Ford's epic Lightning bait-and-switch is complete (the official "I'm out" thread).

[Blainestang]

I dont think bait and switch is appropriate, the proper term is disappointment. The XLT + ER was never promised at any price point. I think the vast majority of people assumed it would be in the mid-high $60k range.

I agree with you that "bait and switch" is a little harsh, but people are reasonably, IMO, disappointed that the cheapest XLT ER is $9-12k more expensive than all the information (from Ford) was pointing to.

To clarify, Ford had a display board at a pre-announcement "Pro" event that said the ER battery option would be $10k for the Pro... so in the early days, that was the assumed price for the ER battery option.

Ford announced that the XLT SR would be $52,974. So, add those two together, and the assumption was that the XLT ER would be ~$63k.

Ford later sent out a survey to some reservation holders where the pricing was the similar, except that the ER battery option was only $7k for the XLT and Lariat. No mention of requiring a $10k option package.

So, then the assumption was that the XLT ER would start at ~$60k, maybe $63k if the battery ended up at $10k.

Sure, both of those pieces are info were "subject to change," so there was no specific promise by Ford about the pricing of the cheapest XLT ER, but Ford absolutely knew about the expectations that were being set by the information that was out there for months (from them) and yet didn't do anything meaningful to adjust those expectations.

So, now there are a lot of people who have been thinking for months that the XLT ER would be $60k-$63k, and now it's $73k. It's understandable they're disappointed and maybe think Ford could have done a better job setting expectations.

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[LightningShow]

That's correct. For people following the public information it was certainly reasonable to assume you would be able to get out the door with a lightly optioned XLT ER for under $65k.

EDIT: It's fine if Ford doesn't want to release a utilitarian trim with extended range but it is kind of a slap in the face to dangle it out there with a ridiculous price tag.

 

[Pilot2022]

Are you reading the articles that you are posting? In the latest example that you shared it clearly says Pro Extended range is fleet only.
Pro standard range was never limited to fleet only.
Please stop posting incorrect information.

I watched multiple Ford press releases on announcement day, and everything coming from Ford stated that the Pro Model was for commercial fleet customers only. This article confirms the messages from ford stating this very thing.

So now that fleet Pro model is clearly not part of the alleged bait and switch, please do tell how the other lightning packages are bait and switch?

I never got access to the lightning price tool. So, did this tool allow you to build a custom lightning with individual options, but then later ford changed that to only trim level package changes, with no option to tic or un-tic options?

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

I just want a base XLT. It's got everything I need:

AWD
SuperCrew (4 doors).

Anything else is a bonus that I am willing to give up. I expect it to cost about $50k.

 

[Nick Gerteis]

I just want a base XLT. It's got everything I need:

AWD
SuperCrew (4 doors).

Anything else is a bonus that I am willing to give up. I expect it to cost about $50k.

You’re in luck! What you just described is a Pro, and you can get it for $40K.

 

[cts888]

You’re in luck! What you just described is a Pro, and you can get it for $40K.

Yes if they aren't sold out already. XLT is still a good option though considering after this year the tax credit will be gone

 

[speedy123]

You guys are lucky that you can at least order the standard pro as a non-fleet retail customer (receiving one is another matter). In Canada, it is fleet only. I'd be ALL OVER a standard range pro if I could order one.

 

[techguydave]

It's understandable they're disappointed and maybe think Ford could have done a better job setting expectations.

Ford has done an absolutely terrible job with communication during this launch. Between constantly sending out clickbait marketing emails, to not talking about how this reservation process was supposed to play out, to the absurd price for the lowest retail ER truck.

 

[Nick Gerteis]

Yes if they aren't sold out already. XLT is still a good option though considering after this year the tax credit will be gone

My plan exactly. Hopefully a Pro, but XLT is going to be great for me too.

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

You’re in luck! What you just described is a Pro, and you can get it for $40K.

I'd love to get one at that price, but I'm guessing the Pro model will be super hard to get, and they tend to leave out some of the traditional base features for fleets (air conditioning, power windows, etc.), but then again, I get a feeling that the Pro model may be a lot better equipped than previous fleet trucks.

My previous ride was a 2016 F-150 XLT with a boatload of options, sticker priced about $52k. I would be driving it today, but it suddenly wouldn't start and my dealer took over 4 months to try to figure out what was wrong with it. He didn't have any new F-150s in stock in my price range, so I traded it towards a Mustang Mach-e while I wait for the Lightning.

Now that I've driven the Mach-e for a few months, I get a good feeling that the Lightning will be even better than I expected. It looks like Ford's really committed to building a solid EV.

 

[Bugs66]

I'm out. Just cancelled my res. Wanted Pro+ER and/or XLT + ER. Not willing to pay $20K more.
What sealed the deal (cancel) for me was watching the Chevy SilvErado launch and standard 400 mile range. Pushed me over to cancel and wait what happens in this arena. I'll keep driving my 2013 F-150 Crew EB for now.

Good luck all!

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

I'm out. Just cancelled my res. Wanted Pro+ER and/or XLT + ER. Not willing to pay $20K more.
What sealed the deal (cancel) for me was watching the Chevy SilvErado launch and standard 400 mile range. Pushed me over to cancel and wait what happens in this arena. I'll keep driving my 2013 F-150 Crew EB for now.

Good luck all!

I can't understand why manufacturers can't do something to stop dealers from ripping off their customers. It's such a simple thing. Sticker prices used to be the MOST you expected to pay.

There's plenty of profit for the dealer at sticker price. I paid $9000 UNDER the sticker of my 2016 XLT and I'm sure they still made money on the deal, so why are they letting dealers kill their reputation?

 

[LightningShow]

My plan exactly. Hopefully a Pro, but XLT is going to be great for me too.

This what pretty much everyone who wanted an XLT ER is thinking now. When we had the poll last month 26% of people said they'd order a Pro and 23% said an XLT, with most people going for XLT for the ER battery. So they are producing 5% of the retail allotment as Pro models and nearly 50% of reservation holders (at least the rabid ones who post here ) want a Pro. Fortunately they got enough reservations such that they only need a small % of conversions to full up the production line.

 

[astricklin]

I'm out. Just cancelled my res. Wanted Pro+ER and/or XLT + ER. Not willing to pay $20K more.
What sealed the deal (cancel) for me was watching the Chevy SilvErado launch and standard 400 mile range. Pushed me over to cancel and wait what happens in this arena. I'll keep driving my 2013 F-150 Crew EB for now.

Good luck all!

I hope you realize that the $40k Silverado WILL NOT have 400 miles of range. Current the asterisk on the 400 miles on the Chevy site states for the rst first edition. So there's no guarantee that the 400 mile version isn't going to be $75k+. There's no guarantee that the non-first edition rst will even have 400 miles standard, and there's no indication of pricing other than the first edition and the starting wt.

It seems like you are again making assumptions about features and pricing and setting yourself up for further disappointment.

The wt isn't going to be available until summer 2024. By then Ford is going to be on their third model year, going into the fourth and if they manage to get production up to 150k like they want to I'd venture to say there could be a lot of changes to trim or pricing. Hell, they could have a regular cab or a 2wd version available by then. We don't know.

 

[astricklin]

This what pretty much everyone who wanted an XLT ER is thinking now. When we had the poll last month 26% of people said they'd order a Pro and 23% said an XLT, with most people going for XLT for the ER battery. So they are producing 5% of the retail allotment as Pro models and nearly 50% of reservation holders (at least the rabid ones who post here ) want a Pro. Fortunately they got enough reservations such that they only need a small % of conversions to full up the production line.

The people active on this forum are less than 0.1% of reservations. I wouldn't say that any poll here is representative of the general population of reservation holders.

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