Where will your Lightning strike?

[bboy_72]

I have ordered from a dealer 9 hours from my home (best pricing I could find). When the truck comes in (I ordered within 15 minutes of reservations opening). My 10 year old son and I will drive my current car to the dealer, trade it in and get the new truck and have a father-son road trip. I owe it to him and his future to help support this EV transition. We currently have roof and solar panels and contract with our local power company to get our grid power from renewables. One person doing this is a small thing, but I feel it’s the least I can do for him. Yes, I know that I am wasting a lot of energy driving that far, but it’s probably the last time that he will be excited to be in a car with his dad for 18 hours- i’ll take that opportunity where I can get it!

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[Nick Gerteis]

My sister’s family and I had a late summer tent camping trip around the Great Lakes planned for 2020, couldn’t do it bc Covid hit. Rescheduled for 2021, you guessed it, had to cancel again due to Covid. Hopefully it’ll happen next year, and hopefully I’ll be able to chauffeur them around in the Lightning instead of having to rent a gas guzzling Suburban. That would be the silver lining coming out of all these delays. Fingers crossed that the third time will be the charm, and that Ford will be able to deliver by, like, August. I’m excited!

 

[Walle1jm]

We love going to northern MI, so I look forward to seeing how it will do in some snowy drives and just being in nature with no engine noise. I also expect to get a good feel for it on one of our semi-frequent, at least before COVID, trips between our home and Indianapolis. We have a lot of friends/family there and like the area. It's a trip I know extremely well, so any time I get a new vehicle I like to compare the trip comfort.

My current '21 has been the best by far. My 2019 F-150 Lariat was great, but a combination of the nicer ride of the '21, lane centering and intelligent adaptive cruise, and higher MPG from the PB made the most recent trip a winner. The Lightning has heavy competition but I think it is up for the challenge.

Same with us - can’t wait to take it to Northern MI, during all seasons. I think it will be fun to plan out where to stop and charge along the way. With a kid, stopping periodically is a given anyways, so I don’t expect it to be much of a nuisance compared to a quick gas fill up.

This will be my first truck (coming from 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee) so I’m super excited and can’t wait for 10/26 to see what configurations are available. I’m leaning towards Antimatter blue XLT+ with bluecruise.

 

[sotek2345]

Same with us - can’t wait to take it to Northern MI, during all seasons. I think it will be fun to plan out where to stop and charge along the way. With a kid, stopping periodically is a given anyways, so I don’t expect it to be much of a nuisance compared to a quick gas fill up.

This will be my first truck (coming from 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee) so I’m super excited and can’t wait for 10/26 to see what configurations are available. I’m leaning towards Antimatter blue XLT+ with bluecruise.

Sounds like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, as of right now (based on the survey's sent out and the spec sheet from Ford), Bluecruise won't be available on the XLT and Pro trims. From the picture we have seen, it looks like the driver facing camera is integrated with the 15.5" screen, so not available on the trims with the 12" screen.

That said, we will all have to see what the configurator says.

 

[Vulnox]

Sounds like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, as of right now (based on the survey's sent out and the spec sheet from Ford), Bluecruise won't be available on the XLT and Pro trims. From the picture we have seen, it looks like the driver facing camera is integrated with the 15.5" screen, so not available on the trims with the 12" screen.

That said, we will all have to see what the configurator says.

Yeah, I am hoping they change some of the options they have currently, like only getting the B&O Unleashed on Platinum, that just makes zero sense for a feature that is part of the Lariat trim on the ICE truck.

 

[sotek2345]

Yeah, I am hoping they change some of the options they have currently, like only getting the B&O Unleashed on Platinum, that just makes zero sense for a feature that is part of the Lariat trim on the ICE truck.

Some people just must be way bigger audiophiles than I can imagine. The base stereo in my 2016 XLT sounds great to me and I can't image spending more for a better set of speakers.

 

[lancersrock]

Some people just must be way bigger audiophiles than I can imagine. The base stereo in my 2016 XLT sounds great to me and I can't image spending more for a better set of speakers.

At one time premium audio was a huge part of my decision making but now I just listen to podcasts and audiobooks so it doesn't matter lol. As long as it's clear and easy to understand.

 

[shutterbug]

Some people just must be way bigger audiophiles than I can imagine. The base stereo in my 2016 XLT sounds great to me and I can't image spending more for a better set of speakers.

Or as Billy Joel said:

Don't waste your money on a new set of speakers,​

You get more mileage from a cheap pair of sneakers.​

The man was a PROPHET 40 years ago

 

[Vulnox]

At one time premium audio was a huge part of my decision making but now I just listen to podcasts and audiobooks so it doesn't matter lol. As long as it's clear and easy to understand.

That is exactly why I want the Unleashed. I rarely listen to music any more, it is either Podcasts, Audiobooks, or audio only Kitboga from Twitch (calls and messes with scammers, it's good fun). The Unleashed systems additional speakers, especially headrest speakers, makes spoken word listening so much better compared to my B&O system in my 2019.

I don't feel the B&O Unleashed is bad or anything special when listening to music, but I have certainly noticed an improvement with exactly the kind of media you reference and I think a kind of hidden way it shines.

 

[EVBill]

We love going to northern MI, so I look forward to seeing how it will do in some snowy drives and just being in nature with no engine noise. I also expect to get a good feel for it on one of our semi-frequent, at least before COVID, trips between our home and Indianapolis. We have a lot of friends/family there and like the area. It's a trip I know extremely well, so any time I get a new vehicle I like to compare the trip comfort.

My current '21 has been the best by far. My 2019 F-150 Lariat was great, but a combination of the nicer ride of the '21, lane centering and intelligent adaptive cruise, and higher MPG from the PB made the most recent trip a winner. The Lightning has heavy competition but I think it is up for the challenge.

Worst part about traveling from Detroit Metro to Indy will be the lack of DC fast charging stations for the trip, especially if you take US23 South to Toledo and then US24 across Ohio to Fort Wayne to hit I-69 South to Indy. Only reasonably accessible DC fast charger on that route is at the Harley Davidson Dealership in Napoleon, Ohio that is roughly half way or less on the trip. I make the trip from roughly Novi in Michigan to Kokomo or Noblesville in Indiana several times a year and that appears my best option for adding enough additional range to make the full trip. Once I know the portable charging unit I will use for traveling, I will add a 220V outlet next to the sub panel in my dad's second garage to have a location to charge at the final destination that will help.

 

[EVBill]

I will probably consider doing the lighthouse loop of Michigan's lower peninsula one year and then the upper peninsula the following year. Will be a lot lower cost than doing it in my 2002 GMC Sierra 2500HD that gets 11-13 mpg that the Lightning will be replacing.

 

[Vulnox]

Worst part about traveling from Detroit Metro to Indy will be the lack of DC fast charging stations for the trip, especially if you take US23 South to Toledo and then US24 across Ohio to Fort Wayne to hit I-69 South to Indy. Only reasonably accessible DC fast charger on that route is at the Harley Davidson Dealership in Napoleon, Ohio that is roughly half way or less on the trip. I make the trip from roughly Novi in Michigan to Kokomo or Noblesville in Indiana several times a year and that appears my best option for adding enough additional range to make the full trip. Once I know the portable charging unit I will use for traveling, I will add a 220V outlet next to the sub panel in my dad's second garage to have a location to charge at the final destination that will help.

The 23/24 route you mentioned is what we use most lately. Funny you mention Kokomo as I started going there before Indianapolis because my dad lived in Russiaville outside of Kokomo.

I thought there were chargers along that route for DC, but that sucks if not. Hopefully there are some in the works, we almost always stop at Defiance and that area is built up enough it doesn't seem like a stretch to have something put in there. Maybe I need to find some cheap land there and do it myself.

 

[EVBill]

The 23/24 route you mentioned is what we use most lately. Funny you mention Kokomo as I started going there before Indianapolis because my dad lived in Russiaville outside of Kokomo.

I thought there were chargers along that route for DC, but that sucks if not. Hopefully there are some in the works, we almost always stop at Defiance and that area is built up enough it doesn't seem like a stretch to have something put in there. Maybe I need to find some cheap land there and do it myself.

The Defiance is where I usually stop 70-80% of the time. Unfortunately there are not any DC fast chargers located there yet. I would expect over time you will see some DC fast chargers added at the truck stops on US24 near the Indiana/Ohio state line and then where I-469 and US30 intersect on the East side of Fort Wayne.

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