Lightning E-Rev 690 to 700 mile range

[Jon A]

...It’s a niche market that will buy it. I bet it won’t sell as many as the Lightning.

I'll take the other side of that bet. I think they'll easily sell far more EREVs than they ever did BEVs.*

*With a couple caveats:

1) They are brought to production at full capacity soon (so there aren't shortages/dealer markups).
2) The specs are similar to/competitive with the Ram Rev.
3) The price is reasonable (same or less delta with the gas trucks as the BEV Long Range had).

It has been...interesting to see the comments from people here after this announcement. Everybody has their own needs/wants, etc, people will like what they like and there's nothing wrong with that. I can't say I'm surprised with the overall tone as most here are representative of the 4% who already chose to buy the BEV.

As a member of the 96% who has exactly zero interest in buying the BEV version, I can say for sure I'll be in the market for one of these in a couple of years. Hopefully they can bring it to market soon enough and it's a really good truck. It will be fascinating to see what happens the next couple of years with the Ram Rev and (especially if it's successful) how Ford tries to match or beat it.

Sponsored

 

[rembrant]

Yep. Funny thing is for the last few months I have looked at what’s on the road and I rarely see 150 gas trucks towing 10k pounds. It’s typically a 250 or 350. That’s in the northwest as well as middle of nowhere CA.
I honestly think ford Marketing shot themselves in the foot marketing the lightning as a tower’s dream. They set false expectations and set people up to be disappointed.

They should have had a chart that listed F150 power trains (including electric), and then for the box where the lightning row and the “long distance towing” column meet, there should have been a “NO”.

in other words that should have marketed the Lightning as just another F150 instead of a super F150.

I agree. Long distance towing, heavy equipment hauling and towing heavy equipment is done with a 250, 350, or 550 because of the suspension and brake system is made for towing and heavy loads. Ford should have made a generator as an option not mandatory for the all electric F150 pickup trucks. That would satisfy a larger market.

 

[Jseis]

It appears that the rapid pace of engineering advancement out of China is at the tipping point of increased range through battery energy density & phenomenal charging speed. The future pretty bright in China due to their phenomenal investment in engineering schools-colleges-universities.

An EREV is so meh. In 56,000 miles I’d have likely never used it as I don’t lay down 100-300 Miles a day towing and/or don’t drive the nearly 400 miles round trip to the big cities or across the state on a regular basis. And at 6.4 pennies per kWh and gas right at $5 a gallon.. well it’s an expensive hazardous liquid I’d prefer to avoid. I agree with the PITA of a big lawnmower engine in the frunk… such a nuisance and in my driving style, it‘d never run (as long as it’s a plug in hybrid ).

Our MME is approaching 5 years old and the Lightning will turn 3 this summer. Phenomenal vehicles. I’ll soon be retired and I’d be really surprised if either vehicle reaches 100K within the next 5-7 years. Given high fuel prices and low electric rates those BEVS will/could ultimately save us net $60K-$70K (current estimates) when they both reach 100K miles. Given inflation, the future value is more $$$ savings. Their somewhat heated garage storage keeps them out of the coastal weather and who knows? Could be like an old iPhone in a drawer… still works after a decade. One can only hope that they aren’t bricked by time.

 

[Wendy]

Not even remotely interested in an EREV. It’s a niche market that will buy it. I bet it won’t sell as many as the Lightning.

Then Ford can take another big write off for selling a few EREVs for half what it cost to build them!

 

[25StarWhiteLightning]

I'll take the other side of that bet. I think they'll easily sell far more EREVs than they ever did BEVs.*

*With a couple caveats:

1) They are brought to production at full capacity soon (so there aren't shortages/dealer markups).
2) The specs are similar to/competitive with the Ram Rev.
3) The price is reasonable (same or less delta with the gas trucks as the BEV Long Range had).

It has been...interesting to see the comments from people here after this announcement. Everybody has their own needs/wants, etc, people will like what they like and there's nothing wrong with that. I can't say I'm surprised with the overall tone as most here are representative of the 4% who already chose to buy the BEV.

As a member of the 96% who has exactly zero interest in buying the BEV version, I can say for sure I'll be in the market for one of these in a couple of years. Hopefully they can bring it to market soon enough and it's a really good truck. It will be fascinating to see what happens the next couple of years with the Ram Rev and (especially if it's successful) how Ford tries to match or beat it.

Just curious what your use case is that a normal F-150, F-250 couldn't do better than an EREV?

 

[Altivec]

I'll take the other side of that bet. I think they'll easily sell far more EREVs than they ever did BEVs.*

*With a couple caveats:

1) They are brought to production at full capacity soon (so there aren't shortages/dealer markups).
2) The specs are similar to/competitive with the Ram Rev.
3) The price is reasonable (same or less delta with the gas trucks as the BEV Long Range had).

It has been...interesting to see the comments from people here after this announcement. Everybody has their own needs/wants, etc, people will like what they like and there's nothing wrong with that. I can't say I'm surprised with the overall tone as most here are representative of the 4% who already chose to buy the BEV.

As a member of the 96% who has exactly zero interest in buying the BEV version, I can say for sure I'll be in the market for one of these in a couple of years. Hopefully they can bring it to market soon enough and it's a really good truck. It will be fascinating to see what happens the next couple of years with the Ram Rev and (especially if it's successful) how Ford tries to match or beat it.

You are implying that the 4% lacks your wisdom. Many of us who purchased a lightning have only done so after experiencing transitional tech such as hybrids and EREV's. I know I have and I can say without a doubt my EREV was the most problematic vehicle I've ever owned. Worst of Both worlds and any minor savings gained were quickly eaten up with other expenses. Other than RAM's great marketing, not sure what compels you or what problem you are trying to solve by wanting an EREV. Ram's been talking up its EREV for almost as long as the first lightning was out. YET 4 years later and setback after setback, not one reviewer has been able to get their hands on one to test it out. There are going to be a lot of disappointed people when RAM eventually releases one and all the negatives start coming out.

 

[Jon A]

You are implying that the 4% lacks your wisdom.

I never implied anything of the sort. I clearly said, "Everybody has their own needs/wants, etc, people will like what they like and there's nothing wrong with that." That has nothing to do with "wisdom," but likes/dislikes, use cases, priorities, location, other vehicles owned, etc. The point was that if Ford wants a truck to be successful, they need one that satisfies those things for some of the 96%, because 4% just won't cut it.

I can say without a doubt my EREV was the most problematic vehicle I've ever owned. Worst of Both worlds and any minor savings gained were quickly eaten up with other expenses.

Meaningless. You've never owned anything remotely similar to what Ram (and presumably Ford) are building. If a guy told you he once owned a gas car and it was a complete POS, therefore your brand new F150 Coyote was going to be a horrible vehicle...and it turned out the car he bought was a Trabant, you probable wouldn't take what he said too seriously.

not sure what compels you or what problem you are trying to solve by wanting an EREV.

Well, the BEV trucks not having the capability to physically do what my old gas truck can do in some applications--that's sort of a problem. And yet the BEVs are so much better than my gas truck in many ways. The EREVs have the potential to be an upgrade in every way, with no downgraded capabilities.

Some are hopeful they will be the "best of both worlds." You are sure they'll be the "worst of both worlds." Chances are, they'll be somewhere in between. I'm hopeful it's closer to the former, you're sure they'll be closer to the latter. In a couple of years, we'll know who was right.

YET 4 years later and setback after setback, not one reviewer has been able to get their hands on one to test it out.

Yes, there have been a lot of changes in the marketplace and at the company since it was announced causing many delays. The biggest one though, I can't say I blame the company for. They're doing what they should be doing--listening to their customers. Putting it on the shelf for another year while they focus all their resources on giving the customers what they want--the Hemi--and getting that ramped up to full production was a wise choice (they actually make a lot of money on those).

Hopefully this has been a blessing in disguise. The Engineers have been driving those things around all this time and have hopefully found and worked out many of the bugs that otherwise would have hit first year customers.

 

[Jon A]

Just curious what your use case is that a normal F-150, F-250 couldn't do better than an EREV?

Well, like most light truck owners, it depends on the day, the week, the month, the year.... Lots of short trips/daily driving, lots of medium trips, some really long trips (some years more than others), and a fair number of long towing trips (some years a bunch, some years none at all).

So, like most light duty truck owners, I buy a truck for its capability. The capability to do the hardest things I might ever need it to do, not for what I do every day.

Since neither of these trucks exist yet (well, the Ram exists, but not in any customers' hands), all we can really do is speculate at this point. Look at the specs and project that if it lives up to those specs, how it should perform.

For comparison, I don't have an F150 (I've got something MUCH better! ), but do have a really nice gas 1/2 ton. Again, if the execution is successful and they actually live up to their specs (for now using the Ram specs assuming Ford will be somewhat similar) it's actually hard to think of anything my gas truck would be better at.

Short trips/daily driving, it shouldn't be any different than your BEV--much more quiet, pleasant to drive, save a ton of money on gas, etc.

Most say their Lightning gives a better ride, handles better, is much faster than the gas F150s. None of that should be different.

The board is full of towing reports where owners say the Lightning tows dramatically better than the gas variants. The effortless towing of even heavy trailers up mountain passes, the effortless way it maintains speed down those passes with regen--they're just better at towing than the gas trucks--until you need to look for a charging station....

Having all those towing advantages but being able to pull into any gas station and fill up in a few minutes (all the way to 100%!) without having to disconnect/reconnect the trailer is going to make long tows a wonderful experience.

And in the case of the RAM, the towing capabilities are far beyond what's available on any gas 1/2 ton. 14,000 lbs towing, 2600+ lbs payload...GAWR of 5700 lbs...8 lug wheels, brakes taken right off the HD trucks.... That truck is really going to be in a completely different class when it comes to towing heavy trailers than any gas 1/2 ton.

Again, I don't know for sure if Ford will try to match those capabilities, but one would think they'd try (especially if the Ram is a success). It'll be interesting to see what they come out with.

As compared with an F250, obviously for long distance towing the F250 (diesel) is going to be better with heavy trailers. But it's going to be much worse at everything else.

 

[Quibbs]

As a member of the 96% who has exactly zero interest in buying the BEV version, I can say for sure I'll be in the market for one of these in a couple of years. Hopefully they can bring it to market soon enough and it's a really good truck. It will be fascinating to see what happens the next couple of years with the Ram Rev and (especially if it's successful) how Ford tries to match or beat it.

Curious, if you never had any interest in buying a BEV, why are you posting on the F150 BEV dedicated forum? Obviously nothing prevents you from doing so, but odd that your first posts would be on this subject, on this particular forum.

Your 96% number also assumes that all those people who did not get the Lightning feel the same way about BEVS as you do. That's one hell of an assumption. There are likely multiple reasons people did not get one.

Sponsored