what's your disappointment so far on what Ford Lightning has to offer

[RidetheLightning]

No one 'needs' to power their home's air conditioning system or oven or clothes dryer during 'trying times'... few things other than computers, internet modem, cell phones, fans, and the fridge will 'need' power.

I get where you're coming from, but you probably forgot to mention portable air conditioning units needing to be connected by extension cords at a minimum to the F150L in places like Phoenix or Portland where it got to 116 degrees this summer and 54 people died. If there were a power outage in these places, an extension cord connected from an F150L to a portable or window AC unit and/or a CPAP machine could literally mean the difference between life and death.

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[DadBald]

My biggest disappointment is the ER entry price.

I'm also irked by the bundling of features and exorbitant price bumps for said bundles.

 

[jredondox]

The platinum and that gray interior ?

 

[Tony Burgh]

I get where you're coming from, but you probably forgot to mention portable air conditioning units needing to be connected by extension cords at a minimum to the F150L in places like Phoenix or Portland where it got to 116 degrees this summer and 54 people died. If there were a power outage in these places, an extension cord connected from an F150L to a portable or window AC unit and/or a CPAP machine could literally mean the difference between life and death.

In that situation, there are better places to spend your $80 grand than on an electric truck.

 

[rdr854]

In that situation, there are better places to spend your $80 grand than on an electric truck.

But, the Lightning has capabilities that conventional trucks do not. For some, it is the secure storage in the Frunk. For others it is being used as a power source on a job site or out in the middle of nowhere. And others will make use of the power generation capabilities if they don’t have reliable electric service. From that lease, the Lightning is not merely an $80K generator. Rather, it is an $80K truck that has capabilities that other conventional trucks do not. For me, trading in my Suburban is worthwhile because the Lightning will give me capabilities that my Suburban could not. I will have a secure trunk up front for thing I do not want prying eyes to see and a bed in the back for dirty loads such as yard waste that I would not dream of putting inside a Suburban. Thus, the Lightning will be more versatile than my Suburban - which btw - I like very much.

 

[Tony Burgh]

But, the Lightning has capabilities that conventional trucks do not. For some, it is the secure storage in the Frunk. For others it is being used as a power source on a job site or out in the middle of nowhere. And others will make use of the power generation capabilities if they don’t have reliable electric service. From that lease, the Lightning is not merely an $80K generator. Rather, it is an $80K truck that has capabilities that other conventional trucks do not. For me, trading in my Suburban is worthwhile because the Lightning will give me capabilities that my Suburban could not. I will have a secure trunk up front for thing I do not want prying eyes to see and a bed in the back for dirty loads such as yard waste that I would not dream of putting inside a Suburban. Thus, the Lightning will be more versatile than my Suburban - which btw - I like very much.

If you need backup power for life support as previous comment insinuated, betting on the Lightning with only partial information available at this time is ludicrous. A $1500 generator makes much more sense. But if i was betting my life, I’d spend a lot more for the security on a well defined generator and less on a new vehicle. And my Lightning should be delivered by June, per salesman. That’s a long time to wait for backup power.

 

[Diabolical!]

My disappointment? Getting psyched for ER only for it to start at nearly $75k, then convincing myself that I can make do with a pro only for Ford to yank the option out from under me. At this point, there is nothing that hasn't disappointed me.

 

[rdr854]

If you need backup power for life support as previous comment insinuated, betting on the Lightning with only partial information available at this time is ludicrous. A $1500 generator makes much more sense. But if i was betting my life, I’d spend a lot more for the security on a well defined generator and less on a new vehicle. And my Lightning should be delivered by June, per salesman. That’s a long time to wait for backup power.

I am fortunate that we lose power very rarely. Generally, it is because a car hits a power pole down the street from us. My reasons for a Lightning have nothing to do with power backup for the house and quite frankly, we will not implement that feature even though I am purchasing an Extended Range vehicle since it is not worth the cost. If we find ourselves in a situation where I need to go someplace with power to have heat or operate a medical device, we will get a hotel room or go to a friend‘s or relative‘s house (assuming that they have power).

 

[techguydave]

My disappointment? Getting psyched for ER only for it to start at nearly $75k, then convincing myself that I can make do with a pro only for Ford to yank the option out from under me. At this point, there is nothing that hasn't disappointed me.

That's where I'm at. This has been death by a thousand papercuts. Individually (or even just a few selectively), the issues with the marketing and reservation process aren't too bad. But the sum of it all makes for an extremely disappointing feeling for me personally.

It wouldn't hurt as much if they didn't claim that they learned their lesson from the Bronco. Yet here we are, watching them screw it up in new and fascinating ways.

 

[jredondox]

That's where I'm at. This has been death by a thousand papercuts. Individually (or even just a few selectively), the issues with the marketing and reservation process aren't too bad. But the sum of it all makes for an extremely disappointing feeling for me personally.

It wouldn't hurt as much if they didn't claim that they learned their lesson from the Bronco. Yet here we are, watching them screw it up in new and fascinating ways.

Screwing it up Is the ford way ?

 

[RidetheLightning]

I think some people complaining about the cost of ER and the battery backup (yes, the truck is expensive, but look at everything it does) would be amazed to see what some guys are paying per kWh on the Tesla Powerwall forums. I got a single powerwall myself due to emergency backup benefits and solar storage/state rebates and tax incentives, and it has already more than paid for itself. I've used the emergency backup power on a bunch of occasions, most notably when a car took down a utility pole here and we were the only house on the block with power. Yes, forcing people to pay $75k for ER sucks, no argument there if you don't want the whole enchilada.

Powerwall is 13.5 kWh, and F-150L Pro is 98 kWh. Powerwall costs around $8500 per unit average in a multiple battery installation, and there are 7.26 Powerwalls in a $40k Pro, 9.7 in the cheapest extended range truck at $75k. I'm too lazy at the moment to figure out the full intelligent power backup install cost, but a F150L Pro sized Powerwall install would cost $62k, an extended range F150L sized Powerwall about $82k, and you can't pick up the kids from soccer practice in a Powerwall. Sure, you may not need all that backup power, but in extreme cases it could be nice, and you can always have a beater car or rent/carshare a car if you need to leave the truck at home backing up the house. Eventually Ford should be able to to time of use load shifting like the Powerwall:https://www.slashgear.com/ford-f-150-lightning-is-a-tesla-powerwall-on-wheels-19673534/

 

[RickLightning]

The biggest flaw in the usage of the Lightning, or even on the hybrid and ICE F-150s, as a power backup is that the vehicle must be at the home, and plugged in, to provide power. And of course the hybrid and ICE vehicles must be out of the garage to run.

Then you add that each vehicle needs to be fueled up, regardless of fuel type.

Sure, if I was in a high cost electricity area, where it made financial sense to run the house during the day off the truck, then recharge at night, that might be interesting. But there's few communities in the US that are in that situation.

I'm interested in the Lightning, and the ability to power my house when the truck is at home. But if you want reliable backup power, then a generator, or a combination of solar and batteries, is the only way to go.

 

[Diabolical!]

I think some people complaining about the cost of ER and the battery backup (yes, the truck is expensive, but look at everything it does) would be amazed to see what some guys are paying per kWh on the Tesla Powerwall forums.

Guys like me who already have a whole-home Generac and wanted to use the lightning as a truck and not a generator are still bitterly disappointed by Ford's bait and switch.

 

[techguydave]

We have maybe two or three outages per year and crazy inexpensive electricity, even at the co-op renewable rate. I'm not interested in how good a deal this is versus a Powerwall. It's a nice feature to be sure, but I'm buying this thing to be a vehicle.

 

[playjack]

For now I grudgingly ordered a Lariat (changed of my original plan!) w/ ER to avail the moon roof but still has a few months to change my mind. $30K for a moon roof is obviously too much but with other exclusive features (especially the smoked quartz color- Iove this color!) that comes with it, make one feel a little less violated or a better word is taken advantage of, plus I am in my late 50's and maybe its time to reward myself too.

Here's my other gripes that is on top of the exorbitant upgrade money I need to shell out and the guilt that i am patronizing wastful features that I will not use or can afford to not have which just unnecessarily increases the carbon footprints of my truck. I am buying a supposedly the latest EV if not one of the latest and the low voltage choice or adapted by Ford us already obsolete! With Chevy's ev truck in a high voltage battery platform, it feels F150 is "previous iteration model" battery-wise. The charging time Savings is something design Engr should put as priority and I believe this is one of the top design driving attributes of newer EV coming out.
True Ford and Purdue University has this seemingly cool (no pun intended) cable invention but by the looks of it, IMO Ford isn't really in the right path of making a "green" truck if they are to go this route. After all, the main reason for ev, is to save mother earth.

https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/...NV6dtBPAnUeOF1K2UAb096b1mmPo6Wpb9B4V-trlaec-0
The way i understand this technology is that this cable needs a cooling/refrigeration system to take off the heat generated by high Amps on cable which will mean another quantity of energy to use just to charge. That will be a dumb approach to a problem if you are to account the total energy consumed.
.....Rant over.....

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