Today we learned that the venerable Grumman Long Life Vehicle, the nation’s default mail delivery vehicle for over 30 years, finally has an actual replacement, and it’s made by Oshkosh Defense, which I’m told is not a subsidiary of the company that makes all those toddler overalls, though I am awaiting definite confirmation of that.
I think the new mail truck looks pretty capable and suited to the very specific job of mail delivery, which leads me to one important question: when is the convertible version coming out?
Now, I realize that there may be those of you out there who, perhaps for medical reasons, don’t understand the benefit of an open-top large delivery vehicle, but for now I’ll just assume that most of you are not so miserably blighted.
Hell, even the LLV had a fantastic roadster variant, even if it really was only produced in a 14-inch sphere around my head. Still, it looked fantastic:
It only makes sense that a new Mail Truck will also come in a roadster variant, with, likely, an option to have America’s only three-row convertible, a vehicle that will absolutely dominate the tourist guided tour trade.
Also, an open-top mail carrier allows for a far greater array of oversized and awkwardly-shaped parcels to be delivered, normally a huge problem during America’s frequent grandfather clock-mailing surges.
The colossal windshield frame eliminates any need for a clunky roll bar, giving the up-to-eight passengers an unobstructed view of the heavens. Sure, the soft convertible top may take a solid half hour to fully erect itself, but there would be a removable hard top available, and that would have the added benefit of serving as a garage for another small car when not in use.
I’m so confident this is a good idea that I’ll assume Oshkosh is already well into the planning of it; I expect we’ll see them rolling out to more balmy mail routes about six months or so after the van variants are deployed, and I suspect there will be some options for civilian sales soon after.
Great work, Oshkosh!