Good News Notes:

“No, that’s not a Duplo toy — what you see above (and in the renders below) is the design for a pickup truck from California electric vehicle startup Canoo.

Revealed in a leak on Reddit on Wednesday, and then subsequently confirmed to Reuters before officially being revealed, the head-turning EV truck is not due out until 2023. By that time, Tesla’s Cybertruck, the electric Hummer pickup, Ford’s electric F-150, and Rivian’s EV pickup should all be on the road. Canoo said it will start taking preorders for its pickup later this year, but did not release pricing details. The startup is also reportedly in talks with other states for a ‘microfactory’ where a contract manufacturer would build the vehicles.

The toyish truck shows just how far Canoo is willing to push the design of the microbus-style vehicle it first debuted back in 2019, which it originally planned to sell on a subscription-only basis.

Canoo has undergone a lot of changes since it debuted that first vehicle, though. It’s now a publicly-traded company after it merged with a special purpose acquisition company in late 2020. Its new executive chairman has also refocused the company on selling commercial vehicles based on the original van design and the technological platform that powers it.

But all of that doesn’t mean Canoo is exactly done trying to make vehicles for regular consumers. This new truck sort of bridges the two sets of customers, thanks in part to being loaded up with all sorts of utility features.

There are multiple fold-down and flip-out work surfaces on Canoo’s pickup, with one in the nose of the vehicle and another on the side of the truck bed. There’s an extension that can be pulled out to make the bed a few feet longer. There are power outlets (120V and USB) dotting the inside of the bed and the storage compartments. Promo images also show the truck decked out in a roof rack and, in a bid to capitalize on the booming ‘van life’ market, an ‘overlander’ trim with a camper shell and a pop-up tent.

This is all in keeping with the vision of Canoo’s original vehicle, which was decked out in pegboards on the inside that the company imagined people could use to customize and personalize the vehicle. And the ability to use the new truck’s modular features in so many different ways — and to customize them from the start when ordering — is what Tony Aquila, the startup’s new executive chairman, hopes is a big selling point for the small businesses and more adventurous consumers that Canoo is targeting.”

View the whole story here: https://www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/3/10/22324096/canoo-goev-ev-pickup-truck-specs-photos-revealed