Sandy Munro - First Look at the Ford F-150 Lightning Electric Truck

Maxx · Jul 30, 2021

The suspended battery pack was new to me and comforting as well.

greenne · Jul 30, 2021

Maxx said:
The suspended battery pack was new to me and comforting as well.

He seemed impressed....

F-150 Prius · Jul 30, 2021

Munro is a great resource. Their teardowns have changed the way carmakers (and military) build vehicles. He's also done a one-on-one conversation with Musk (something Musk rarely does) and I'm sure Ford built the Lightning thinking about what it will be like when Munro tears it down.

greenne · Jul 30, 2021

F-150 Prius said:
Munro is a great resource. Their teardowns have changed the way carmakers (and military) build vehicles. He's also done a one-on-one conversation with Musk (something Musk rarely does) and I'm sure Ford built the Lightning thinking about what it will be like when Munro tears it down.

Honestly given his reputation.. I'm surprised he was so positive. That bodes well for Ford, he is not afraid to share his opinion

sotek2345 · Jul 30, 2021

Thanks for sharing. I have been working through his videos on the Mach-e. I don't always agree with his suggestions for improvement, but the breakdown and analysis is great.

Sounds like he was impressed. Bodes well!

F150ROD · Jul 30, 2021

I know people don't like to hear the car they purchased sucks when broken down or the build was subpar or whatever. But at the end of the day, a better product comes out of it. The Mach-E subpar honest review from Munro has made Ford step up their game with the Lightning and I'm sure future Ford EV's will also benefit. Mach-E was the beta test vehicle for Ford.

Kickaha · Jul 30, 2021

Why is having a battery pack that is isolated from the frame such a big deal? I am not a mechanical guy. I can see the benefit for servicability or, God forbid, you have to replace the battery pack. But he was talking about it in regards to reliability.

Can anyone clue me in?

sotek2345 · Jul 30, 2021

Kickaha said:
Why is having a battery pack that is isolated from the frame such a big deal? I am not a mechanical guy. I can see the benefit for servicability or, God forbid, you have to replace the battery pack. But he was talking about it in regards to reliability.

Can anyone clue me in?

In general, shock and vibration is bad for components of any type. By isolating the battery (and all associated connectors) form all of that they should last much longer (be more reliable).

greenne · Jul 30, 2021

sotek2345 said:
In general, shock and vibration is bad for components of any type. By isolating the battery (and all associated connectors) form all of that they should last much longer (be more reliable).

I was also thinking safety in the event of a crash

Blainestang · Jul 30, 2021

greenne said:
Honestly given his reputation.. I'm surprised he was so positive. That bodes well for Ford, he is not afraid to share his opinion

It's been funny to watch how many times his "reputation" has changed over the years.

When he was tearing down the BMW i3, he was an expert and so trustworthy. Jalopnik wrote glowing reviews of his work.

When he said Tesla had 90's Kia-like fit and finish, he was a world-renowned expert (to people who didn't like Tesla) or a nobody (to Tesla superfans).

When he started being positive to Tesla's improvements and overall engineering, now he's a Tesla shill who "was never well-respected" according to a recent comment I saw elsewhere... and Tesla fans now completely changed their opinions on him, too.

Recently, he says the MachE cooling system is a convoluted mess and so he's persona non-grata in Ford circles.

And now he is positive about the F-150 and he's defying his reputation of being a Tesla shill.

It seems to me that he's just a legitimate expert on some of these things and he calls them as he sees them. Tesla engineering is often great, but fit and finish is too frequently not. MachE is a great car overall, but it's pretty clearly a less-elegant coolant system, etc.

To be clear, this isn't a criticism of your post, because you're right, he has had a "poor reputation" recently in Ford circles... it's just funny to me how his perception has swung so far back and forth over time.

greenne · Jul 30, 2021

Blainestang said:
It's been funny to watch how many times his "reputation" has changed over the years.

When he was tearing down the BMW i3, he was an expert and so trustworthy. Jalopnik wrote glowing reviews of his work.

When he said Tesla had 90's Kia-like fit and finish, he was a world-renowned expert (to people who didn't like Tesla) or a nobody (to Tesla superfans).

When he started being positive to Tesla's improvements and overall engineering, now he's a Tesla shill who "was never well-respected" according to a recent comment I saw elsewhere... and Tesla fans now completely changed their opinions on him, too.

Recently, he says the MachE cooling system is a convoluted mess and so he's persona non-grata in Ford circles.

And now he is positive about the F-150 and he's defying his reputation of being a Tesla shill.

It seems to me that he's just a legitimate expert on some of these things and he calls them as he sees them. Tesla engineering is often great, but fit and finish is too frequently not. MachE is a great car overall, but it's pretty clearly a less-elegant coolant system, etc.

To be clear, this isn't a criticism of your post, because you're right, he has had a "poor reputation" recently in Ford circles... it's just funny to me how his perception has swung so far back and forth over time.

TBH I really don't know that much about him and only started to follow recently. However he seems to shoot straight about what he likes or doesn't like..no hold barred. I respect that, even if I agree/disagree with what he is saying. I realize it was a media setup for him, but the fact he came away positive with no initial negatives speaks volumes.

Also, quite honestly kudos to Ford.. they could have very easily blacklisted him after he was critical to the Mach E. They appear to be making an effort to improve with each EV launch...

shutterbug · Jul 30, 2021

Blainestang said:
Recently, he says the MachE cooling system is a convoluted mess and so he's persona non-grata in Ford fanboy circles.

Here, fixed it for you. Considering that Ford gave him a look at Lightning, Ford itself values his opinion.

Blainestang · Jul 30, 2021

greenne said:
TBH I really don't know that much about him and only started to follow recently. However he seems to shoot straight about what he likes or doesn't like..no hold barred. I respect that, even if I agree/disagree with what he is saying. I realize it was a media setup for him, but the fact he came away positive with no initial negatives speaks volumes.

Also, quite honestly kudos to Ford.. they could have very easily blacklisted him after he was critical to the Mach E. They appear to be making an effort to improve with each EV launch...

Agreed. I think he's a straight-shooter for the most part.

I'm not saying he's perfectly impartial, but he says positive and negative things about everyone.

And to be fair, most of what he says gets overblown as far as importance. Fit and finish of Tesla wasn't a deal-breaker for me, and the cooling system thing wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me on the Mach E if that's the kind of vehicle I was in the market for. They're considerations, but they both are great vehicles, overall, with valid concerns on some points.

Blainestang · Jul 30, 2021

shutterbug said:
Here, fixed it for you. Considering that Ford gave him a look at Lightning, Ford itself values his opinion.

That's basically what I meant. But I try to leave "fanboy" to the most toxic, aggressive people. Superfans could just be people who are very pro-Tesla and not all that well informed about the competition or cars in general.

RangerJ · Jul 30, 2021

Hopefully Ford will improve the cooling system hose design on the lightning vs the E

Also, I thought I heard in the video that they will be producing various trim levels, not just the most expensive to start with.

Sandy Munro - First Look at the Ford F-150 Lightning Electric Truck

Maxx

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F-150 Prius

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