Yahoo Autos Why the New USPS Mail Truck Looks So Strange
The USPS revealed Tuesday it has contracted Oshkosh Defense, a military vehicle manufacturer, to build its next delivery truck. Dubbed the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), it's a welcome replacement for the current fleet of Grumman LLVs, some of which have been in service for over 30 years. Still, one question lingers: Why does it look so strange?
The answer, as you've probably already guessed, comes down to mandatory design restrictions. The USPS has a long list of requirements for the new delivery truck that forced Oshkosh to make it look like a misshapen shoe. Nir Kahn, design director for custom carmaker Plasan, was involved with one of the early proposals for the new USPS truck, and shared his insights on Twitter:
I was involved in an early proposal for the USPS truck so I know the requirements well. They pretty much dictated the proportions - this package sketch shows that to meet the ergonomic and size requirements, there wasn’t much freedom 1/2 #USPS pic.twitter.com/Fk35g98Z83
— Nir Kahn (@Nir_Kahn) February 24, 2021
