Ford Cancels Model E Program, Letting All US Dealers Sell EVs

[thequackenbush]

Ranger would have also given them a Bronco EV, which is my dream vehicle.

The EV tech at my local major dealership told me, unprompted, that he had recently been to some huge EV tech convention and that the bronco was next in line for an EV reveal

Take that fwiw

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[Pjlightning]

I wasn’t saying the lightning doesn’t tow, or doesn’t tow well. It does all the truck things pretty well. But the range is an issue, and there are so many complaints about “how it doesn’t do truck things”. Which is ridiculous because if half of those saying that would get on this forum they would be proven wrong by some many of us on here. I’m considering getting a boat and towing it with mine. But it wouldn’t be a great testament because my local boat ramp is only a mile away LOL.

It also doesn’t help you have the YouTube channels like hoovies garage doing towing tests and then wildly complaining about how it’s so awful to tow with and can’t do truck stuff. Seriously the guy did it with the lightning, then sold the lightning because “it was so bad”, sold it, then went a bought a cyber truck and did a similar test with “similar” results and is selling it now.

But I just think a midsize truck or maverick would have been a better first entry into the market. But then again there will always be the haters out there just because it’s different and not what grandpa drove. LOL

What are you seeing for kWh/mile are you seeing towing the boat?

Agreed….so many seem content to just take shots at it…fair or not.

Knowing what the truck can do, and then putting it to work for a use case that’s a match, and this truck is really impressive.

to your question on kWh/mile….it’s probably around 1.5 if I had to guess. I didn’t do the towing today…..and I only tow a few times a year, but when I do, I love it.

 

[Newton]

I think a lot of people taking shots at the Lightning are asking it to do things that most people don't do with an F-150. If you are towing a box trailer or Airstream across the country over the Cascades and Rockies you want at least a diesel 250, I believe. I have owned pickup trucks for over 30 years and have towed something maybe twice. On the other hand I have carried tons of dirt, rocks, wood, drywall, garbage (lots of garbage), diesel, oil, trees, plants, and manure - along with a full bed of camping, kayaking and now air BnB'ing equipment.

The trailers in the campgrounds around here are dominated by 250s and 350s often with goosenecks. I think that is where people get confused, one use for a pickup is to tow with a big gooseneck hitch in the bed, but you will never see an F-150 doing that. It isn't the range, it is the design of the truck. The Lightning/F-150 is a generalist but the youtubers test it on tasks for the tow specialists.

 

[ctuan13]

Don’t even need a new one. They could bring back Mercury.

Honestly, as much as I personally didn't like the Mustang name being associated with the Mach-E, I wouldn't be as opposed to a Mercury Marauder EV, as long as it aimed to recreated the muscle luxo-boat that the 2003-2004 model was.

 

[Toby57]

I think a lot of people taking shots at the Lightning are asking it to do things that most people don't do with an F-150. If you are towing a box trailer or Airstream across the country over the Cascades and Rockies you want at least a diesel 250, I believe. I have owned pickup trucks for over 30 years and have towed something maybe twice. On the other hand I have carried tons of dirt, rocks, wood, drywall, garbage (lots of garbage), diesel, oil, trees, plants, and manure - along with a full bed of camping, kayaking and now air BnB'ing equipment.

The trailers in the campgrounds around here are dominated by 250s and 350s often with goosenecks. I think that is where people get confused, one use for a pickup is to tow with a big gooseneck hitch in the bed, but you will never see an F-150 doing that. It isn't the range, it is the design of the truck. The Lightning/F-150 is a generalist but the youtubers test it on tasks for the tow specialists.

I don't want to come across as a jerk here, but I think you are confused about a gooseneck and a fifth wheel. I have never seen a camper that was a goose neck. They are all fifth wheel.
A goose neck sits on top of a ball in the floor mounted just ahead of the rearend. A fifth wheel is mounted above the side rails. My son has a 2016 F150 with HDPP and a goose neck ball cut into the bed. It pulls his goose neck stock trailers, loaded or unloaded with cattle just fine.

 

[Scorpio3d]

Honestly, as much as I personally didn't like the Mustang name being associated with the Mach-E, I wouldn't be as opposed to a Mercury Marauder EV, as long as it aimed to recreated the muscle luxo-boat that the 2003-2004 model was.

Back in the day the (Mercury) Capri was just a Mustang with slightly different trim and features they could’ve easily brought that back.

 

[Scorpio3d]

It will take more than that.

Ford has relied on the dealership model for decades and decades.
(FYI must people don't realize dealers buy cars from Ford, hold them in inventory, and they resell them to consumers. When Ford sells a car, it is selling to the independent dealers aka Ford Dealers).

Ford sold 2 million vehicles last year to dealers. Ford Motor gross profit for the twelve months ending March 31, 2024 was $25 Billion. With a B. Ford won't blow up the dealership model this year, or next year. It is too profitable.

A separate EV brand (BlueOval?) might be needed, but IMO the Ford dealership model makes too much money for Ford to just kill it tomorrow.

The only reason Ford would not do that is the dealers would go nucking futs about that as well because they want to make profit on sales as well. Dealerships have multiple streams of income, their primary stream is service, but they do make money off of sales and have other incentives for volume. if Ford sold direct to customer, Ford would still make its profits, but the dealers would not make any which in essence would lower the cost of EV’s but the dealers would revolt!
Tesla has a direct to consumer model, but can’t sell them that way here in Texas even though they build them at a giga factory in this state!
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ly-sell-the-cars-it-builds-in-texas-to-texans

 

[Scorpio3d]

My dealer talked about the change when I bought my truck a month ago. It's a very small rural dealer. My truck was an unsold 22 demo. He told me the reason they didn't sell it was that they felt screwed over by Ford by the dealer requirements to sell EVs. Despite being in a deep red region, he said they are excited about EVs, partly because the dealer is within commuting distance from Blue Oval City. But he said they just couldn't afford the investment that Ford wanted and felt that some requirements were onerous and unnecessary. In particular they didn't like the changes in the pricing model for EVs. Ford told me they have to get their current EV inventory (my truck and a Mach E) off the books before they will send them EVs under the new model that mirrors the traditional sales model. So I came in at just the right time when they were motivated to sell.

I really think Ford's mistake was asking too much of dealers. I've heard they were asking for separate showrooms and sales staff, and even things like a particular brand of forklift to remove batteries. I think they should have just changed the pricing and purchasing process as a first step. No negotiation, no bogus addons, no sales pitches from the finance guy, etc. Just let me buy a car with an app please. Let the financial investment be limited to service equipment and training. I don't think dealers would have revolted as much.

I think the dealers just got greedy!!!
We are now back to pre-Covid type sales(incentives). The dealers seem to have forgotten how things were before and have not readjusted. There are many cars available so they are not able to rape their customers with all the dealer add on BS, market adjustment, etc. They were able to charge full MSRP and a lot of them selling much much higher then MSRP when the Lightning was new, and there was a shortage of new vehicles in general due to the supply chain constraints that we experienced after Covid!
These vehicles are still relatively new and they need the dealers for service as that seems to be the only option right now they just did not do a good job of training/educating the service techs and the dealers on EV’s IMHO. EV’s are here and are the future! The dealers and other independent service shops will grow and become more educated on servicing EV’s. I was not around when the model T and such became available to the masses, but I am sure similar problems were around back then. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and they are trying to play catch-up on the Service side and the Sales side.
-my two cents

 

[Bills R Electric]

The only reason Ford would not do that is the dealers would go nucking futs about that as well because they want to make profit on sales as well. Dealerships have multiple streams of income, their primary stream is service, but they do make money off of sales and have other incentives for volume. if Ford sold direct to customer, Ford would still make its profits, but the dealers would not make any which in essence would lower the cost of EV’s but the dealers would revolt!
Tesla has a direct to consumer model, but can’t sell them that way here in Texas even though they build them at a giga factory in this state!
https://www.greencarreports.com/new...ly-sell-the-cars-it-builds-in-texas-to-texans

What you say is true.

Dealers would revolt, and quite frankly dealers do still help Ford. Every vehicle Ford sells right now is to a dealer. Ford books it as a sale the day the dealer takes delivery, and Ford is paid upfront. The dealers have to finance them (floor planning) and takes the inventory carry risk.

I don't think Ford dealerships are going under in the next 2-3 years. Or the next 5.
And 10 years from now they might be some type of hybrid approach, but IMO dealers will have quite a few years to adjust. (Maybe they will start selling tires....LOL)

 

[Scorpio3d]

What you say is true.

Dealers would revolt, and quite frankly dealers do still help Ford. Every vehicle Ford sells right now is to a dealer. Ford books it as a sale the day the dealer takes delivery, and Ford is paid upfront. The dealers have to finance them (floor planning) and takes the inventory carry risk.

I don't think Ford dealerships are going under in the next 2-3 years. Or the next 5.
And 10 years from now they might be some type of hybrid approach, but IMO dealers will have quite a few years to adjust. (Maybe they will start selling tires....LOL)

They do sell tires or at least they used to so I assume they still do? Maybe not all of them?
I used to buy them from the dealer because they had pretty good prices, but it was not very convenient but nowadays, I guess nowhere is very convenient for tires!

 

[Bills R Electric]

They do sell tires or at least they used to so I assume they still do? Maybe not all of them?
I used to buy them from the dealer because they had pretty good prices, but it was not very convenient but nowadays, I guess nowhere is very convenient for tires!

They need to sell tires for ALL brands...and open up some bays just for people to drive off the street, pull in and buy tires.

It could be a way to replace "lost" service work as people slowly move to EVs.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

These vehicles are still relatively new and they need the dealers for service as that seems to be the only option right now they just did not do a good job of training/educating the service techs and the dealers on EV’s IMHO. EV’s are here and are the future! The dealers and other independent service shops will grow and become more educated on servicing EV’s. I was not around when the model T and such became available to the masses, but I am sure similar problems were around back then. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and they are trying to play catch-up on the Service side and the Sales side.
-my two cents

That is thing biggest “problem” with EVs they are still too new. Hybrids were/are easier to adjust to because they still have an engine. My reply to the standard argument about lack of charging, lack of range, etc. has always been that it is a new technology that will take time to become normalized. None of us were around for the introduction of mass produced vehicles. Essentially we are the robber barons of our time, the wealthy that can afford these “toys”. When Henry Ford decided to mass produce the model T there was not a gas station on every corner the next morning. The first owners of motor carriages had to not only carry gas cans but a mechanic with them just in case it broke down. We’ve all become accustomed to the ease of use that was developed over decades. It’ll be great to see what it looks like in 5-10 years with the rate of development and technology today.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

They need to sell tires for ALL brands...and open up some bays just for people to drive off the street, pull in and buy tires.

It could be a way to replace "lost" service work as people slowly move to EVs.

The dealerships around me don’t just sell to their specific franchise lid brand. They will sell to whom ever wants them. Just call and make an appointment. It’s actually good here because they advertise and so other dealers will undercut pricing. And I bought tires for the Sierra I owned at the time at the GMC dealership when I took it in for the regular oil change. Then a few weeks later replaced the tires on my wife’s expedition during regular maintenance as well. I put the exact same tire on the expedition as on the Sierra and the ford dealer was cheaper. Went back to GMC and they gave me a refund for the difference on mine.

 

[Solar_EE]

The Lightning was our first EV (purchased March '24). Since purchasing the Lightning I have been shopping all sorts of EV's (previously only took a deep dive into researching Tesla's). The "American" car companies shouldn't be worried about China, they should be worried about Kia and Hyundai.

You are right- I have a Hyundai Ioniq 6 along with my Lightning. Use the 300+ mile range Ioniq 6 for longer trips and the Lightning for around town, driving on the beach, and hauling. My Lightning has been fine but the Ioniq 6 suited me better than the glass roofed MachE. It seems like Ford was chasing the glass roof Model Y. I live in Maryland and most of the year don't want sun shining on my head plus the reduced headroom for a sunroof.

 

[RedLightning86]

It's unfortunate people dislike dealers so much. Our local Ford dealer rocks. I've bought 2 trucks (1 the Lightning) and a hybrid Escape from them. I like that they can do everything, not just EV, and that they work with us for whichever vehicle we get. And have a loaner if it's getting worked on! Our kids go to school together, and we see them around town. When I'm buying, I do my homework, know what a good price is, and never have any difficulty getting that from them. I'm in and out in a couple hours. at most; was faster with the preordered Lightning. And they shopped around for a loan at the lower rate I wanted, and new was out there, instead of only offering the Ford loan. But what they couldn't do, was build an expenseive 50 or 100 kw charger, that was never going to get used, when faster ones are at the Casino. Now they won't get "not shown" as an EV dealer because of that.

That said, it is funny that when I am on the road, if there isn't a DC fast charger 150 or faster, there is usually a couple Nissan or Toyota or Chevy dealers with 50 kw or faster chargers, in any mid-sized town of 10,000 or more. Ford is missing out on eyeball time there.

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