Ford unveils new F150 Lightning all electric pickup

[John E Davies]

I am not a fan of vast vertical glass displays, maybe I could get used to it, I think this is beyond ugly….

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/cars/article-9598583/Ford-unveils-40-000-F-150-Lightning-electric-pick-truck.html

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Overland]

3 hours ago, John E Davies said:

I think this is beyond ugly….

I think it looks nice, but personally I'm a fan of tactile controls, especially the big beefy ones in the current F150.

I've said before that I think it's a bit silly that electric trucks keep the same form factor as regular trucks.  But I guess for Ford it makes a little sense that they have an entire line that they want to look at least similar.  Plus I was thinking that for towing, you could possibly use the big frunk to distribute your load maybe enough to not need a WD hitch.  

 The range is no worse than the Cybertruck, which I think is probably the absolute minimum that allows them to show it towing an airstream.  I'd guess 150 miles towing?  This is still a big problem.  

But we've been surprised by the useful range of my wife's hybrid BMW X3.  The electric range for that is only about 25 miles, but that's enough to get her to work and back, stores, pretty much anything we do around town.  It's enough range that she get's pissed off when the engine starts.  So, with a 300 mile range, I think this would be a really useful truck to have in town and for short trips.  

I know we have a few owners who are signed up for the Cybertruck so I'm very eager to hear their reviews.  

[John E Davies]

I am not so sure about the frunk; gas and diesel engines are designed to do weird stuff during frontal collisions, to keep the driver and front sear passengers alive. I would not feel warm and fuzzy about having a loose heavy mass in there, like tools, ammo or cast iron pots. There is no telling where it might end up, but maybe Ford has figured that out? Maybe there is a Frunk Airbag in that “firewall” to stop any penetrations that might amputate your legs.

Never mind, in looking at the cutaway, there is a big e motor there.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Overland]

I notice they kept the spare in the rear and I guess the batteries are under the floor?  Having decent weight distribution is probably a first for a pickup.  I think it's a safe bet that this truck handles a ton better than the regular F150. 

 

[SeaDawg]

I can see why Ford would keep the established form factor as much as possible.  Make the etruck an extension of their great brand.

I hope range will increase after launch. I'm actually sure it will. But, this would be a great around the county truck for me. And for a lot of people, including contractors towing a trailer to relatively close job sites.

For towing an Oliver... the charger network isn't there, yet.  It will be, someday.

[SeaDawg]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

not a fan of vast vertical glass displays, maybe I could get used to it, I think this is beyond ugly….

Ah, once again, we can politely disagree. 

I think it's a thing of beauty. 

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:

Ah, once again, we can politely disagree. 

I think it's a thing of beauty. 

Just checking, I was talking about the huge flat glass display, not the actual  truck….. which I think looks as attractive as any recent F150. 

If you do love that display, well, OK. No worries.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

1 hour ago, John E Davies said:

If you do love that display, well, OK. No worries.

Yes, it's the info I love, and the touch screen.  We'll all have to get used to it. And, learn how to use it. It's the wave of the future. 

Unless, of course, we continue to pamper and maintain our tried and trues, like my 2005 silverado. Forever.

Oldest vehicle in our garage is 1958. It's like an evolution chart,  looking around.  Lol.

[SeaDawg]

Actually,  I'm really, really looking forward to self driving functions .

My parents moved to a small sleepy town in Missouri when dad got older, to avoid our city traffic. I hated that town, and their lack of skilled health care. 

I think, with a Tesla, or a similarly equipped self driving vehicle,  I could be independent,  til 90s or 100. Should I be so lucky to live so long as some of my relatives  

 

[Overland]

1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:

Yes, it's the info I love, and the touch screen.  We'll all have to get used to it. And, learn how to use it. It's the wave of the future. 

Unless, of course, we continue to pamper and maintain our tried and trues, like my 2005 silverado. Forever.

Oldest vehicle in our garage is 1958. It's like an evolution chart,  looking around.  Lol.

I love the idea of a touch screen. And the look - I love simplicity and also futuristic design.  But I really really hate touch screens in cars. The glare is too distracting at night and they take too much attention to operate. Physical buttons and knobs all the way.

The easiest cars I ever had to drive were my two Saabs. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they modeled all of their ergonomics on the data and ideas they got from their military jet division. (Night panel buttons - jeez I miss those.)  There were a trillion friggin little buttons in those cars, and yet it actually ticks me off when I think about how intuitively everything was arranged, how I rarely had to even halfway glance at a control to adjust it, and how much I have to suffer through bad design decisions whenever I get in a car today.  Even the chunky controls in my F150, like them though I do, suffer from every knob being the exact same shape and size (special place in hell for that design team.)

I hate touch screens in cars. It’s entirely form (and cost) over function.  In fact now I’m going to bed angry from just thinking about them. 😡😂

[Mike and Carol]

10 hours ago, Overland said:

The easiest cars I ever had to drive were my two Saabs.

My 1979 900 Turbo had the ignition switch on the floor, took some getting used to but was soon second nature.

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, Mike and Carol said:

My 1979 900 Turbo had the ignition switch on the floor, took some getting used to but was soon second nature.

I had a stunning 2000 9-5 Aero Wagon in black, I loved that car even though it was totally useless in winter, even with great Nokian winter tires. I kept it until my wife shut off the engine at 70 mph on the highway by reaching around behind the seat and dragging her purse strap across the center console, turning off the ignition! I got it restarted in a few seconds but I nearly soiled myself. “Saab Safety” is a complete illusion. 

I do agree with Overland’s comment about too many buttons, the Saab was nifty and a pure joy to operate on dry pavement, but the eventual replacement for the 9-5 was a 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6 speed with vast arrays of identical small buttons in rows. At least it had voice control, sort of, that was neither intuitive nor effective. 

My Land Cruiser has buttons all over, some are blocked by the gear shift when you are driving (though they are perfectly fine when you in Park), so you have to crane your head to see if you are punching the Power button or the seat heater. Six are on the far LEFT side, completely hidden by the steering wheel. “Why did my mirrors retract, I was trying to engage the diff lock. Darn it I hit the headlight washers, there is water all over the windshield! Oh wait, no I turned off the airbags, or was that the proximity sensor switch???” For the best built vehicle on the planet, the ergos of the cockpit are horrible…  and the gauges have chrome trim rings that reflect in the side glass at night. I will keep it until it dies or I die, regardless.

Maybe a glass screen is the answer, do they reflect sunlight and stuff inside the truck, and show all the fingerprints? At least with a portable nav screen you can point it to where it doesn’t reflect your passenger’s brightly colored shirt…. I would really hate to be stuck with factory navigation, but I guess I could use CarPlay to stream my good apps.

Gee! I wish cars still used hand cranks to start the engine, those were great times🤪

John Davies 

Spokane WA

[BackofBeyond]

Interesting thoughts and opinions on the Truck - can you really call it a truck, or even transportation. . Or is it just a mobile energy storage platform that also morphs into something that will get you to the store and back. Or are we seeing an entire industry evolve in such a way that in a short generation,  personal transportation will go the way of the hand held phone.  It is not just a 4 wheeled transporter - it also slices, dices, chops, cubes, mixes, cooks and serves whatever one desires. It even has its own like button on the screen. 

It looks like a truck, but it is so much more - I can hear the marketers now. 

Funny thing is - as I was driving home this morning - I was thinking about how I would like to find an older - say 1957 or so  - truck. Simple 4 wheels, inline 6, Manual on the column. Simplicity.  I do not need the vast majority of the info and doodles and dawdles the modern vehicles have to offer up. Just a gas gauge, oil pressure, speedometer. I am good. 

I must be a member of a dying breed - I enjoy driving, the feel of the road, the interaction between the mechanical and the pavement - the curves , the  undulations of the road. I do not look fondly at driverless anything.  It is all so antiseptic, so bland, unexciting.  Technology does not always move us forward -  "Look - I went to the wally world, never even looked at the road - but I got to like all my stuff on the FB" Woo-Hoo. Right.

Luddite I am not. I just like what I like.  I have way to much information at my beck and call, I don't need a vehicle to give me more. 

My simple GMC gives me a bunch of information - more than I care about - I tire at canceling them all - yes I know - shut up - I don't need you - the damn tone deaf voice of the info system- to tell me to check the rear seats - just because . Enough.

Have fun all, 

I am going on a road trip, Asphalt, dirt, trees, rocks, some moving water. No gizmo driven, digital production, zillion lines of code, illuminating on the latest big screen - all to put me there. I prefer to be  - there. 

Topgun - where's that rod - I need to get to that stream - just back of beyond. 

RB 

Oh - cool truck, sort of....

[Overland]

Nice overview from Marques Brownlee - I was surprised to learn that their range numbers assume 1000 lbs payload.

 

[Jim_Oker]

On 5/20/2021 at 7:42 PM, Overland said:

But I really really hate touch screens in cars. The glare is too distracting at night and they take too much attention to operate. Physical buttons and knobs all the way.

Yes, I have  not seen any studies by cognitive science folks but  I would gladly  wager $20 that any such  would show that a well designed touch screen experience is  more cognitively demanding for driver  than well designed physical buttons and knobs. I think we're still going a bit in the wrong direction regarding distracting drivers. I fear its my former industry that's  largely  at fault... (computers/software), though the car companies are the ones choosing to use the tech thusly. I  see why they do but clearly  I think it's a misguided choice safety-wise.

[Trainman]

I'm still going to pass on electric vehicles for now, even the hybrids are still out for me. I'm sure the day will come that it will be the only thing you can buy, but at age 76 I'm sticking with the fire breathing gas engines. 

trainman

[Read Howarth]

I loved my SAAB 900 and they way the instruments and controls were arranged. Even though I like the touchscreens in general they can be more distracting and less efficiently used while driving   

[Overland]

It looks like these F150s are going to be built here in Tennessee. 5,800 jobs and over five billion in investment into Memphis from Ford.  Regardless what hesitation some buyers have about these vehicles, the manufacturers know that they’re the future. 

[SeaDawg]

I know.  Rivian in Illinois.  Ford in Tennessee.  Tesla truck in California or Texas? 

I'm super excited to see manufacturers coming back to their roots, with evs,  in the US. 

And then, all the other benefits of evs. Let's think about it. ..

[Mike and Carol]

All with Chinese batteries?  Are any of the batteries made in the US?

[SeaDawg]

Good question, Mike. Tesla builds their batteries in Nevada. I don't know about the others.

[Mike and Carol]

Battle Born assembles their batteries in Nevada, too.  However, the lithium cells all come from China.  I don’t know if the car manufacturers will be dependent on China for battery materials even if they build or assemble their batteries in the US.  We currently see empty new car lots because we’re dependent of foreign chip manufacturers.  I’m concerned about supply chain disruptions if we are reliant on foreign resources for critical parts, like we’re currently seeing with chips.  Mike

[Overland]

Ford will be making its own cells in TN as well as I think two plants in KY. GM I know also has plans to make cells here in the US. And Tesla makes cells at their NV Gigafactory and is building another in CA as well as one in Europe.  

[Mike and Carol]

That’s good to hear, we need to have a manufacturing base in North America for these critical components.