Spent time with Ford EV team & got charging tips from Mach-E Chief Engineer

[TheVirtualTim]

I don't actually have one of these on order. I have a Mach-E, but was asked if I'd be willing to drop by for an interview (I live locally in Dearborn) by the Ford Social Media folks (the same folks you are talking to when you communicate with @Ford Motor Company here on the forum.)

I wasn't expecting to meet any of the Ford engineering folks, but it turns out the person they interviewed just prior to me happened to be the chief engineer for the Mach-E ... and since I have a Mach-E, we naturally had a nice conversation about it.

The Admin over on Mach-E Forum asked if I'd post this photo over here.

This is it! This is the F-150 Lightning Platinum Edition (Antimatter blue). This was my first time getting to see it in person ... moderately surprising since I live in Dearborn and it's fairly common to see pre-production cars driving around town. I've seen pre-production for lots of cars ... just not *this* one. I've even sat charging next to the new Ford Transit EV while at the grocery store. But I have yet to see the Lightning in person. Even the Ford team members were surprised I haven't seen one in town ... they are out often enough. So this was a bit of a treat.

Truck is gorgeous. Features are really cool. They walked me through the interior, the frunk, etc.

I think those who have one of these on order will not be disappointed.

This is a 'hero' truck. It is used in shows, ads, commercials, etc.. So if you've seen photos of an Antimatter Blue Platinum ... there's a chance it may have been this very truck.

Before you ask ... no, I did NOT get to go for a ride (much less drive it). I wish!

Also, I got to meet Donna Dickson (Mach-E Chief Engineer) in person for the first time. She sat in my car and we talked about it at length.

She did offer a helpful tip for those who worry about the miles/kWh rating. I'll paraphrase because I wont recall word-for-word.

One of the reasons to avoid charging above 90% (unless you need the range) has to do with the car's ability to leverage regenerative braking. When the battery is at (or near) 100%, it is harder to push electrons into it. As a result, the regenerative braking is less efficient with a full battery and you'll see a lower miles/kWh rating (particularly in stop & go driving when regen is really useful.)​

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If you limit charging to 90%, you've left some room to make regenerative braking more efficient. (I cap mine at 80%)​

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Also, it will tend to be more efficient (better rating) on longer drives rather than short trips.​

If you are a person who routinely charges to 100% ... but don't technically *need* that 100% ... you'd be better off to limit the charging to get higher efficiency.

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[hturnerfamily]

congrats, that's a fun moment in time to get to see and feel such an ICON in person, as one of the 'first' to do so - I'll go to the ATLANTA AUTO SHOW on Thursday to see if I can get close to one myself, as one of the only orders in Georgia - I hope to see an IcedBlueSilver in person : )

 

[Ruination]

Man...I kinda wish I went anti matter blue.

I love the color, but I'd never keep it clean enough.

 

[GDN]

Dang they need to quit showing the AMB.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Man...I kinda wish I went anti matter blue.

I love the color, but I'd never keep it clean enough.

Understood. I have one black vehicle and it shows everything. My Lariat is white and doesn’t look atrocious when it has a little dust and dirt on it.

 

[beatle]

The ICE F150 looks very good in AMB with the contrasting chrome trim. The Lightning just doesn't have that contrast since all of the trim is black, and the Lariat's dark 20" wheels perpetuate that more than the Platinum's 22's. I think the Lightning needs lighter colors.

Regarding charging, I think it's somewhat common knowledge not to charge to 100% unless preparing for a trip that will require at least one charging stop. With regen, I am curious if Ford will limit regen when the battery is cold. Tesla limits it when it is below 67F - and that's a lot in the winter.

 

[hellb0y]

The ICE F150 looks very good in AMB with the contrasting chrome trim. The Lightning just doesn't have that contrast since all of the trim is black, and the Lariat's dark 20" wheels perpetuate that more than the Platinum's 22's. I think the Lightning needs lighter colors.

Regarding charging, I think it's somewhat common knowledge not to charge to 100% unless preparing for a trip that will require at least one charging stop. With regen, I am curious if Ford will limit regen when the battery is cold. Tesla limits it when it is below 67F - and that's a lot in the winter.

I hate all that 70s chrome crap!!!

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

I never realized @Ford Motor Company followed this forum. Considering all great changes taking place at Ford these days, I shouldn’t be surprised they’ve been listening to customers like us who tend to be more enthusiastic, and vocal about what we love (and hate) about our rides.

I’m 57 and just about every vehicle I’ve ever owned was a Ford And I’m super “Charged up” about the Lightning.

I’m driving a Mach-E right now, so I can see just how good Ford’s EV strategy is.

One thing I’d like to see them do right now is to put the rest of the orders on the calendar so we can stop hitting refresh every 20 seconds. I know the dates may change, but it would make us all get a sense of approximately when to expect delivery.

If nothing else, why not start with some… Let’s say all the Atlas Blue XLT’s ordered in New York on January 20th with the 312A upgrade?

 

[Gary Gattis]

I'm very familiar with 100% charge and loss of regenerative braking. That said once the battery is full, regen has no where to go and the older FEH would spin the motor to burn the extra energy. I didn't have this issue on the plug-in C Max so I think Ford resolved spinning the motor to burn excess regen under certain conditions. In other words, you can't over charge the battery above 100% so when you hit the brakes the computer lets you use 100% of the brake pads. Here is a mileage tip: Regenerative braking kills mileage unless you can control it. Coasting! When you let off the brake, the amount of energy you get from regen is not worth the energy it takes to slow you down as far as your overall mileage. As a hypermiler I always shifted to "N" while coasting to remove all regen. There are a few tips like the creep mode and things that burn energy you can save that is built into the vehicle so people feel they driving a standard vehicle.

 

[monsterlag]

Made the right call with AMB haha.

 

[beatle]

I hate all that 70s chrome crap!!!

Well this is right up your alley then. I think all black trim looks cheap. Most base model cars have black trim because the manufacturers didn't want to spend the money to body match the paint.

 

[GOP.EV.Driver]

Well this is right up your alley then. I think all black trim looks cheap. Most base model cars have black trim because the manufacturers didn't want to spend the money to body match the paint.

I'm guessing this might be generational. My first few Teslas all had the (ugly) chrome everywhere...which many people and myself paid to have blacked out later. Now Teslas come standard with the chrome deleted...so I'm assuming they heard the feedback from the 30s and younger crowd that we won't be caught dead in a car with it.

 

[IdeaOfTheDayCom]

I'm guessing this might be generational. My first few Teslas all had the (ugly) chrome everywhere...which many people and myself paid to have blacked out later. Now Teslas come standard with the chrome deleted...so I'm assuming they heard the feedback from the 30s and younger crowd that we won't be caught dead in a car with it.

It's definitely a generational thing. My generation LOVES chrome, but only when used right. My 2002 Thunderbird had just the right amount of chrome. I couldn't imagine a T-Bird with a matte black grill or wheels.

As people started adding fake chrome all over the place, it started to look cheesy and cliche, so the generation that followed started doing the opposite to stand out.

When I owned a Harley, most of us added chrome to everything, yet another generation of buyers started to get matte black, even the tailpipes. With everyone else having chrome, those matte black pipes and engine stood out.

With that in mind, one of the things I WISH I could get on my Lightning is metallic looking wheels. If I paid $9500 less, I'd get the 18" metallic wheels. Jump to the 20" and you get black painted wheels, unless you get a Platinum, which has shiny machined 22" wheels. For what it's worth, I'd rather have the comfort of 18" wheels with fatter tires, but that's another story.

 

[beatle]

I also love black trim when done right, such as something in a light color or all black. It's the in-between that gets me the most with black trim on a dark car.

I think brushed stainless or aluminum trim would be a good compromise, but that's also not a cheap finish as doing it right means using metal parts of sufficient quality and brushing them, then clearcoating them.

How old am I?

 

[craptacular]

Dang they need to quit showing the AMB.

I just recently traded in my 2021 ICE F-150 Carbonized Gray for the 2022 ICE F-150 AMB. Once I finally get to order the Lightning, I'll be going with AMB. It's a beautiful color. A word of advice though, it does show swirl marks pretty badly. The detail guys at the dealership where I traded in my 2021 really destroyed the paint on my 2022. There are scratches everywhere. The GM is having me take it to their bodyshop to get fixed. I'm going to make sure no detail guys come close to my Lightning before I can get it ceramic coated.

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