The new mail truck…

[-]

AppendixN@reddit

They look funny, but they're a hit with the people who actually have to use them every day for work.

I love these. I love any vehicle that's built for purpose and does it well. Making the world look a little sillier is a nice bonus, too.

[-]

DitchDigger330@reddit

Working a/c is probably the biggest plus.

[-]

Hot_Pirate9445@reddit

Yeah it looks really practical... High visibility out the front/sides and mirrors, probably about the right height for most mailboxes to be in reach, slide door for getting out packages

[-]

Tigglebee@reddit

I was like “but wind resistance” and then realized these things are made for exclusive city driving.

[-]

belinck@reddit

Plus low floor to make loading easier!

[-]

That, and supposedly if it gets into an accident with another car or especially pedestrians, it is much less lethal, so if they hit a pedestrian crossing the street, there is less chance of fatal or as serious of injury than with the old mail trucks.

They look a little goofy, but every reason for the design seems to be a huge win. I love them.

[-]

CasanovaMoby@reddit

Yup. Thats the issue with modern trucks. If you get hit as a pedestrian, all the force goes through your body, versus just your legs with a car. Trucks have gotten real dumb lately.

[-]

rexching@reddit

High visibility for the tallest and the shortest, means comfort and more job opportunities! It's also low to the ground so there's less of step when you get off.

[-]

cat_prophecy@reddit

I mean the LLV wasn't much of a looker either. People are just used to seeing them because they've been around for 40+ years.

[-]

Then-Pay-9688@reddit

I was in FL recently and saw a Ford FFV for the first time, the short-lived successor to the LLV. It's styled to look mostly like the LLV, but with some subtle differences.

[-]

psaux_grep@reddit

Great video on the LLV from Hagerty/Jason Cammisa btw: https://youtu.be/edPqtHPiMMk

[-]

perldawg@reddit

based take. i can’t wait to see one irl

[-]

freeski919@reddit

You still haven't seen one? We have a bunch of them already up here in little old Maine.

[-]

IRingTwyce@reddit

It's still all LLVs here in small town north Central Texas.

[-]

perldawg@reddit

nope. my local PO has mostly Sprinters but still has a couple of the S-10 based LLVs in service, believe be it or not

[-]

freeski919@reddit

My small town just got a hand me down LLV that came from a larger town that got the new vehicles. It sounds like a bucket of loose bolts without a muffler.

[-]

Unkn0wnTh2nd3r@reddit

i live in SE PA, i see these all the time along 202, along side the Rivian EDVs, i am all for "making the world look a little sillier"

[-]

TalkingHorse13@reddit

The Rivian. The headlights look to be like the surprised eyes of a blow up doll.

[-]

imthatoneguyyouknew@reddit

I see one at a wawa in West Chester most days. The driver looks much happier than when he had the old LLV. Having air conditioning probably helps a lot too

[-]

AppendixN@reddit

I do love seeing the Rivian vans as well. They feel properly futuristic.

[-]

Angelworks42@reddit

I still don't get why the usps needs a custom van to deliver mail.

My local usps l carrier uses a right hand drive Ford Transit at times and it seems far more practical.

[-]

resi42@reddit

Yes you can clearly see this thing was design with convenience first and beauty second, which is the best way to deal with automotive engineering and design.

[-]

NeoPhaneron@reddit

High visibility, tall enough to stand in, seated at height for mailboxes, the hood is low and designed to scoop pedestrians up onto the hood rather than lay them out, and most importantly it HAS AIR CONDITIONING!

[-]

dth1717@reddit

Umm nope, the only carriers who like them are the carriers who are getting a new truck vs the llv. I see a lot of complaints about them already

[-]

FocusMaster@reddit

It's the duck billed platypus of vehicles.

[-]

landonburner@reddit

Did they add AC? I felt sorry for the drivers in the old ones in the Phoenix summer heat.

[-]

Grouchy-Barnacle-800@reddit

It makes people happy.

[-]

schm0uz@reddit

Functionality will always prosper. If all cars were silly and functional, the world would be a better place.

[-]

the_wannabe_mechanic@reddit

Function over form every time for me 🙏🏽

[-]

ImHereBcuzUBrokeIt@reddit

[-]

Far_Chocolate_8828@reddit

Damn, that's one fugly truck.

[-]

Creepy-Selection2423@reddit

That's fugly duck, to you!

[-]

cheddarbruce@reddit

Sweeeeeet we finally get theDaihatsu mirra walkthrough as postal Vans now wooooh

[-]

Apexnanoman@reddit

Yeah except I'm sure this was a completely custom design that cost five times with that Daihatsu did.

With six times the maintenance costs. Government contracts baby.

[-]

AppendixN@reddit

They cost $59k each. Which is $20,000 less than the Rivian delivery vans that Amazon bought.

It's got to have a lifespan up to 20 years in service, on the road six days a week stopping and going constantly while carrying 1500 pounds of cargo, and putting on 15,000 to 30,000 miles a year.

Did you follow the bidding process and all the companies & designs that were evaluated before they chose this? It was covered pretty thoroughly in car blogs for years.

[-]

3amGreenCoffee@reddit

But most of them will be retired and replaced with self-driving or flying robot delivery well before those 20 years are up.

[-]

tomato432@reddit

for legal reasons(the manufacturer wants a scapegoat, the operating company wants a scapegoat, the government wants someone to hold liable and intervene if the self-driving system fails) fully self-driving cars will probably never happen
flying drones will only ever handle urgent deliveries because powered lift is the least energy efficient form of flight, this would result in a massive amount of noise pollution, a drone can't operate(or even reach if its inside a building) a mailbox or mailslot,...

[-]

3amGreenCoffee@reddit

We already have fully self-driving cars. Have you never heard of Waymo?

[-]

tomato432@reddit

there's no driver in the cab but waymo does still use remote supervisors

[-]

Apexnanoman@reddit

You mean these?

https://youtube.com/shorts/Aw-M9JKeIRg?si=D3mP_wwPil9fObOk

[-]

3amGreenCoffee@reddit

Yes, and you just proved my point. Waymos, Tesla Cybercabs, Zoox and just about every self-driving taxi company keep generating these viral videos of failures, and yet they're STILL in widespread use in major cities and growing rapidly. The fact that they're doing such stupid stuff and still growing anyway should tell you that they're inevitable.

[-]

spacefret@reddit

That's what they said 20 years ago.

[-]

3amGreenCoffee@reddit

20 years ago we didn't have autonomous cars already in commercial use.

The USPS is in trouble. Their biggest source of revenue is still First Class mail and marketing mail, and those are both diminishing every year. They are going to be looking for both new revenue sources and reductions in expenses.

If you had everyone install a standard automated mailbox that mates with a standard delivery system on a robot truck, that eliminates a huge personnel cost. It's not just possible at this point. It's inevitable.

The alternative is a massive overhaul in the way the USPS works, centralizing mail delivery where you have to go pick up what little mail you get and eliminating those employees anyway. People would boohoo about that, so robots it is.

[-]

spacefret@reddit

I mean, they already have that last part. They're called P.O. boxes and they're widespread especially in rural areas.

The point is that this stuff doesn't progress nearly as fast as we all think it will. We have autonomous taxis and the like but it's going to be a long time before they're universal/before they mostly or entirely replace humans.

[-]

3amGreenCoffee@reddit

Autonomous taxis are in use despite not even having standard routes. Postal routes are standardized. A robot mail truck doesn't even have to be as smart as a Waymo. It just has to follow its preprogrammed route and know what to do if a mailbox is inaccessible for some reason.

[-]

vGrillby@reddit

Fun fact, the mail van is the Oshkosh NGDV made by military defense contractor Oshkosh so not only is it overpriced maintenance it's overpriced everything. With the original grant they would have costed $60,000 avg but after USPS gave them a second $3 billion for $60,000 vehicles total it brings the cost to $100,000 avg AND they have only received 2,500 vehicles in November 2025 since their first order in 2023.

[-]

Apexnanoman@reddit

Yeah, Oshkosh is really good about charging the government an absolute fortune while at the same time making something that's incredibly fragile.

[-]

cheddarbruce@reddit

Ahh yes, military grade at its core

[-]

Apexnanoman@reddit

As I was once told by someone who was a long-service guy who'd been to the sandbox and been airborne and all that good stuff

"Mil-Spec just means it's made to a government specification by the lowest bidder..... And it's usually a shit specification."

He was a very jaded fellow after being stop lossed twice.

[-]

jonnyrottwn@reddit

Low rider, get a little lower...

[-]

ZaMelonZonFire@reddit

The proportions are so wild, I love it. Local postman said they really like it though.

[-]

Willing_Big194@reddit

The actual clown shoe

[-]

YogiBerraOfBadNews@reddit

I like a lot of things that are weird. Sometimes weird can mean unique or creative. But this is a fresh reminder that weird just for the sake of being weird isn't always a good thing.

[-]

aemptycerealbox@reddit

Except it’s not “weird just for the sake of being weird.” The design is centered around safety and efficiency. It’s absolutely a good thing.

[-]

YogiBerraOfBadNews@reddit

Ok sure

[-]

Blobbyboy1@reddit

I love them so much

[-]

GroundbreakingTea182@reddit

brother ewww

[-]

bernd1968@reddit

and they may work good for the mail carriers, but it does look like a duck

[-]

artful_todger_502@reddit

Looks like what we watched on Saturday morning TV in 1969

[-]

ThePhonyOrchestra@reddit

Not weird, practical.

Maybe touch grass sometime and you'll understand.

[-]

DJAllOut@reddit

[-]

Secret_Paper2639@reddit

Oshkosh?

[-]

Alarmed-Natural3595@reddit (OP)

yup

[-]

MURMEC@reddit

Sunny with a chance of meatballs

[-]

D00bage@reddit

If it were an Autobot what would its name be?

[-]

sleepingfox@reddit

Quack quack

[-]

imsellingbanana@reddit

Thank God those normal mail trucks we're used to get shitty ass gas mileage

[-]

akgogreen@reddit

Animated movie ass vehicle.

No seriously it looks like the Camera van from Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.

[-]

AccomplishedNail3085@reddit

I know what you are doing flind lock wood

[-]

JazzMan-1910@reddit

Get over the here flind locked wood

[-]

Snopro311@reddit

That’s fantastic

[-]

lee-galizit@reddit

5 head

[-]

resi42@reddit

"New" ?? I've been hearing about those "new" trucks for 10 years now.

[-]

Minute-Pomelo9302@reddit

Looks Dr seuss AF.

[-]

avantartist@reddit

Gosh

[-]

SchnellFox@reddit

Not crazy about the Matt Gaetz look front end styling.

[-]

Historical-Shine-786@reddit

Only $6,000,000 each! Another “butt ugly” bargain for the Postal Service?

[-]

TheAVnerd@reddit

I will be downright giddy the first time I see one of these in person.

[-]

ContributionDapper84@reddit

New visor size world record unlocked

[-]

_K10_@reddit

I see the KVD Tjorven finally got a successor.

[-]

NewspaperConstant873@reddit

Donald duck version

[-]

MrEff1618@reddit

So what's the deal with the front bumper?

I get it's probably for a reason, but why give it the old Habsburg jaw?

[-]

Vizslaraptor@reddit

[-]

freeski919@reddit

It looks so ridiculous.

I love it.

[-]

Ok_Elephant2777@reddit

The cargo area in the back is a lot taller, so the driver doesn’t have to stoop over so much or risk banging his/her head on the ceiling. Also, they have fully functional heaters and A/C, which the older models don’t have.

Not to knock the older models. The USPS introduced them in 1985, with the understanding that that model would be used about 15 years. 40 years later, they’re still trucking along. Not the original ones made in 1985; I’m certain those have been in the boneyard for a while, but the design is still working.

[-]

Ferretlord4449@reddit

Function over form and it stilll looks pretty good

[-]

TorontoRider@reddit

I want more Brad Bird designed vehicles on the roads.

[-]

penny-wise@reddit

I wish actual pickups in America had this safe a hood line. I think they look really fun! And if the delivery people like them, a total bonus!

[-]

QUIBICUS@reddit

Function over form. The way it should be.

[-]

GiftedGeordie@reddit

I don't mind that they look goofy, they're the postal service, not the army.

[-]

Petrivoid@reddit

You may not like it but this is what peak performance looks like

[-]

Makabajones@reddit

These are amazing, standing room, huge visibility, easy in/out

[-]

skettiD@reddit

Looks like Darkwing duck got hired by the postal service 🤣

[-]

Interesting_Dingo_88@reddit

It looks so tragic.

I understand the tangible benefits they accomplished but... wow.

[-]

GlockAF@reddit

9 out of 10 platypus prefer it

[-]

VileStench@reddit

Looks like a toon’d hot wheels car.

[-]

GlockAF@reddit

True! They should do a “Perry the Platypus“ commemorative edition for the collectible and a wrap for the full-sized versions

[-]

PigSlam@reddit

I saw my first one last week. They look just as odd in person.

[-]

Snopro311@reddit

Looks like my kindergarten drawing

[-]

Raed-wulf@reddit

They're cute and whimsical in a utilitarian way. If you want your government service vehicles to look tough and mean... get help.

The hood is low so there's more visibilty closer to the wheels and front end. This is also a more survivable shape for pedestrians if they're struck. The dash is narrow so the driver can easily tilt their head to see past the A pillar. The cargo space is tall so they don't have to hunch over so much to get their bins.

[-]

t4skmaster@reddit

Hell yeah

[-]

m3ltph4ce@reddit

This is what pickup trucks with modern engines would look like if the engine compartment was an honest size. Engines have become so much smaller.

But instead we have a society of babymen who need their truck to look big and aggressive so that their fee fees aren't hurt.

[-]

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.