars which the government is not known to do. This is a project that is probably fifteen years minimum overdue. As for you skipping over, you could have just as easily not replied

 

[GreyAreaRanger]

Yes, all those useless projects like national defense, healthcare, interstate highway system, space exploration, social security etc. Who needs all those things?

Didn't one of our military pilots lose an F-35 recently? Joking aside, our country needs a strong defense budget because we are not well-liked by everyone, and some people who don't like us mean to do us harm. That is another area where I believe our tax dollars are spent well, even at the loss of the occasional F-35.

My point is that taxpayer money needs to be budgeted and spent better. Some of the projects you mentioned are older projects completed decades ago. Either way, it is a bit off-topic.

You can care less, when you care a lot.

I haven't made one comment saying we shouldn't get the chosen vehicle due to its looks. The vehicles I picked appeared to have a better cargo capacity for mail and packages with a cheaper advertised MSRP than the new design they picked. Yes, the new design does look like a platypus and is not very appealing, but the transit van from Ford reminds me of a pug and is losing in the beauty compartment comparatively.

 

[Fordup]

I think we should just let Amazon deliver the mail. They are at our house everyday and never deliver the wrong packages plus thet deliver 7 days a week. I bet stamps and packages would be half the price. The post office looses taxpayer money every year so just shut it down.

 

[Chris M]

I think we should just let Amazon deliver the mail. They are at our house everyday and never deliver the wrong packages plus thet deliver 7 days a week. I bet stamps and packages would be half the price. The post office looses taxpayer money every year so just shut it down.

Amazon? Thank you, no. While they do deliver a great many packages 7 days a week, there are also a great many delivered to the wrong address, and done so either because the driver is lazy, or stupid, or both at the same time. I generally have not had that issue with mail carriers.
In my experience, mail carriers are much better trained and generally of an average or better intellect by necessity because it's not an easy job to do at all. Rarely have I ever gotten mail with the wrong address on it, but have all too often gotten packages at my doorstep with addresses not even closely resembling mine. I have actually Google mapped those addresses and delivered the packages myself in my neighborhood streets away and once had to drive miles away to deliver. I figured if I had a package that never showed up (might have been something VERY important like a case of 303 protectant), I would want someone to do the right thing and bring it to me.

I'm sure this vehicle, ugly as it may be, was years in the engineering process and like someone posted earlier was engineered and built from the inside out based on practical usage as a primary concern. I'd bet most carriers would be quite happy to have a new vehicle to drive built specifically for the job at hand...function over form.

 

[DaveP]

this article from Car & Driver does a good job of detailing other features (than ac) included in the new vehicles.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62187981/usps-new-mail-truck-debut/

There’s a lot of posts about costs. Serious question: what does an Amazon truck spec’d similarly cost? Don’t they use a Rivian platform?

 

[Chris M]

this article from Car & Driver does a good job of detailing other features (than ac) included in the new vehicles.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a62187981/usps-new-mail-truck-debut/

There’s a lot of posts about costs. Serious question: what does an Amazon truck spec’d similarly cost? Don’t they use a Rivian platform?

I do see an increasing number of Rivian vans here in the PHX area.

 

[VAMike]

I think we should just let Amazon deliver the mail. They are at our house everyday and never deliver the wrong packages plus thet deliver 7 days a week. I bet stamps and packages would be half the price. The post office looses taxpayer money every year so just shut it down.

They'd have a much more efficient operation that would cover the 60% of the US population which is the most profitable and the other 40% would have nothing. Way back in the 19th century we figured out that having consistent services across the entire country has a value that exceeds the cost of providing those services, even if that value doesn't show up in a P&L statement. That's why business and government are two different things.

FWIW, amazon screws up packages all the time, and has its own massive inefficiencies. I can't count the number of times I've ordered a tiny item that would have fit in an envelope that arrives flopping around in a giant box with a sheet of air pillows shoved in for comic effect. More than once I've ordered something from Amazon and it's just never showed showed up, probably due to their inability to police scammy third party sellers. Other carriers are also not perfect. Just this past week I had UPS send an overnight package on a joyride from NJ to PA to NC back to PA, and it still hasn't been delivered in VA. Multiple times I've had FedEx just lose or destroy a package and I've had to fight over justifying the insured value. But USPS gets to be a punching bag because it's a big bad government thing that can't do anything right. Sadly, a lot of people just hate this country and can't bring themselves to say anything positive about it.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I think we should just let Amazon deliver the mail. They are at our house everyday and never deliver the wrong packages plus thet deliver 7 days a week. I bet stamps and packages would be half the price. The post office looses taxpayer money every year so just shut it down.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Our government postal service, Canada Post, bought a controlling stake (91%) in Purolator, a courier company (yes, same as the filters - it used to be owned by the filter company). It operates primarily in Canada and the U.S. and partners with DHL for parcels to other countries. Domestic and U.S. delivery of letters is still left up to Canada Post.

So, a hybrid model with an existing courier company or a fulfillment arrangement with an entity like Amazon might make sense. USPS could also be a “last mile” provider to Amazon (if they aren’t already) to increase efficiencies.

However, I don’t think the USPS could ever move regular postal mail to another entity - mainly because of how it is mandated to operate by the U.S. government. It is legally obligated to provide an affordable letter delivery service but people everywhere howl like mad whenever the price of a stamp goes up. It definitely needs to find efficiencies or farm out inefficient business lines. Parcel delivery might fit a different model but I bet there would be little political courage or public support to try to move letter delivery somewhere else - just ask @Chris M .

Now, if that fugly truck was parked outside Chris’ house everyday, he might think differently. I can barely look at that thing. ?

 

[VAMike]

There’s a lot of posts about costs. Serious question: what does an Amazon truck spec’d similarly cost? Don’t they use a Rivian platform?

Retail they're upward of $80k, but AFAIK there's no public information about what Amazon's unit cost is. (Amazon also invested upward of a billion dollars into rivian, which may affect their pricing power.)

 

[AzScorpion]

Amazon? Thank you, no. While they do deliver a great many packages 7 days a week, there are also a great many delivered to the wrong address, and done so either because the driver is lazy, or stupid, or both at the same time. I generally have not had that issue with mail carriers.
In my experience, mail carriers are much better trained and generally of an average or better intellect by necessity because it's not an easy job to do at all. Rarely have I ever gotten mail with the wrong address on it, but have all too often gotten packages at my doorstep with addresses not even closely resembling mine. I have actually Google mapped those addresses and delivered the packages myself in my neighborhood streets away and once had to drive miles away to deliver. I figured if I had a package that never showed up (might have been something VERY important like a case of 303 protectant), I would want someone to do the right thing and bring it to me.

I'm sure this vehicle, ugly as it may be, was years in the engineering process and like someone posted earlier was engineered and built from the inside out based on practical usage as a primary concern. I'd bet most carriers would be quite happy to have a new vehicle to drive built specifically for the job at hand...function over form.

IDK but everywhere I've lived I've never had my Amazon packages delivered to the wrong address yet my mail has. I have the USPS informed delivery so I can see what's about to be delivered. I've had more missing and mail delivered to the wrong address than lost packages from any of the large delivery companies. I still have mail missing from June! At least with a package the vendor will resend it to you where as the USPS just gives you the run a round and you never get your mail. The last thing I want is my financial statement landing in someone else's mailbox and before anyone says use paperless I do. But Penn Mutual for some un-Godly reason does not do paperless statements and that's the ones I'm missing. Sorry @NotBudule2 but I wouldn't be broken hearted if the whole USPS system was abolished!

 

[Fordup]

Never had a problem with Amazon delivery. All packages arrive in pristine condition put exactly where I tell them. It now costs $12 to mail a small lightweight box with the postal service that cost $5.25 2 years ago. I think Amazon has a system that could be easily expanded to everyone and would be more reliable then the USPS at half the cost. Like any other industry closing down postal workers would need to find jobs but that's life for private sector workers. Emails and online banking have made the USPS die off like dinosaurs slowly did.

 

[Jason B]

EVERY package I receive at home from Amazon is delivered by USPS.
Packages I receive at work are delivered by UPS.

As for the postal truck, the only opinion that will matter is that of the drivers using those.
In my area, USPS postal workers use personal vehicles, most are Jeep Cherokee or Wrangler with right had drive.

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