Ford F-150 Lightning

  • Thread starter Keef
  • 31 comments
  • 4,972 views
Keef

Keef

Premium
24,526
United States
Dayton, OH
GTP_KeefRacer
GTP Keef
It just debuted with a live reveal. This video should become viewable shortly.



600 hp, 700+ torques, 300 mile range, 400 pound weight limit in its massive frunk, IRS, full-time AWD, huge array of power plugs, and can power the house in an outage. Starts at $40,000, wow. Looks good too.
 
Last edited:
This seems like a strong product for a potentially huge and totally untapped market. Dat frunk. The biggest mystery to me is why Tesla didn't build a truck like this. I think Elon's ego took over and he's trying to build some space ship lifestyle car - which is particularly weird because it's almost like regressing in business strategy. The Tesla Model S (and 3) have become such a huge success because they were ultimately normal & useful cars but with some extra theatrics. The Cybertruck has flipped that approach on it's head. Anyways, I'm optimistic at Ford's trajectory, they seem to be investing in their own company/products with uncharacteristic focus. Just imagine how massive the corporate bureaucracy of Ford is and they moving like a startup...that's probably the most impressive part.

I liked the outro to Sam & Dave. Respect.
 
Eunos_Cosmo
The biggest mystery to me is why Tesla didn't build a truck like this.
Click to expand...
Jury is still out on the Cybertruck. It's a wholly terrible idea, it really is. The Rivian on the other hand, great idea.

As for the Ford, I like it but it's severely compromised still. I see a ladder frame - EVs don't need ladder frames. The battery is only mounted between the frame rails which means it's relatively much smaller than the batteries in a traditional EV which are mounted in a chassis completely unlike ICE cars. It looks like the motors and hardware are packaged nicely but the frame and batteries are clearly a transitionary design rather than ground-up engineering.

But that may be an issue. The truck has a 300 mile extended range, meaning it's literally only useful for local operation. Even in extended trim it won't be useful for road trips and certainly won't be able to haul or tow loads for any significant distance. Rivian is a much smaller truck targeting a longer range and not because of lighter weight - weight/battery size/range is all related - but because of more effective unibody battery packaging. The Rivian packs much more battery per vehicle size than the Ford because it isn't constrained by a traditional ladder frame. Guarantee the Canoo and Tesla trucks will be similar to Rivian rather than Ford.

That said I think the Ford will work great and is at a good price for local fleet operation. City utility trucks, police vehicles, etc. Things that always return to a home base to charge overnight. A lot of people are using these things as commuters and it'll be great for that but again it won't work as a road trip machine which is sort of expected of a large pickup with a large fuel tank. At highway speeds that 300 mile range is going to suffer drastically, and we already know that towing loads cuts range in half or more which is why a huge range is so necessary for a pickup.

You mention ford "moved like a startup" to develop this. Sure, they did it quicker than the competition, but it's also severely compromised. Based on the vehicle size and conventional EV tech a la Tesla, this thing should be pushing over 500 miles of range and should not be using a ladder frame. That's just a fact. People will decide if they want the good with the bad I suppose but if it were my money I simply wouldn't buy this over an ecoboost or diesel pickup. It's not anywhere near as good an all-rounder as an ICE truck.
 
Last edited:
All good points but I don't think a non-ladder frame F150 would be taken seriously as an actual commercial / work truck. What you describe as a weakness I don't think will be perceived as one. I don't expect drywall subcontractors to be driving Rivians or Canoos (certainly not Cybertrucks) around to job sites, for instance. I see the Rivian as more of a lifestyle product in the vein of the Subaru Outback and Toyota Tacoma. The Canoo is a weird vehicle, but I can see the #Vanlife people loving it. All in all, I don't think any of these superficial competitors are really after the wholly same market as the Lightning (definitely some overlap to be clear) and I think Ford should be able to capitalize on their established reputation to steer people who might not have been interested in electric vehicles before (very different from typical Tesla/Rivian/Canoo prospective buyers) into one of these - and that could be a more lucrative play at the end than going after the first adopters. Ford's approach for electric car seems to be "do all of them" which, sometimes, is the right thing to do. The Mustang Mach E is the techy consumer product aimed at yuppies (you better believe I've seen a ton of them here in suburban NorCal already), the Transit is a full bore market grab for the commercial EV space, and the Lightning is the multitool. But what is impressive to me is that Ford is getting the stuff out there...there is a real sense of urgency to get into these markets before they are saturated and I think it could be huge for them. Time will certainly tell, but you can't say they aren't giving it a real go.
 
I think Ford has basically completely taken the entire commercial/fleet market away from anyone else in the segment, in a way that they hadn't had since they still sold the Ranger and the S10 and Dakota were long since discontinued. I think it will be so ubiquitous so fast that it will be like Crown Vics were as police cars. They'll burn through their EV credits in a year. At barely over 30 grand for one, fleet managers at utilities companies and maintenance companies and construction sites will be crashing through doors at dealerships to get one and unload most of their gas pickup range. It could be years before Ford can keep up with the demand for them.






But for people buying trucks as do everything cars and an en masse adoption rate away from V6 F150s? Eeeeehhhhh... It certainly seems like most people with trucks, especially trucks as primary vehicles, couldn't give two craps what the raw mileage numbers are but adore the flexibility that a nearly 30 gallon gas tank gives them anyway basically no matter what you are doing with it; and while I know it's the first swing at this, it's like Ford saw the way numbers break down for trucks and how they are used and delivered a vehicle that provides the exact opposite. If you drive it in the winter doing basically anything truck like, I imagine the actual range will be so bad that it will be like those compliance car EVs of the last decade.
 
Last edited:
2022-ford-f-150-lightning-201-1621455474.jpg


2022-ford-f-150-lightning-202-1621455475.jpg


2022-ford-f-150-lightning-215-1621455477.jpg


2022-ford-f-150-lightning-228-1621455483.jpg


2022-ford-f-150-lightning-112-1621443880.jpg


2022-ford-f-150-lightning-131-1621443890.jpg


The state of photo galleries for this thing is pretty sad at the moment so this is what I've got. The practical size of the frunk is impressive and you can clearly judge the chassis packaging to your heart's desire.
 
Keef
Jury is still out on the Cybertruck. It's a wholly terrible idea, it really is. The Rivian on the other hand, great idea.

As for the Ford, I like it but it's severely compromised still. I see a ladder frame - EVs don't need ladder frames. The battery is only mounted between the frame rails which means it's relatively much smaller than the batteries in a traditional EV which are mounted in a chassis completely unlike ICE cars. It looks like the motors and hardware are packaged nicely but the frame and batteries are clearly a transitionary design rather than ground-up engineering.

But that may be an issue. The truck has a 300 mile extended range, meaning it's literally only useful for local operation. Even in extended trim it won't be useful for road trips and certainly won't be able to haul or tow loads for any significant distance. Rivian is a much smaller truck targeting a longer range and not because of lighter weight - weight/battery size/range is all related - but because of more effective unibody battery packaging. The Rivian packs much more battery per vehicle size than the Ford because it isn't constrained by a traditional ladder frame. Guarantee the Canoo and Tesla trucks will be similar to Rivian rather than Ford.

That said I think the Ford will work great and is at a good price for local fleet operation. City utility trucks, police vehicles, etc. Things that always return to a home base to charge overnight. A lot of people are using these things as commuters and it'll be great for that but again it won't work as a road trip machine which is sort of expected of a large pickup with a large fuel tank. At highway speeds that 300 mile range is going to suffer drastically, and we already know that towing loads cuts range in half or more which is why a huge range is so necessary for a pickup.

You mention ford "moved like a startup" to develop this. Sure, they did it quicker than the competition, but it's also severely compromised. Based on the vehicle size and conventional EV tech a la Tesla, this thing should be pushing over 500 miles of range and should not be using a ladder frame. That's just a fact. People will decide if they want the good with the bad I suppose but if it were my money I simply wouldn't buy this over an ecoboost or diesel pickup. It's not anywhere near as good an all-rounder as an ICE truck.
Click to expand...
I agree that so far i would only use this for local use but there is getting close to enough charging stations around here that i could go for 1000 mile trip no problems .
 
First impressions from MKBHD:


The most interesting element of this video is that the ~300 mile range figure could be substantially underrated. That estimate was calculated with a 1000lb/453kg load. Based on some figures shown in the digital display without cargo in the truck, the Long-Range Lightning could deliver more than 450 miles of range.
 
Last edited:
Been searching all over for the normal F-150 thread. This is big https://www.goauto.com.au/future-mo...-truck-heads-down-under/2022-03-29/87427.html

“FORD Australia will reintroduce the F-150 in Australia by mid-2023, but unlike the Mustang sportscar, which is imported in right-hand-drive guise, the Blue Oval’s US-sourced large truck will be remanufactured locally as part of a program with RMA Automotive Holdings.



In what is said to be the only Ford program of its kind globally, Ford Australia has engaged engineering specialist RMA Automotive to remanufacture Australian-delivered F-150s to right-hand drive, meeting all applicable Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and safety regulations.



The F-150 is part of the States’ best-selling vehicle line for the past 40 years (more than 40 million F-Series Trucks have been produced to date). The latest iteration was launched as recently as 2020. In Australia, it will be available throughout the Blue Oval’s nationwide dealer network and will be offered with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.”

Should be game over for any other brand selling pick ups.
 
Last edited:
05XR8
Been searching all over for the normal F-150 thread. This is big https://www.goauto.com.au/future-mo...-truck-heads-down-under/2022-03-29/87427.html

“FORD Australia will reintroduce the F-150 in Australia by mid-2023, but unlike the Mustang sportscar, which is imported in right-hand-drive guise, the Blue Oval’s US-sourced large truck will be remanufactured locally as part of a program with RMA Automotive Holdings.



In what is said to be the only Ford program of its kind globally, Ford Australia has engaged engineering specialist RMA Automotive to remanufacture Australian-delivered F-150s to right-hand drive, meeting all applicable Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and safety regulations.



The F-150 is part of the States’ best-selling vehicle line for the past 40 years (more than 40 million F-Series Trucks have been produced to date). The latest iteration was launched as recently as 2020. In Australia, it will be available throughout the Blue Oval’s nationwide dealer network and will be offered with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty.”

Should be game over for any other brand selling pick ups.
Click to expand...
I'm surprised it's taken them so long. The Australian car and truck market is actually really similar to the US with the taste for big cars, power, and off-road capable trucks. Full size trucks are going to sell like hotcakes down under. Maybe this manufacturing partnership was the secret to high enough profit margins and low enough prices to make it worthwhile.
 
Keef
I'm surprised it's taken them so long. The Australian car and truck market is actually really similar to the US with the taste for big cars, power, and off-road capable trucks. Full size trucks are going to sell like hotcakes down under. Maybe this manufacturing partnership was the secret to high enough profit margins and low enough prices to make it worthwhile.
Click to expand...
Yes, very similar indeed I think, right down to our love of V8 engines.

I would think Ford have seen how popular the Ram Trucks venture has been down here as they've already done a similar thing. RHD converted F150/250's used to dominate the conversion market until recently Now they've dropped to a distant third since HSV started converting Silverado's (2nd place) and the official Ram Trucks (1st place and they're doubling the sales of the Silverado) came along and could offer far more competitive pricing. I don't think the popularity of the RHD Mustang has hurt either.


The success of these other trucks has to be eating into the Ranger market so it makes sense to officially release the F150 down here, albeit several years too late.
 
Autopian has an extremely detailed nuts and bolts breakdown of the Lightning vis a vis the regular F150. Very cool read. They'll sell even more of these damn things than they are selling Mavericks.






I hope GM cries themselves to sleep at night knowing they basically could have done most of this a decade ago and did most of the work before they even went bankrupt but decided that they just didn't care.
 
Last edited:
Tornado
I hope GM cries themselves to sleep at night knowing they basically could have done most of this a decade ago and did most of the work before they even went bankrupt but decided that they just didn't care.
Click to expand...
Oh they cared. They cared about next quarter's profits, and EVs weren't necessary to make margins at the time. Many years later Tesla shows up and GM et al are all caught breathing through their mouths with ketchup on their ties. EVs are suddenly necessary to 1. Not look like a foking wanker, and 2. Make sure the public forgets that you already invented all of this 25 years ago.
 
Last edited:
Tornado
I hope GM cries themselves to sleep at night knowing they basically could have done most of this a decade ago and did most of the work before they even went bankrupt but decided that they just didn't care.
Click to expand...
Where I'm from, Chevy trucks are all the rage, but specifically it's the early 2000's range. I barely see anything newer than 2005 with a bowtie on it truck-wise.

Ford-Wise, I've seen those boxy pooper scoopers with the metal side mirrors, all the way up to the Raptor colored liquid blue. Wouldn't be surprised if I start seeing F150 Lightnings with bolts plasti-dipped on soon. 🤣

and I STILL hear the lame "Found on Road Dead" joke that was funny back in 1999.
 
I’m currently in the van market, but if I were in the truck market, I’d have to wait for that. There’d be no other choice.
 
I was at the dragstrip cheering on some friends today and someone was doing passes in one of those throughout the day.

Thing's fast. Like, 12.4 quartermile fast.
 
Wasn't sure where to put this, but I guess the Lightning thread would be good enough

Ford lays off 3,000 employees (less than 2% of total workforce) to cut costs and focus on EVs

www.wsj.com

Ford Confirms Layoffs, Says It Is Cutting About 3,000 Jobs

The job cuts come as Ford slashes costs and makes a longer-range transition to electric vehicles.
www.wsj.com www.wsj.com

Ford Motor Co. confirmed Monday it is laying off roughly 3,000 white-collar and contract employees, marking the latest in its efforts to slash costs as it makes a longer-range transition to electric vehicles.

The 1% reduction in Ford’s workforce of about 183,000 mostly targets employees in the U.S., Canada and India. About 2,000 of the targeted cuts will be salaried jobs at the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker. The remaining 1,000 employees are working in contract positions with outside agencies, the company said.

The company’s email, signed by Executive Chair Bill Ford and Chief Executive Jim Farley, said Ford is changing the way it operates and redeploying resources as it embraces new technologies that weren’t previously core to its operations, such as developing advanced software for its vehicles. The job cuts are effective Sept. 1, a spokesman said.

“Building this future requires changing and reshaping virtually all aspects of the way we have operated for more than a century,” the internal message said.

Mr. Farley has said recently that Ford has too many employees, and that the existing workforce doesn’t have the expertise needed to transition to a portfolio of electric, software-laden vehicles.

He has said he aims to cut $3 billion in annual costs by 2026 as part of his goal to reach a 10% pretax profit margin by then, up from 7.3% last year.
Click to expand...
 
05XR8
www.motor1.com

High-Performance Ford F-150 Lightning Teased As Upcoming EV Demo

Ford's return to F1 through RBR signals its all-out foray into motorsports, making it the only manufacturer to compete in several racing disciplines by 2026.
www.motor1.com www.motor1.com
Click to expand...
GranTurNismo
Ford to develop a high-performance F-150 Lightning, could have as much as 1000hp:

www.caranddriver.com

1000-Plus-HP Ford F-150 Lightning Concept Previewed by CEO

Ford teased the Lightning's front end, and it could be similar to high-output EV concepts like the SuperVan 4 and Mach-E 1400.
www.caranddriver.com www.caranddriver.com
Click to expand...
 
Game over. Good-bye all other trucks. F-150 order books are open.
www.goauto.com.au

Ford opens order books for F-150

Deliveries of four-variant F-150 range commence Q3 priced from $106,950 + ORCs
www.goauto.com.au

“The F-150 is perfect for those who want to explore our amazing country in luxury and comfort,” said Ford Australia president and CEO, Andrew Birkic.

“The addition of this icon to our local showrooms alongside the incredibly popular Ranger means Australian customers now have two uncompromising utes to choose from.

“Thanks to its 4500kg towing ability, the F-150 ensures Aussies can go anywhere, with almost anything, at any time.”

2023 Ford F-150 pricing*:


XLT 4x4 SWB (a)$106,950
XLT 4x4 LWB (a)$107,945
Lariat 4x4 SWB (a)$139,950
Lariat 4x4 LWB (a)$140,945


*Pricing excludes on-road costs.
 

Latest Posts

Back