Being asked to stop and chat about the Lightning

[GunRack]

Well sorta thought I'd be able to slide under the radar having debadged my Lightning but seems not. While charging its a given but didn't expect it around town in this. Home Depot, at the coffee shop, three times while stopped at lights, grocery shopping. I expected it when I had the Rivian, but sorta hoped it wouldn't be a thing on the seemingly lower key Ford. Had 3 weeks of no attention and then this past week has been everyday.

Noticed a big difference between the two crowds and questions.

No real surprise with which group has been asking questions on each truck. Lightning has been almost exclusively men looking to be in their 40's / 50s. Most have been driving work trucks themselves. Certainly blue collar truck type guys. The Rivian crowd was all over the place; tech bros, moms, sports & luxury car drivers.

With the Rivian it was people asking questions like; what is it, where is it made, and who makes this, do you like it?. ext...

The Lightning so far has been people asking, how much did you pay and how did you get one (referencing they had a reservation and haven't heard anything)

The Lightning questions so far seem a lot more direct. Almost like people are upset they haven't gotten one. I think most assume I paid way over sticker to just get one or have jumped the line some how. Where with the Rivian I think most just thought it was cool seeing one in person. That said, I have seen no joke 7 or 8 different R1Ts this week and still have yet to see another Lightning on the road. Kind of not liking the more harsher questions though.

Anyone else noticing this?

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[GunRack]

I guess I should mention its been happening with my i3 the past year as well (even though that is years old). The whole electric thing has been getting way more attention since gas prices have been up. I get stopped in the i3 about once a week now. With the BMW the sad news is that many people still think they're available new.... unfortunately not.

 

[metroshot]

You debadged your Lightning ?

Have not seen another Lightning where I am also.

The questions I have been getting are:

• Is this a prototype ?
• Haven't seen one - thought is was vaporware ?
• How does it ride ?
• How much did it cost ?
• Can you charge at a Tesla SC ?

Can't wait to get the yellow HOV stickers on my ice blue silver Lightning - especially the solo drivers I pass on the HOV lanes.

 

[Artificial Intelligence]

my first Q&A session was at homedepot... wife recognized the lightning and brought her husband along for a chat

One that sticks out the most so far is with a rivian owner over the weekend. He was parked next to my truck as i walked back. Turned out he's waiting for his lightning reservation to come to fruition before he sells Rivian. Looking at the two parked next to each other, lightning def looks more imposing. One thing that stuck out for me was rather cramped rear seat in Rivian... with kids in tow lightning is perfect.

 

[newF150]

You debadged your Lightning ?

Have not seen another Lightning where I am also.

The questions I have been getting are:

• Is this a prototype ?
• Haven't seen one - thought is was vaporware ?
• How does it ride ?
• How much did it cost ?
• Can you charge at a Tesla SC ?

Can't wait to get the yellow HOV stickers on my ice blue silver Lightning - especially the solo drivers I pass on the HOV lanes.

Haha. My wife will be driving the Lightning. She will not know any of these answers.

 

[Blainestang]

The Lightning questions so far seem a lot more direct. Almost like people are upset they haven't gotten one. I think most assume I paid way over sticker to just get one or have jumped the line some how.

Probably because Ford let a ton of people skip the line at the last minute.

Rivian’s system isn’t great either, but they didn’t *officially* let a bunch of people skip to the front of the line.

Its rude/uncomfortable to ask accusatory questions to someone in person, but Ford put people in this position by letting a bunch of people officially skip to the front of dealer lines.

 

[F150ROD]

Probably because Ford let a ton of people skip the line at the last minute.

Rivian’s system isn’t great either, but they didn’t *officially* let a bunch of people skip to the front of the line.

Its rude/uncomfortable to ask accusatory questions to someone in person, but Ford put people in this position by letting a bunch of people officially skip to the front of dealer lines.

That’s not true. Rivian did let people skip the line. I have read on their forums of people having Trucks delivered who ordered much later than those who were early reservation holders.

 

[GunRack]

Turned out he's waiting for his lightning reservation to come to fruition before he sells Rivian.

Basically same thing I did. Didn't plan to have both trucks come within 3 months of each other but the Lightning turned out to fit my needs better.

Its rude/uncomfortable to ask accusatory questions to someone in person, but Ford put people in this position by letting a bunch of people officially skip to the front of dealer lines.

Its been the trend so far and... yeah its making me a little uncomfortable since I just ordered one through the public reservation system and choose and random dealer like everyone did. I booked within 30 seconds of the rsvps opening and I got lucky with my dealer selection. Last week I was in vegas and the valet guy told all the other valets my truck was 150 grand. It wasn't obviously and said I paid in the mid 60s. But he kind of made a big deal about it and it was super uncomfortable.

That’s not true. Rivian did let people skip the line. I have read on their forums of people having Trucks delivered who ordered much later than those who were early reservation holders.

They did and they didn't as I understand it. A few influencers did jump the line and got one waiting months, not years, but that happens with every vehicle. But then some general customers were offered deals where they could get one sooner basically if they didn't care what it was. I spoke to one of those guys at a Rivian meetup. He couldn't pick spec, color, options, just that Rivian had a truck and you could have it somewhat soon if you sign and pay right now. But supposedly those were only being offered to people in specific areas that were already on the reservation list. And at least that one guy wasn't locked in on the old pricing, which means he ordered after March 1.

 

[Bandit216]

I've been very surprised by the number of people who have cornered me to talk about it ( 3 or 4 times a week) - almost as many as my early Mach E. I didn't expect such Lightning awareness here in central Alaska, given the conventional styling and the rarity of EVs here. So far, most know what it is. The front and rear light bars seem to be what catches their attention - less so the grill. I had a Challenger SRT in front of me suddenly pull over to the shoulder then follow me when I passed. He followed me thru a dozen turns and two parking lots until I arrived at my destination. I correctly guessed he just wanted to talk about the truck, so didn't immediately pepper spray him (I answered his questions, then pepper sprayed him .)

The standard questions from those who know what it is:
1. How did you get one?
2. Do you like it?
3. What kind of range does it have?
4. What range will it have in Winter?
5. Where do you charge it?
6. How long does it take to charge?
7. How much?

I do like to put purchases in the frunk to see people's expressions. When one very confused, elderly lady asked where my engine was, I told her I removed it so I could keep the groceries out of the rain. Then I asked her to help push the truck home. (I did eventually tell her what the Lightning was all about.)

I generated a lot of questions when I charged a Tesla at the start of the Arctic EV Road Rally. Almost no one knew that was possible.

 

[monsterlag]

Probably because Ford let a ton of people skip the line at the last minute.

Rivian’s system isn’t great either, but they didn’t *officially* let a bunch of people skip to the front of the line.

Its rude/uncomfortable to ask accusatory questions to someone in person, but Ford put people in this position by letting a bunch of people officially skip to the front of dealer lines.

I am not sure what you mean by “officially” but Rivian literally did do that. They have been prioritizing a lot of orders placed after the price increase when people who ordered 3 years ago have had no contact or updates. I am not saying Ford was any better but it’s a complete crapshoot as an EV buyer right now.

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

Frunk up always gets conversation going.

I get LOTS of questions on towing with it, charging it, and if I'm worried about battery degradation. Most of my interactions are with classic truck people.

 

[Blainestang]

That’s not true. Rivian did let people skip the line. I have read on their forums of people having Trucks delivered who ordered much later than those who were early reservation holders.

Where did I say that Rivian hasn't let ANYONE skip the line? Of course the trucks aren't being delivered in perfect order, and some people are getting trucks earlier than they "should" based on reservation timing or connections at Rivian. I never said otherwise.

However, there's a big difference between "trucks not being delivered in perfect order", and making an *OFFICIAL* system for letting up to 25 people per dealership (times 3000 dealerships) jump all the way to the front of the line via "Prioritization."

Basically, even if you consider the Rivian "Friends and Family" program and the "R1 Shop" program that have resulted in some people getting a Rivian "early" to be a similarly "official" programs, the way in which they work is still sort of shrouded in mystery and the perception is that they're smaller in scope. How does someone get into the R1 Shop to get to pick an available Rivian that's probably a different spec than what you wanted? And how many people are getting into those programs? Lots of mysterious variables.

Same with the Lightning, EXCEPT for the official "Dealer Prioritization" program that allowed dealers to just straight up bump 5-25 people (10%-25%) per dealership to the front of the line. It's very official, clearly spelled out how to jump the line, and it's a potentially large percentage of trucks. Pros were only ~4% of trucks, but 10%-25% are allowed to skip the line?

Maybe the best way to show the difference between the two is that you "read on the forums of people having trucks delivered who ordered much later" and Ford put out an official document to dealers explaining how to let 10-25% of people cut to the front of the line. One is "I read about a few people online" and one is Ford's official dealer playbook about how to let potentially thousands of people skip the line.

 

[Blainestang]

I am not sure what you mean by “officially” but Rivian literally did do that. They have been prioritizing a lot of orders placed after the price increase when people who ordered 3 years ago have had no contact or updates. I am not saying Ford was any better but it’s a complete crapshoot as an EV buyer right now.

I didn't say Rivian went perfectly by reservation timestamp. They clearly have let people go "out of order" by having friends and family at Rivian or things like that, but the scope seems completely different. Friends and family of people working at Rivian's handful of facilities and a program whose details aren't quite perfectly known VS friends and family at 3,000 separate dealerships having an opportunity to jump the line based on an official Ford dealership playbook.

And to be clear, I'm not saying either of them are great systems. I'm just explaining my guess as to why the Lightning questions seem more pointed and aggravated to OP than Rivian questions - because where Rivian's communication has been poor at times, and there are some programs that allow people to go out of order, the scope of poor communication and purposeful misleading and official, manufacturer-written methods for cutting the line seem substantially larger for Ford.

 

[greenne]

Where did I say that Rivian hasn't let ANYONE skip the line? Of course the trucks aren't being delivered in perfect order, and some people are getting trucks earlier than they "should" based on reservation timing or connections at Rivian. I never said otherwise.

However, there's a big difference between "trucks not being delivered in perfect order", and making an *OFFICIAL* system for letting up to 25 people per dealership (times 3000 dealerships) jump all the way to the front of the line via "Prioritization."

Basically, even if you consider the Rivian "Friends and Family" program and the "R1 Shop" program that have resulted in some people getting a Rivian "early" to be a similarly "official" programs, the way in which they work is still sort of shrouded in mystery and the perception is that they're smaller in scope. How does someone get into the R1 Shop to get to pick an available Rivian that's probably a different spec than what you wanted? And how many people are getting into those programs? Lots of mysterious variables.

Same with the Lightning, EXCEPT for the official "Dealer Prioritization" program that allowed dealers to just straight up bump 5-25 people (10%-25%) per dealership to the front of the line. It's very official, clearly spelled out how to jump the line, and it's a potentially large percentage of trucks. Pros were only ~4% of trucks, but 10%-25% are allowed to skip the line?

Maybe the best way to show the difference between the two is that you "read on the forums of people having trucks delivered who ordered much later" and Ford put out an official document to dealers explaining how to let 10-25% of people cut to the front of the line. One is "I read about a few people online" and one is Ford's official dealer playbook about how to let potentially thousands of people skip the line.

You should also note some dealers did this, some dealers did not so its not exactly correct to characterize it as a "ton".

A bigger factor was the ZEV state prioritization and dealer allocation. Whether it was right or wrong Ford decided to allocate on basis of perceived demand and benefit in ZEV states (financial incentives).

 

[LUXMAN]

Haha. My wife will be driving the Lightning. She will not know any of these answers.

My wife as well, and she will not take kindly to people asking how much it is , she finds things like that very rude and may take people walking up to her as a threat, could get ugly

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