CEO Jim Farley: Confessions from a Petrol Head

[Toby57]

Some light reading, but I think this aligns well with the message Ford needs to be sending. Keep politics and/or climate out of the discussion as those are very polarizing topics. Focus on the other benefits, especially for Truck buyers or auto enthusiasts.

https://x.com/jimfarley98/article/1806714831904325701

Thanks for posting. I wouldn't have seen it as I don't have X.
I would like to comment on things said in the article.
He says he wants to tell customers the truth amid all the disinformation and misunderstandings.
He says EVs remove daily hassles. He does not say what daily hassles that would be.
???
He says roughly half Americans take trips over 150 miles only four times a year. Ok. What that also says roughly half Americans myself included do. My kids and grandkids are 200 miles north. Usually eight times a year I make the trip up there and back. 400 miles.
He talked about fleet truck could save $2600 over three years in fuel alone. That much money over three years ain't much.
How much did it cost to put in charges for that fleet?
Nobody ever talks about that. Nobody ever tells what it cost to put that charger in their garage, like it is not a cost of transportation.

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[Tony Burgh]

Thanks for posting. I wouldn't have seen it as I don't have X.
I would like to comment on things said in the article.
He says he wants to tell customers the truth amid all the disinformation and misunderstandings.
He says EVs remove daily hassles. He does not say what daily hassles that would be.
???
He says roughly half Americans take trips over 150 miles only four times a year. Ok. What that also says roughly half Americans myself included do. My kids and grandkids are 200 miles north. Usually eight times a year I make the trip up there and back. 400 miles.
He talked about fleet truck could save $2600 over three years in fuel alone. That much money over three years ain't much.
How much did it cost to put in charges for that fleet?
Nobody ever talks about that. Nobody ever tells what it cost to put that charger in their garage, like it is not a cost of transportation.

My home charger was free from Ford and cost me $400 for a licensed electrician to install with 100 amp 240 breaker and wire. Grossly overkill.
I could have gotten by with 60 amp circuit, lower power charger and installed myself.
My 2015 F150 Lariat crew with ecoboost got 16.5 mpg. Local regular is $3.699 per gallon. Convenient arithmetic says 20¢ per mile. Same driving, same terrain, my Lightning averages 2.0 miles per kWh. I pay 21.5¢ per kWh (all inclusive, taxes, fees, recover costs). Let’s say 11¢ per mile. Ignoring maintenance savings, I pocket 9¢ per mile. On 10,000 miles per year, $900.
The local electricity provider, Duquesne Light, has several Lightning Pro, no way they pay 21.5¢ per kWh and those truck probably done more than 10,000 miles per year.
$2600 over 3 years? Somebody is lowballing.

 

[Galactus55]

It’s a sales pitch. Nothing more, nothing less.



“Every morning, mine is topped up with 300 miles of range.”

This is a misleading statement, imo, as anyone who understands current battery chemistry used in the lighting batteries would never top off the battery daily

Sorry but I disagree with your claim, I understand the battery chemistry. I plug in each night, and enjoy 475ish Klm each morning. All good

 

[PreservedSwine]

Sorry but I disagree with your claim, I understand the battery chemistry. I plug in each night, and enjoy 475ish Klm each morning. All good

By all means.
However, and not to hijack the thread (there are a plethora on this subject) I would urge you to do your research about charging to 100% daily unless the range is absolutely necessary, and you plan on keeping the truck a significant amount of time.

 

[Toby57]

My home charger was free from Ford and cost me $400 for a licensed electrician to install with 100 amp 240 breaker and wire. Grossly overkill.
I could have gotten by with 60 amp circuit, lower power charger and installed myself.
My 2015 F150 Lariat crew with ecoboost got 16.5 mpg. Local regular is $3.699 per gallon. Convenient arithmetic says 20¢ per mile. Same driving, same terrain, my Lightning averages 2.0 miles per kWh. I pay 21.5¢ per kWh (all inclusive, taxes, fees, recover costs). Let’s say 11¢ per mile. Ignoring maintenance savings, I pocket 9¢ per mile. On 10,000 miles per year, $900.
The local electricity provider, Duquesne Light, has several Lightning Pro, no way they pay 21.5¢ per kWh and those truck probably done more than 10,000 miles per year.
$2600 over 3 years? Somebody is lowballing.

Didn't mean to upset anyone, I hope I didn't.
Did the free charger call for a 100 amp circuit? Or at the time did you think you needed 100 amp?
The $2600 over three years I also thought was low balling. That is why I mentioned it. He doesn't say how he got the number. Misinformation.
My F 150 has averaged 21.4 MPG for over 100,000 miles. Cost per mile a few years ago was $0.114 and has climbed to $0.130. In March of 2024 I bought four or five tanks of premium at $3.699 but I will admit paying that much per gallon is very rare for me.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Didn't mean to upset anyone, I hope I didn't.
Did the free charger call for a 100 amp circuit? Or at the time did you think you needed 100 amp?
The $2600 over three years I also thought was low balling. That is why I mentioned it. He doesn't say how he got the number. Misinformation.
My F 150 has averaged 21.4 MPG for over 100,000 miles. Cost per mile a few years ago was $0.114 and has climbed to $0.130. In March of 2024 I bought four or five tanks of premium at $3.699 but I will admit paying that much per gallon is very rare for me.

The 80 amp charger required 100 amp circuit breaker. But 80 amps is way more than needed. But you don’t know that at the time.
Roads here in western PA are not conducive to good gas mileage. The hills are steep and winding. The 16.5 mpg is indicative of my driving style and road conditions. I just meant that it’s equivalent to 2 miles per kWh that I see on the Lightning.
Just another data point. We drive 3 or 4 times per year from Pittsburgh to northern VA to visit kids and grandkids. About 250 miles each way. I charge to 90% the night before we leave and stop at EA in Bedford off the PA turnpike. We spend about half hour charging and pit stop for bathroom and food. I’m too cowardly to try a straight run. Probably would have to stop in Leesburg anyway.
I would be the first to say EV’s are not for everyone. Yet.

 

[Galactus55]

By all means.
However, and not to hijack the thread (there are a plethora on this subject) I would urge you to do your research about charging to 100% daily unless the range is absolutely necessary, and you plan on keeping the truck a significant amount of time.

Thanks for the concern and I agree, but I'm not charging to 100% .
100% for me = 515ish klm.

 

[Green1]

It’s a sales pitch. Nothing more, nothing less.



“Every morning, mine is topped up with 300 miles of range.”

This is a misleading statement, imo, as anyone who understands current battery chemistry used in the lighting batteries would never top off the battery daily, and, imo, is the first of many clues Jim is doing his job as a salesman, and misleading those who don’t know any better. I love my lightning, but owning it has made me keenly aware of its strengths and weaknesses.

This is hardly misleading, keep in mind that Ford sets the vehicle from the factory to charge to 100% at all times. Nowhere do they tell you not to, nowhere do they tell you to lower that. Sure, WE all know you should, but the average truck buyer is never going to change that setting and will charge to 100% every single night.

 

[marc_hanna]

Based on real world numbers, I’m trending towards 580kms (360 miles) on this charge. I’m planning on running it down to 10% to see what the final result is.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Yeah, I bought the truck for its technology. Greeness was a secondary consideration. But I expected Ford and the American people to support more electrification, increasing charging station availability, etc. While having avoided American cars all my adult life after starting out with a 1974 Chevy Vega, I kinda hoped Ford with electric vehicles was turning over a new page in the American automotive experience (my father grew up with Fords and we only owned Fords through most of my childhood). Maybe my expectations were as naive as expecting the U.S. to adequately maintain its bridge, dam, and highway infrastructure ....

So while my Lightning is a great vehicle. I love it and am glad I bought it, my experience with Ford as a company, its dealerships and supply chain, and the progress of charging infrastructure leaves me doubting that American society and infrastructure have what it takes to "make the grade."

I think global warming is not just different sides of political opinion. It's reality. Especially living in San Antonio, TX, which has gotten noticeably warmer in the 35 years that I've lived here (most of the hottest summers on record here have been in the last 10 years). You put lots of CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, things are going to get hotter over time. Basic physics.

As far as making money by being a net exporter of oil and gas, that does two things. It helps contribute to the aforementioned CO2 problem. And #2, if oil and gas are very valuable resources, it's exporting our patrimony for short-term gain only to come up empty-handed that much sooner in the long run. A common problem on all sides of American politics: trying to take the here-and-now to the bank, not considering long-term effects enough.

When I was a college student, I was schooled in looking at the boundary conditions of a problem. Where does a process end up if you let it go on a long, long time? If you do that with Ford, it largely gave up on cars and makes money selling big, relatively gas-guzzling trucks. That can't last forever as oil and natural gas are finite resources rapidly being consumed. Other automotive enterprises that rely more on smaller, more gas-conserving vehicles will do better on into the future unless Ford changes its ways (Toyota, for example, is only selling hybrid Camrys from 2025 and beyond, will no longer sell V6 Camrys, etc.). If there is a societal demand to minimize global warming and to conserve valuable natural resources as long as possible into the future, Ford will need to change its way of doing business or face increasing difficulties as things get hotter and gas gets scarcer and more expensive. There are no politics in the temperature your thermometer reads or the amounts of oil and natural gas that Nature happened to leave in the ground around the world.

Edit_Update: Again, no politics, just data. Annual CO₂ emissions (ourworldindata.org)

 

[PreservedSwine]

This is hardly misleading, keep in mind that Ford sets the vehicle from the factory to charge to 100% at all times. Nowhere do they tell you not to, nowhere do they tell you to lower that. Sure, WE all know you should, but the average truck buyer is never going to change that setting and will charge to 100% every single night.

Ford Lighting FAQ recommends charging to 90% daily

https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/

 

[Green1]

Ford Lighting FAQ recommends charging to 90% daily

https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/

And where is that on the dashboard? The centre screen? A label on the charger?
It's in none of those places. It's nowhere the average person will ever see it.

 

[shutterbug]

“Every morning, mine is topped up with 300 miles of range.”

This is a misleading statement, imo, as anyone who understands current battery chemistry used in the lighting batteries would never top off the battery daily, and, imo, is the first of many clues Jim is doing his job as a salesman, and misleading those who don’t know any better. I love my lightning, but owning it has made me keenly aware of its strengths and weaknesses.

It's not misleading at all. I plug in every time I get home. I have it currently set to 70%. So every morning I am set.

 

[PreservedSwine]

It's not misleading at all. I plug in every time I get home. I have it currently set to 70%. So every morning I am set.

I don’t know if you’re just playing semantics or genuinely believe Jim isn’t suggesting to charge to 100% daily?
If 70% if your range is 300 miles, congratulations.

But for simplicity’s sake, Jim drives a Platinum, which has an estimated range of 300 miles. He charges 300 miles every night.

Is he suggesting to charge to 100% daily?

I believe that’s exactly what he’s suggesting.

 

[Green1]

I don’t know if you’re just playing semantics or genuinely believe Jim isn’t suggesting to charge to 100% daily?
If 70% if your range is 300 miles, congratulations.

But for simplicity’s sake, Jim drives a Platinum, which has an estimated range of 300 miles. He charges 300 miles every night.

Is he suggesting to charge to 100% daily?

I believe that’s exactly what he’s suggesting.

If Ford didn't want you charging to 100% every night, that wouldn't be the default when it comes from the factory. If you set a charging location for home, it also wouldn't default to 100% and if you were always charging to 100%, the truck would let you know that it wasn't a good idea.
As it is, the truck makes you jump through all sorts of hoops if you don't want to charge to 100%, 100% is the default and anything else is hard to set up.

I'm not saying that's actually a good idea. And I don't charge to 100% nightly, but it's very obvious that that's what Ford wants you to do, and what the vast majority of buyers will do.

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