Went to check one out in person today

[Gullwing]

I had the rotary shifter in my Ram 1500, little awkward at first but the additional space in the center console was great!

Anybody fold the shifter and use the table to eat something or play some cards while waiting to charge?

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[The Quiet Man]

They could have copied the Jaguar I-Pace and used a push button gear selector and not have had to worry about retracting anything!,

 

[Maquis]

You'll appreciate the door handles if the 12v battery dies. Having a physical key to open the door, instead of needing a 12v source to hook up behind a flimsy trap door in the bumper, is better to me.

Lose the shifter, but keep the handles IMO.

I like a mechanical door handle. But it’s not necessary to have one that is capable of lifting a 500 pound steamer trunk.

 

[Gullwing]

A test drive is what convinced me to blow a ridiculous amount of money on something I don't need. I have no regrets nine months in.

This is about where I'm at, just trying to justify the higher cost of the Lightning over an ICE truck.

 

[MickeyAO]

I had the rotary shifter in my Ram 1500, little awkward at first but the additional space in the center console was great!

Anybody fold the shifter and use the table to eat something or play some cards while waiting to charge?

I fold it when I want to put my laptop there for FORscan or FDRS updates.

 

[cdherman]

This is about where I'm at, just trying to justify the higher cost of the Lightning over an ICE truck.

What is your cost per kwh to charge at home at night? This varies widely across the country and can of course change. But it will likely not change fast, OR if it does, it will be part of a Time Of Use plan that still allows you to charge in the middle of the night for a decent price.

Example: My families farm is charged right at $0.12 per kwh. A steal, I know. Lightning gets around 2 miles per kwh. But do this calculation. At 12,000 miles a year, their current trucks are getting perhaps 18 mpg at best. On average etc. For sake of simplicity, $3.60 gas. 666 gallons at $3.60 is $2400 in gas. 12000 miles of EV costs $720. Saves around $1680 per year. Life of a pickup truck?

Hard to know. BEV have the potential to be MORE reliable. That's assuming the manufacturer behind the product is around to support it when software and minor issues arise. Ford would count as a manufacturer likely to be around in 15 years. If they are gone, who knows who will be left.

The oldest regularly used pickup in the fleet, a real beater, is from 1995. Granted, it gets less than 12k miles per year. But it needs a battery and tires, and it fulfills its purpose. Its so old no one would steal it. Sits with keys in the ignition most of the time.

Lets just say that useful life of a work truck is 200,000 miles. $40,000 in gas. Versus $12,000 in electrons.

$28,000 less to feed it. Now the hard core economists will point out that I have not discounted future savings (typically 5% per year) and that the price of electricity and gas are variable. All true. But I have also not said squat about environment, global warming, energy dependency (or at least inter-related pricing) of foreign hostile production.

Just an analysis based on current hard numbers. So spend a little more on a Lightning -- the numbers are not as far off as you might imagine, compared to an ICE.

 

[Smokewagun]

For me the savings is more than that. The $7500 fed rebate in April. I used to spend $700 a month in fuel a month. That’s $8,000 a year in my pocket. Then I get reimbursed for work mileage that is about $8000 a year. Really, it’s simple. About $16,000 a year savings. For charging, I charge now at work. Free. ComEd will actually pay me to not charge during the day if I charge at night after 10pm. On the hourly plan, it’s $0.02 a kWh. I probably will barely break $20 a moth charging.

 

[Smokewagun]

One side note: I just installed a Ford Connected Charger at home. 60a breaker. 48a use by the charger. I actually see 10kW at night. Two nights in a row, I charged 29 miles in one hour and 3 minutes. It was supposed to charge at 19 miles an hour. All in all, I am very happy.

 

[rdr854]

I had the rotary shifter in my Ram 1500, little awkward at first but the additional space in the center console was great!

Anybody fold the shifter and use the table to eat something or play some cards while waiting to charge?

I have a few times. I have also had the shifter replaced because it failed. From what I’ve been told, not that uncommon and also happens on the ICE trucks as well.

 

[rdr854]

This is about where I'm at, just trying to justify the higher cost of the Lightning over an ICE truck.

I priced my truck 22 Lariat extended range to a comparable Lariat Power Boost and found that the Lightning was only a few thousand dollars more before taking the federal tax credit into account.

 

[ctuan13]

There's no gear box to change so that tactile feel is make older truck guys feel at home.

EVERYTHING on the shifter is electronic and could have been done on the touch screen (Like Tesla)

I like the feel. It was a well thought out touch.

Ok I'll stop.

I definitely prefer some sort of physical shifter, even if it is an anachronism due to there being no actual transmission. The shifter being large enough to feel a d having physical detents allows me to shift with zero visual input (I can shift it without look down at the shifter or instrument panel). This is especially helpful when alternating repeatedly between drive and reverse.

However, I do think they could've executed this whole thing far better. The fold down shifter to allow for use of the table is cool and all, but seems ridiculously unnecessary when the column shift exists. To me a column shifter is a much more elegant solution, it allows for the same degree of mechanical tactility and ease of shifting without looking and also simplifies the center console area, reduces cost and complexity all while still allowing for full work surface functionality. Additionally, this implementation would allow for the table to be deployed even when driving. With the current setup this is impossible.

 

[hturnerfamily]

A) What is your cost per kwh to charge at home at night?

....

B) $28,000 less to feed it. Now the hard core economists will point out that I have not discounted future savings (typically 5% per year) and that the price of electricity and gas are variable...

Just an analysis based on current hard numbers. So spend a little more on a Lightning -- the numbers are not as far off as you might imagine, compared to an ICE.

A) GA POWER has a terrific time-of-use 'EV Charging' plan, which only costs me 1.5cents per kwh...
yes, I said 1 1/2 cents.... take that into consideration and redo your calculations on my average of 2,500 miles per month, and then compare to $3.50 per gallon of 'fuel', otherwise, even on a 'hybrid' F150 with much better-than-normal truck mpg at 25 or so... it's a no brainer.
On the opposite spectrum, I have two sons at college towns in N Georgia and N Alabama, both with Chevy Bolts, who have NO options for time-of-use plans, and pay an average of 14-15cents p/kwh...
I will admit, though, they can charge for free at their college campuses, and do regularly.

B) One HUGE calculation is future MAINTENANCE costs: you cannot UNDERESTIMATE the savings from Oil Changes alone, but also BRAKES, etc... there is little to be concerned with for the first 10 years of the life of this truck, other than tires. Just the savings from the time and aggravation of service appointments alone is worth it. Consider, too, that the battery and electrical components of the 'power train' have 8 years or 100,000 miles of Full warranty.

--------
I feel for any EV owner, especially us trucks, who do not yet have utility providers with offerings of EV Charging 'overnight' plans... that seems to be where a major difference is. One of my customers sits on the board of the local EMC Utility, but have no current plans for any EV charging plan options. If I were three doors down on my street, that's where I'd be.
I found one EMC utility, though, COBB EMC north of Atlanta, where one of my other sons lives, and they have a time-of-use plan for EV Charging where the first 400kwh of power, during the 12am to 6am hours, is FREE. After that amount has been used for the month, the cost is 7cents per kwh. Still not bad.

I also suggest that while utility power costs are different throughout the country, and frankly, vary greatly even in local areas, dependent on the power provider, ELECTRICITY cost is heavily regulated and is much more STABLE than gas and diesel prices. It's easy for us to 'assume' that we are comparing 12cents p/kwh to $3.50 in gas costs, for instance, at any given time, but the gas price will fluctuate GREATLY over the short term, AND the long term, although electrical cost likely will not.

 

[RickLightning]

As most people know, much of the Lightning's design is the ICE F-150s, including the fold down shifter. You want different? Buy a T3 in 2025.

 

[Peddyr]

I’ve seen several folks dissing on the rotary dial as a shifter, but I really got to like it in my Maverick. I think it would have been a good choice for the Lightning.

My wife has the rotary dial in her Expedition EL and I can't stand it. When I take it to do regular maintenance, I find myself attempting to rest my hand on a shifter that isn't there.

 

[Maquis]

I definitely prefer some sort of physical shifter, even if it is an anachronism due to there being no actual transmission. The shifter being large enough to feel a d having physical detents allows me to shift with zero visual input (I can shift it without look down at the shifter or instrument panel). This is especially helpful when alternating repeatedly between drive and reverse.

However, I do think they could've executed this whole thing far better. The fold down shifter to allow for use of the table is cool and all, but seems ridiculously unnecessary when the column shift exists. To me a column shifter is a much more elegant solution, it allows for the same degree of mechanical tactility and ease of shifting without looking and also simplifies the center console area, reduces cost and complexity all while still allowing for full work surface functionality. Additionally, this implementation would allow for the table to be deployed even when driving. With the current setup this is impossible.

I never have to look at the dial shifter in my Mach-E. When going between P and D, you can just give it a spin. The dial keeps going but the mode stops at the end. It also has detents so R is one click from P or 2 from D.

It was the first car I’ve had with a dial shifter and I honestly thought I’d hate it, but after about a week, it just seems natural.

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