U.S. Postal Service officials held a press conference on Tuesday to announce that the agency has awarded a $ 482 million contract to Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense for a new fleet scheduled to be rolled out. in 2023But the design of the new vehicles is polarizing to say the least, with some social media users absolutely loving them and others seeming to think they look like clown cars.
USPS vans haven’t been updated since 1994, like Car and driver magazine points out, so it makes sense that whoever designs a fleet here in the 2020s should try to be brave. And brave they are, with Oshkosh’s plans for the so-called Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) getting strong reactions everywhere.
But that daring has been criticized by some people on Twitter after Politico’s transport reporter Sam Mintz tweeted about the new design
“Looks like shit,” technical reporter Mike Isaac of the New York Times replied while others said it was “a waste of money.” Still others on Twitter said they didn’t care what the vehicles looked like and took the opportunity to complain about it mail delays
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Even the more positive responses seemed to contain underhand compliments, noting that the proposed vehicle looks like something out of a children’s book. Several people compared the new USPS design to an infamous one from the Simpsons TV show, which can be interpreted as positive or negative, we suppose.
The postal service notes that the new vehicles will include air conditioning, heating and advanced technology such as 360-degree cameras. There is also a rear collision avoidance system, including automatic braking and a host of visual and audio warnings.
The design isn’t complete yet so there may be changes before these things get off the assembly line. But the top boss at USPS, a holdover from the Trump regime, believes these vehicles are the future.
“As the American institution that binds our country together, the US Postal Service can have a bright and modern future if we make investments today that position us for excellence tomorrow,” said Postmaster General and USPS Chief Executive Officer Louis DeJoy in a statement published online. .
“The NGDV program expands our capacity to handle more parcel volumes and supports our carriers with cleaner and more efficient technologies, more amenities, and greater comfort and security while delivering every day on behalf of the American people,” continued DeJoy.
What do you think? Are these vehicles exactly what you are looking for in a futuristic design? Or are they ghastly horrors that must be returned to the hellish pit they came from? There really is no in-between when it comes to people’s response online, it seems.