The Briefing Room
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: PeteS in CA on February 24, 2021, 06:24:08 pm
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Postal Service Finally Awards Contract to Replace Decades-Old Vehicle Fleet
https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/02/postal-service-finally-awards-contract-replace-decades-old-vehicle-fleet/172247/ (https://www.govexec.com/management/2021/02/postal-service-finally-awards-contract-replace-decades-old-vehicle-fleet/172247/)
The U.S. Postal Service has awarded a 10-year contract to the firm Oshkosh Defense to build up to 165,000 new vehicles, potentially replacing almost the entire decades-old fleet.
The contract will be worth at least $482 million as Oshkosh will custom build an initial order of 50,000 right-hand-drive vehicles for USPS. The Postal Service’s “next generation delivery vehicle†(NGDV) search has lasted several years and gone through multiple delays, though its aging fleet and reports of trucks catching fire have given the process urgency. USPS owns more than 200,000 vehicles, most of which are categorized as “long-life†and have been on the road for an average of 25 years.
The new vehicles are not expected to hit the road until 2023, Postal Service officials said, and much of the initial investment will go toward testing and building out a manufacturing facility for final assembly. Some of the vehicles will be entirely electric and powered by batteries, while others will have fuel-efficient internal combustion engines. Due to the evolving nature of electric vehicles, USPS said those trucks would be capable of retrofitting to keep pace with new technological developments. The agency expects to spend billions of dollars on new vehicles over the next 10 years, both on the custom delivery trucks and commercial off-the-shelf options.
I'm convinced that one of the requirements for the old delivery vehicles was that they be so ugly that no one in their right mind would steal one. Hopefully the new electric versions will be sent to Dem-run cities like Chicago, Detroit, and NYC, the ones with "balmy" winter weather.
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Postal Service Finally Awards Contract to Replace Decades-Old Vehicle Fleet
I'm convinced that one of the requirements for the old delivery vehicles was that they be so ugly that no one in their right mind would steal one. Hopefully the new electric versions will be sent to Dem-run cities like Chicago, Detroit, and NYC, the ones with "balmy" winter weather.
You get your wish!
(https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/be6wl/s3/oshkosh-defense-us-postal-service-delivery-truck.jpg)
(https://cdn.motor1.com/images/mgl/MBWjY/s3/oshkosh-defense-us-postal-service-delivery-truck.jpg)
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Oh, good God, that thing looks like a cartoon. That windshield!
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Oh, good God, that thing looks like a cartoon. That windshield!
Makes you wonder if the designer also has the contract for windshield replacement. Combination vehicle and greenhouse.
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Looks a lot like a Bottlenose Porpoise.
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It's not a real postal vehicle unless it catches fire for no reason.