Lightning not so popular after all.

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The Article from Jalopnik

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From the article, "That doesn’t change the reality that people’s livelihoods depend on these vehicles, and every commercial application is different. Sure, an E-Transit sounds great for last-mile deliveries in the Northeast. But how useful is an F-150 Lightning going to be to a contractor in the Midwest who has to drive 60 miles to the next charging station?"

Forget the problem in the mid west. You could plan for the situation above if you have too.

What is going to happen in California during the Public Safety Power Shutoff ("PSPS") events that are becoming more common and lasting days in places. Suddenly having no power to recharge when you planned for it would be more than in inconvenience.
 
I'd like to know what the range is when dragging around a heavy trailer? Where is the charging station when on a job site? Hope someone has a portable generator? Charge up at the campground?
 
I'd like to know what the range is when dragging around a heavy trailer? Where is the charging station when on a job site? Hope someone has a portable generator? Charge up at the campground?
Nope. You can't do that either (well in a few years you won't be able to) in California. That generator will be banned.

 
I personally wear not getting good gas mileage as a badge of honor so forgive me for making fun of the person grabbing their double hopped IPA out of the front trunk (Frunk?) cooler in their Ford Lightning
 
Honestly, I'd be all over this Lighting if it would get the range figured out consistently. If they would come with 350 - 400 mi range MINIMUM - I'd be on that train considering I tow once in a blue moon AND put on less than 3,500 miles per year on average on my trucks.

You may ask, "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BUYING AN F350 TREMOR???"

Because I got a smokin' deal, I get tabs and plates at 80% cheaper than an F150/F250 in MN and because I can. It's my (2nd) dream truck! - First one is my 2011 Raptor (Molten Orange Screw) that I owned for 8 years and my buddy totaled it)

If I ever decide to sell, I don't believe I'll lose money.
 
I would have bought if they could have gotten them delivered in 2022. But my place in line put me in 2023-2024 and I needed a new truck sooner than that. So I bought a Tremor. But I expect my next truck will be electric.
 
Waiting for Kali to fall off in the Pacific... Then we can start over.
I have a feeling that 38 million people you don't like will be surfing to a neighborhood near you.
 
I very much considered a Lightning - but ultimately being a first adopter is pretty risky and it really just won't be suitable for towing any sort of distance. Where I live the charging network is also quite small so far. My workplace does however support electric cars and is adding chargers as more employees get electric vehicles - the idea of never having to pay for fuel is a massive bonus. Even if you did have to charge at home, it's so much cheaper than buying fuel it's pretty crazy.

One of the reasons I ended up going for a Tremor is that automakers have flat out said they aren't even looking at electric heavy duty trucks at this point as there's too much to overcome with current technology/limitations. That kind of future proofs a current purchase of a Super Duty and should make it easy to sell for the next 5-10 years.

Electric vehicles are the future whether people on here can accept it or not. It will be very interesting to see the technology become fully sorted so we know what battery life (and battery replacement) looks like and how the used market will work. It's all just kind of dicey right now...
 
I very much considered a Lightning - but ultimately being a first adopter is pretty risky and it really just won't be suitable for towing any sort of distance. Where I live the charging network is also quite small so far. My workplace does however support electric cars and is adding chargers as more employees get electric vehicles - the idea of never having to pay for fuel is a massive bonus. Even if you did have to charge at home, it's so much cheaper than buying fuel it's pretty crazy.

One of the reasons I ended up going for a Tremor is that automakers have flat out said they aren't even looking at electric heavy duty trucks at this point as there's too much to overcome with current technology/limitations. That kind of future proofs a current purchase of a Super Duty and should make it easy to sell for the next 5-10 years.

Electric vehicles are the future whether people on here can accept it or not. It will be very interesting to see the technology become fully sorted so we know what battery life (and battery replacement) looks like and how the used market will work. It's all just kind of dicey right now...

Agree with all of that. If I just needed/wanted a truck to do "truck things" around town and I wasn't concerned with towing or cross-country driving, I'd be looking at the Lightning for sure.

If Ford really wants to dominate the commercial/contractor market...they should make a tow-optimized hybrid version of the superduty. Doesn't need a huge battery..I'm mostly concerned about the first 5-10mph from a stop in regards to towing capacity (thus making the 3.55 a lot more attractive for the 7.3L to get best of both worlds between highway unloaded efficiency and tow rating) and the use of the generator as an on-site power source for power tools and the like. The F-150 hybrid is amazing in that respect and I think a superduty would be even more useful in that role. Plus it can power your home in a Texas blizzard :p

But yeah, a full-electric superduty really doesn't make much economic sense for development due to the energy density of current battery tech, the weight of the trucks, and the common use of superduties as tow vehicles.
 
Although not my cup of tea....my salesman said he sold 10 of these in the 1st week they became available to order.
He said they were all people that would not be using them for work.
 
Don't know what changed between the Jalopnik article and now, but apparently demand is incredibly high for the Lightning?


Alternatively, perhaps the Jalopnik article was focused specifically on commercial customers, where demand is low, but non-commercial is really high?
 
Don't know what changed between the Jalopnik article and now, but apparently demand is incredibly high for the Lightning?


Alternatively, perhaps the Jalopnik article was focused specifically on commercial customers, where demand is low, but non-commercial is really high?
They aren't talking about the same thing.

The Jalopnik snippet was around Fleet buyers, not overall demand.

Fleet guys aren't paying $60k+ for a EV transit or Lightning when they can get a F150 or standard transit for half that cost.
 
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I've had too many close calls with lightning.
Just the word gives me shivers.
 
While not a truck I’ve had an overall positive experience with my Chevy Bolt EV. I bought a 17’ that was a service loaner with 600 miles on it in August of 18’ and have just I’ve 100k miles on it now. The limited range is honestly the main complaint I have. Second more general complaint is lack of charging network for non-Tesla ev’s.

I’ve never in my use case got the claimed range of 248 miles. I drive a mix of highway and interstate and try to stick to 5mph over on average.

While I’d like the Lightning I’m hesitant to buy another EV until there is a better charging infrastructure in place, or 400 to 500 mile ranges as standard.

Saw this regarding EV towing. Not Ford but would expect similar results.
 
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