His frustration with his trucks I bet it because they were powered by gas. Trucks should only be diesel you don't need horsepower (fast time to cover a distance) you need leverage aka torque.
A documentary on Sherman tanks amazed me because they were gas powered and when hit gasoline exploded. German tanks were powered by diesel. The US has hated diesel from day one it's amazing.
But electric has tons of torque by design it should be suitable. But I wonder if the horsepower can be dialed down for more range?
When skiing with a diesel car, I've had to dump wastepaper bins full of hot water from the motel's shower to get it warm enough to start. The Germans had to light bonfires under their tanks while invading Russia. Most modern tanks use kerosene/jet fuel to power turbine engines. This designer is making a vehicle for upstate New York where winters can be pretty chilly.
His frustration with small utility vehicles and a pickup truck are more likely due to types of suspension and weight distribution. Low enough gearing will give you the equivalent of high torque to get over small boulders, but getting through snow is not even that difficult. The challenge is getting your tires to dig in, not a shortage of power.
I'm in the Canadian Maritimes about 1,000km (400 miles) north east of NY city. Winters here Dec/Jan/Feb/Mar can easily be a static -20C (-4F) my old Dodge diesel truck has no problems starting, I used to use a grill blocker and a block heater but really it isn't needed just use thinner motor oil for the winter. And the ability to travel 1,000km (621m) per 100 liter (26.4US gal.) tank was nice for a large truck the efficiency of diesel is far beyond gasoline engines.
I'd love a small diesel or electric or diesel/electric 4x4 like a Jeep or a four door 4x4 truck.
I'd take that electric truck though my love of diesel was due to its efficiency and torque now electric vehicles getting common that's a good replacement. Although I worry about going through deep water with a giant battery! In the springtime I've been through water 30cm deep (12") even in the middle of my small town.
This was about 20-30 years ago, and I'm sure I had the wrong engine oil for the Lake Tahoe area compared to the warmer weather on the coast. At the same time that the guy from AAA recommended hot water for warming a diesel engine, he said that the water would have been more likely to cause problems with a gasoline engine.
However, starting it did generally involve 5-10 seconds of running the glowplug, even when it was 50°F (10°C) outside. Do more modern diesel engines have high enough compression that they don't need to warm the compression chamber as much before it will combust?
I did like driving a diesel car. It's seemed very utilitarian and was extremely reliable and durable.
A documentary on Sherman tanks amazed me because they were gas powered and when hit gasoline exploded. German tanks were powered by diesel. The US has hated diesel from day one it's amazing.
But electric has tons of torque by design it should be suitable. But I wonder if the horsepower can be dialed down for more range?