Why Range (still) matters.

[Adventureboy]

I disagree. I've road tripped both. While the Mach-E has an efficiency benefit, charging from 10 to 80% or 90% will go quicker in the Lightning. The Lightning is more comfortable because of the size of the cabin.

So, you have to make a decision. Comfort or cost.

See my last. It is truly dependent on the chargers you have access to. We have very few 350kw chargers here where the Lightning can take advantage of its capable charge rates.

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[Joe.....Montana]

The range vs charger debate is the same coin viewed from different sides. More range negates the need for more chargers....more chargers negates the need for more range. So here's the question, which is more cost effective? Ford trying to develop vehicles that get more range or Ford possibly installing more chargers? What if Ford had two fast chargers installed at every dealership? I know my perspective is skewed living in Montana. If every Ford dealership had two high speed chargers in Montana it would be an incredible help. I also wonder if the revenue generated from charging would help dealerships off set the lost maintenance cost on EV's. Dealerships would also have the opportunity to try and sell a new vehicle to the EV customer the way they do now with service departments. I believe it would reduce anxiety for new EV owners knowing they can always find a charger at their "friendly" Ford dealer and they can be shown how to charge on site.

 

[invertedspear]

What if Ford had two fast chargers installed at every dealership?

This was a goal of the Model-E thing Ford was trying to do. But they cut a bunch of the teeth out of that plan. It's a shame, but yeah, It would be a huge selling point to have at least 150kW chargers at every dealership. I don't know how Ford didn't foresee their dealers as a barrier to this plan. They should just fund the chargers from corporate, and make it a requirement that dealers provide an easy to find, 24/7 accessible space for the charger to be set up.

 

[JRT]

Charge locations must be for travel routes and convenient. Going miles off primary travel roads is terrible. For the most part, Tesla has done this correctly vs the BS that EA and others are doing.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

This was a goal of the Model-E thing Ford was trying to do. But they cut a bunch of the teeth out of that plan. It's a shame, but yeah, It would be a huge selling point to have at least 150kW chargers at every dealership. I don't know how Ford didn't foresee their dealers as a barrier to this plan. They should just fund the chargers from corporate, and make it a requirement that dealers provide an easy to find, 24/7 accessible space for the charger to be set up.

I thought I remember a while back that Ford said if a dealer wanted to sell EVs they were going to have to install a certain number of chargers in a certain time span. Maybe I am misremembering, maybe that plan changed, or maybe both. LOL One thing that would help is for the dealers to have them in a readily viewable area. Our local dealer has it hidden around the corner, in an area where they have used cars parked and more times than not there is a used car parked in front of it.

 

[Grease Lightning]

This was a goal of the Model-E thing Ford was trying to do. But they cut a bunch of the teeth out of that plan. It's a shame, but yeah, It would be a huge selling point to have at least 150kW chargers at every dealership. I don't know how Ford didn't foresee their dealers as a barrier to this plan. They should just fund the chargers from corporate, and make it a requirement that dealers provide an easy to find, 24/7 accessible space for the charger to be set up.

That was the big miss. Ford Corp should have paid for the DCFC chargers. That would have been a huge help.

I was in Corvallis (Go Beavs and PAC-2) and drove past their Ford dealer as they just recently installed one. Guess what the charger was blocked by repair cars and tow truck drop offs. So even with those that do, need to ensure they are open to the public to actually use.

I have seen similar at a number of LVL 2 stations at dealers as I drove around last year.

 

[BabyDoc1012]

I think with the recent firings of the Supercharger team at Tesla, we are going to see EA, EVgo, and the others that have struggled with operability of chargers get a lot better as they, hopefully, scoop up the talent that has given Tesla such the advantage.

I think as more EVs come on line we are going to start seeing gas station style charging locations pop-up. When you watch the one video from the Lightning Intro it showed a Lighting pulling up to something very similar that was branded at Electrify America. You must think that is something that is coming down the pipeline if EA allowed them to use an image like that.

 

[Ffxdude]

Charge locations must be for travel routes and convenient. Going miles off primary travel roads is terrible. For the most part, Tesla has done this correctly vs the BS that EA and others are doing.

Exactly, many Tesla locations are easy in, easy out, right off the highway. Pull in plug in and charge. Much less charging overhead time.

 

[Pioneer74]

See my last. It is truly dependent on the chargers you have access to. We have very few 350kw chargers here where the Lightning can take advantage of its capable charge rates.

The Tesla 250kW chargers act like the 350kW EA chargers with respect to the Mach-E and Lightning. Same charge curve, same peak charge rate.

On our recent trip to Norfolk, I really wanted to take the Lightning, but I knew I needed the smaller footprint of the Mach-E to navigate the hotel parking garage in Virginia Beach. We needed, at one charger, to charge to 87% to reach the next charger with a 10% cushion. 70% to 87% was brutal.

 

[FANTIEPEI1]

I had the same problem at the beginning of April. I filed a complaint with the BBB when customer support said they couldn't refund me the difference between full rate and the pass+ rate. I'm very annoyed at EA right now.

I had the same issue trying to make it back home from the DC to New England on saturday may 4th. Ev was a completely frustrating experience. I had the same issue trying to connect or I would arrive at a charging station only to find 2 out of the 4 chargers working. I really thing that magic jack at more station would really be fix to my travel issue that I experienced this trip. Manly because I passed plenty of Tesla chargers that I couldn't use as I traveled mulitple miles off the of my travel route or highway to use the other chargers. I also agree that they should take advantage of more locations like the TXT stops on the highway or those rest stops that dont have gas stations and the on highway unmanned welcome centers that lots of parking spaces and a small building used for a bathroom and pamphlets on things to do in the area. I will say I don't know the logistics or politics that may be involved to make that a possibility but it would be nice if it was available

 

[Grease Lightning]

Charge locations must be for travel routes and convenient. Going miles off primary travel roads is terrible. For the most part, Tesla has done this correctly vs the BS that EA and others are doing.

Yes, with some exceptions. I would rather drive a mile or two in land from a highway if there is restaurants, bathrooms, and things to tide you over for 45 minutes.

We have a few DCFC locations up and down I-5 and Hwy 99 where literally they are there with a gas station from 1960 and might sell you a soda.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

I posed a question in a different thread that is relevant here. How many chargers do we need to get past the "charger availability anxiety" that people refer to in this thread. Assuming we made a full transition to EV's, I came up with a conservative estimate of 40-50 chargers every 50 miles on a moderately busy interstate. We have a long, long way to go.

 

[OtterJohn]

I was in Corvallis (Go Beavs and PAC-2) and drove past their Ford dealer as they just recently installed one. Guess what the charger was blocked by repair cars and tow truck drop offs.

We live in Philomath, and bought our Lightning from that dealership in Corvallis (well, they facilitated the order, anyway!). I check now and then on weekends (they're closed on Sundays) to see if it's improved. A few weeks ago it was exactly as you described, all stalls blocked by drop-offs (they had the poor judgement to place them right next to the service department/bays). Another weekend, they were 1/2 clear, with someone actually using one. So it's hit or miss for sure.

What also blows my mind is that there is only one charging station greater than 50kW within 20 miles of where I live. Corvallis is a college town, and there are a ton of EVs here of all brands. Yes, most people charge from home, but given how the population explodes during the school year and football season, you'd think someone would install a DCFC at I5 and Hwy 34 at the very least. Talk about lucrative!

 

[Maineiac12]

Range doesn’t matter as much TO US. We’re all early adopters who know what we signed up for. The general public wants an experience that is more in line with how they operate their gas vehicles. Until we get there, we’ll have a harder time with mass adoption of EVs.

And I’d argue that range still matters if you travel anywhere off the interstate. I’ve found chargers are pretty good along the interstate but availability really drops off when you get away from the major highways. Until chargers are as ubiquitous as gas stations, range still matters.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

My experience with our 2022 Mustang Mach-E:
For our road trips that involve going from one city to another or to national parks, range matters, and charging availability matters just as much.

Expectation with the Lightning:
For our boondocking camping trips, range matters more.

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