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No, this is not a rendering of a Pixar movie, it is what the new USPS mail delivery vehicle will look like.
USPS
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It’s called the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle and designed by Oshkosh Defense.
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Yes, it looks funny, but the payout for duckface is good visibility.
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Payload would have been increased compared to current Grumman LLV vehicles.
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A list of the new features.
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The existing fleet of Grumman LLVs is getting old, and they remain on fire, among other things.
Dünzl / ullstein photo via Getty Images
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Apparently there was at least one LLV that was electric. I found this image on Getty and the caption reads: “Sherwood Boehlert, RN.Y., sits in an electric mail van at the finish of the Tour de Sol, a six-day electric vehicle competition in which participants compete for the best efficiency in a variety of categories. The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association is sponsoring the tour, which travels from New York City to Washington, DC. Press Secretary James E. Philipps takes a photo. “However, I haven’t been able to discover much more.
Scott J. Ferrell / Congressional Quarterly / Getty Images
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In Germany, Deutsche Post decided to build its own EV vans called the StreetScooter, but in 2020 it pulled the plug on the unprofitable.
Hendrik Schmidt / photo alliance via Getty Images
The United States Postal Service has decided on a new delivery vehicle. On Tuesday afternoon, the USPS awarded a 10-year $ 485 million contract to Oshkosh Defense – better known for armored vehicles – to supply between 50,000 and 165,000 Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, with the first trucks set to hit the road in 2023.
Neither the USPS nor Oshkosh is ready to share in-depth specifications for the NGDV; Oshkosh has yet to finalize the design, the press release said. We do know that the new fleet will consist of a mix of powertrains. Some will be battery electric, but others will use “fuel efficient combustion engines”, which can be retrofitted “to keep pace with advances in electric vehicle technology.”
The images displayed certainly show a uniquely designed vehicle. The combination of an extremely low hood and very high windshield gives it more than a bit of resemblance to a Pixar creation, but the reward for this Latin look should be excellent forward visibility. Fortunately for prospective postal workers, air conditioning is a standard issue, so they shouldn’t get too hot because of the expansive glass that traps the sun’s heat.
More attention appears to have been given to driver and pedestrian safety than the USPS’s current fire-prone Grumman LLV trucks. There are airbags, as well as a camera and sensor-related range of driver assistance systems, such as automatic emergency braking.
Many had hoped the USPS would choose an all-electric design for its next truck, especially since President Joe Biden had just vowed to electrify the federal government’s fleet.
List with image provided by USPS