Article: How Ford’s F-150 Lightning, Once in Hot Demand, Lost Its Luster

[RickLightning]

No doubt the Lightning has positives but it does have negatives with its ownership vs a traditional truck. It's expensive, 72k for my 2023 XLT vs 2023 61k for a hybrid XLT load with what the comes with Lightning comes with. Last year the $7500 was a credit you only get the entire amount if your tax liability is that or greater. I really think the mass slow down was inflation and rates more then anything. Now you can see some pretty serious layoffs going on, this is mostly not being widely reported. Cheap vehicles will be in demand for sure.

Also I'm not fan boy the savior of charging on trips is tesla. That will most likely cause more confusion for average driver who has no clue there are different tesla chargers and we can't us the most prolific v2 which people see more often. As soon as Chevy Bolts get access I bet big access issues with those slow charging cars blocking v3 fast...

$72 - $61 = $11 - $7.5 = $3.5K. If you don't think the Lighting is worth $3,500 more than the hybrid that would be a surprise to me.

V2 chargers shouldn't be an issue if people use the apps to find chargers, versus just driving around (they shouldn't own an EV if they do).

Yes, Chevy Bolt owners are going to piss people off at the Tesla SuperChargers just like at the CCS chargers.

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[luebri]

I tend to agree, I just wonder if it will be delayed.

I live by the assumption that everything is always delayed.

 

[JRT]

I do think the cost delta was worth it, that is why I bought it. But most buyers probably don't think like that.

Using the built in Ford nav, which average consumer will be directed to by salesman may work for sure, but I sure don't trust it to navigate me without significant prior trip research, this isn't new and there are threads about it.

I'm not a hater, but we owners have to be honest. I get asked how my Lightning is and I always say awesome, but understand how you plan to use it. This goes down the details path if people are interested.

 

[Danface]

Only a few people who didn't research anything or even knew anything about trucks had problems. Most people who are upset about their lightning purchase are just hurt because they realize now how their ignorance didn't pay off. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions, they'd rather blame something or someone else for their failures. Is it a perfect solution for everyone? Of course not, nothing is. Is it the way forward if not a stepping stone to better technologies? Yes.

A few thousand years ago the Romans had a saying "Caveat Emptor" meaning "Let the buyer beware".

 

[MaintGrl]

Didn’t change my mind one bit. I love my Lightning, charge it 95% at home in a garage and do 95% of my towing regionally. When I do longer tows and hauls I just plan a bit more, am easier on the pedal and enjoy the ride taking a little more time. Two winters nearly done and the truck has done great, I’ve saved thousands in fuel bills and I absolutely love driving it. I said it after a thousand miles and I’ll say it again now after 26,000 miles; Best Truck or Vehicle I’ve ever owned in my nearly seven decades on planet earth…owned too many vehicles to count…

Gregory, I completely agree, I’ve only had mine for a month and a half, I have not had to put my Pintle hitch in yet, But have no fear of it. I do mostly local hauling when needed, helping my friends on the "Green Team" when we clean up town (Pick Up Trash) on the third Sat of the month. The one thing I’m having a hard time adjusting to it the SIZE, this truck is huge from my perspective, I have a 96’ Ranger access cab XLT and had my 06 Taco 4x4 Access cab. Getting used to the extra 2’ to 3’ Length and 10” wider makes me a much more cautious driver (Maybe a good thing) I don’t have any plans on selling it, as I had also felt about my Taco, before it got totaled… and OH! The heated seats are a big +.

 

[Bills R Electric]

I read this article too, and came away with the impression that the author was portraying the Lightning in the least favorable light.

Yes, towing, temperature and terrain all affect the Lightning’s range, but those same factors affect the range of an ICE powered F-150 too. The range loss of my Lightning towing a heavy trailer is comparable to the range loss I experienced with my previous F-150 XLT. The GOM is notoriously inaccurate, but an experienced Lightning driver pays more attention to mi/kWh than the GOM, and by doing a little mental math the driver has a much better idea of the true range of the truck.

The author also failed to mention that Ford Lightning and Mach E owners will soon have access to Tesla superchargers, making it much easier and faster to charge.

As a Lightning owner, and love my Lariat, the opening of the Tesla supercharging network is going to be critical to Ford selling more Lightnings.

I do travel some, and do have to use public chargers, and over the last year have had enough bad experiences that I would hesitate to buy another Lightning - with the current public supercharger network. <--- it may get better, but right now it is not. And it makes a difference.

 

[FordLightningMan]

Maybe I'm a simple man, but why can the new Taycan (and Lucid) charge so much faster than the EV trucks on the road? Battery is the same size as the Lightning SR, but a 15 minute charge is basically all you ever need in the Taycan. I know the Taycan is a $120k+ vehicle, is a good portion of that high cost going towards faster charging?

Put that Taycan charging curve in a Lightning or any other EV, and you essentially squash the biggest concern of the segment. Tech is already there, it just isn't being utilized or is too expensive.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Maybe I'm a simple man, but why can the new Taycan (and Lucid) charge so much faster than the EV trucks on the road? Battery is the same size as the Lightning SR, but a 15 minute charge is basically all you ever need in the Taycan. I know the Taycan is a $120k+ vehicle, is a good portion of that high cost going towards faster charging?

Put that Taycan charging curve in a Lightning or any other EV, and you essentially squash the biggest concern of the segment. Tech is already there, it just isn't being utilized or is too expensive.

Double the voltage battery architecture 400 v 800/900v

 

[FordLightningMan]

Double the voltage battery architecture 400 v 800/900v

I assume that adds $20k to the price as well?

 

[gregoryhcain]

Gregory, I completely agree, I’ve only had mine for a month and a half, I have not had to put my Pintle hitch in yet, But have no fear of it. I do mostly local hauling when needed, helping my friends on the "Green Team" when we clean up town (Pick Up Trash) on the third Sat of the month. The one thing I’m having a hard time adjusting to it the SIZE, this truck is huge from my perspective, I have a 96’ Ranger access cab XLT and had my 06 Taco 4x4 Access cab. Getting used to the extra 2’ to 3’ Length and 10” wider makes me a much more cautious driver (Maybe a good thing) I don’t have any plans on selling it, as I had also felt about my Taco, before it got totaled… and OH! The heated seats are a big +.

I feel the same way only the reverse when I need to drive my wife’s RAV4. Feels like a kiddy car after the Lightning
I don’t know how much you’ve towed but if you have the same cameras I do and Pro Trailer Backup you’ll never look at towing the same way again. PTBU allows my wife to put the trailer in at the boat ramp while I meet her from the water to the boat trailer. The old salts at the ramp think she drives an 18 wheeler for a living They’re thinkin “What a Lucky Guy”. After 45 years I’m not about to trade her in

 

[FirstF150InCasco]

I do think the cost delta was worth it, that is why I bought it. But most buyers probably don't think like that.

Using the built in Ford nav, which average consumer will be directed to by salesman may work for sure, but I sure don't trust it to navigate me without significant prior trip research, this isn't new and there are threads about it.

I'm not a hater, but we owners have to be honest. I get asked how my Lightning is and I always say awesome, but understand how you plan to use it. This goes down the details path if people are interested.

Agree the Ford nav sucks. The path of Our road in Maine was moved 75 years ago but the Ford nav still has the old path, through what is now a woods. All other apps get the path correct.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I assume that adds $20k to the price as well?

Don't know the cost accounting details on either method, but might require some more pricey semiconductor parts to handle the higher voltages, $20k worth,

 

[1Jetpilot]

An experienced driver pays attention to speed and HVAC use. But rolling full hog wild I’m still getting insane MPGE say at 2.2 mi/kwh = 74 mpge. 1.2 mi/kwh is like 40 mpge or Maverick hybrid territory.

Can you tell me the math you did to get 74mpge? How do I know how many KW my battery has at 90%?

 

[COrocket]

I assume that adds $20k to the price as well?

It shouldn’t add that much to the price. Basically you isolate the battery into two separate 400V packs. When you are driving the two packs work in parallel to provide 400V to the motors. When you are charging the two batteries are wired in series to double the voltage. All that needs to be added is a junction box with a few relays that can swap the battery between a series and parallel setup depending on what the truck is doing.

 

[RickLightning]

Can you tell me the math you did to get 74mpge? How do I know how many KW my battery has at 90%?

0.9 x 131 or 0.9 x 98...

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