Right? Finally, a practical crossover.

1. How does this compare to a Toyota Highlander on the inside?

Yeah, it’s hard to take the safety regs completely seriously with the 100% focus on internal occupant protection. Who cares about anyone outside the cabin.

When is the PHEV version coming? Jeep is doing a PHEV version of the Gladiator.

Bring on the boxy plug-in SUVs. Check out that big greenhouse and what looks to be stellar outward visibility for the modern era.

Will there be a PHEV version?

Anyone know how this might compare to the upcoming Jeep Recon BEV? 

Yeah, that made me think, “Oh, Rivian is going to make an R/C car.” That makes sense. The link to Twitter had an update in the comments: 115.6 inches.

The ghost of the Willys FC-150 and FC-170 has entered the chat.

My parents are in the market for a new car and were retching to new car prices. Google turned up the average new price for February: $48.8K. Yikes.

QOTD.

Agree - EVs fit great with luxury cruisers: Thunderbird, any old straight 8 Buick, pre-1970 Caddy, Duesenberg (ducks to dodge rock)...

How incredibly thick that A-pillars are on my everyday car.

Yup, there are some great use cases for fuel cells (big ships, long-distance trucks, mining, etc.), but as time goes one, there are fewer and fewer of other transportation use cases that can compete with the latest battery electrics.

Okay, work on EV fire prevention has been ongoing for decades. The electric utilities have been working with the national fire folks (NFPA) since the 1990s. In fact, “In the case of electric vehicle safety education, in 2009 NFPA received a $4.4M grant through FEMA and DOE to support a nationwide education outreach pro…

When is the 4xe PHEV version coming? A burly electric motor with instant torque? Now that’s luxury.

That’s for two reasons:

Yup. You are spot-on.

That’s true. I was thinking of the medium-sized (?) crossovers and SUVs like the Explorer and bigger (Expedition, Excursion, Tahoe, Suburban). Those rigs’ MPGs would really benefit from even a few electric miles.

It’s complicated, but comes back to a mix of industrial policy (near zero here in the U.S., very strong in China), the requirement for quarterly profits to Wall Street and the relative lack of long-term incentives to invest in the future, legacy costs and structures in the automotive industry, and perhaps some…