Farley believes he knows how to beat the Chinese on EVs

[Newton]

All of this discussion about what an EV truck can do or not do overlooks the fact that the Lightning is a very mediocre attempt at an EV. They really did nothing to make it more efficient (such as a mechanism to disconnect the AWD when not needed or using a different type of motor) or to charge faster. Mine does not even have a heat pump, which even my e-Golf has! It was a great attempt at hitting the market first and I think it worked well, but you can’t really draw conclusions about what a modern EV truck can do from their experience. My E-Golf has a 120 mile range and can only be fast charged once a day at a low speed. Oh no, EV sedans can’t possibly work!

In contrast my EV6 charges in about 10 minutes in real life and does about 3.5-4.0 mi/kWh. I know it is not a truck but then you look at the Silverado and wonder why Ford can’t do that. Batteries are getting much less expensive as more lithium producers come online.

It annoys me a bit that the stuff that the Lightning “can’t do” has a lot of overlap with stuff that an F-150 shouldn’t do. The F-150 is marketed as a “tow your 30 foot airstream” truck but see what reaction you get if you pull into an RV lot with one. If you do serious towing, the F-150 is exactly the wrong truck. Putting a range extender on a Lightning isn’t going to turn it into an F-350 with a gooseneck.

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[NW Ontario Ford Lightning]

It annoys me a bit that the stuff that the Lightning “can’t do” has a lot of overlap with stuff that an F-150 shouldn’t do. The F-150 is marketed as a “tow your 30 foot airstream” truck but see what reaction you get if you pull into an RV lot with one. If you do serious towing, the F-150 is exactly the wrong truck. Putting a range extender on a Lightning isn’t going to turn it into an F-350 with a gooseneck.

I did a search: this is what it says about pick up truck owners:
In the United States, pickup trucks are a major source of revenue for car manufacturers, and they account for a significant portion of total vehicle sales. However, most pickup truck owners don't use their trucks for work or hauling.

I agree, for towing, a 3/4ton or 1-ton is the truck of choice. I love my Lightning but I bought it for use near the home-base for home charging overnight (at 2.9Cents per kWh) not for long distance towing and Fast charging (at 42 cents per kWh). But like a lot of folks, I am sure I am not alone in having both EV and ICE vechicles at home, and picking the right one for the task at hand.

 

[Newton]

We got rid of most of our gas vehicles, we have one garage princess (that *I* wouldn’t mind selling) and a single cab long bed beater pickup for hauling rocks and garbage. It would be electric if something like that existed and cost less than $15,000. Driving gas is almost painful, certainly when I start up the garage princess I hear about fumes in the house.

For longer range I use the EV6, although it turns out that the really long trips are in the Lightning because it works fine for a relaxed trip. There is almost no difference on a long trip between driving the EV6 and the Audi Q5 that we used to have. Yes, you could refill the Audi much faster but the total time at the ‘station’ tends to be the same when all is done. We charge instead of a rest stop. If EV chargers were more crowded that might not hold, but Kia is releasing their Tesla adapter soon.

That I why I say that the Lightning is a mediocre EV (although a great truck). On long trips I feel just a little that I am playing the EV game that I used to play with the E-Golf, in the EV6 the EVness is just not a factor.

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