Farley says Ford is behind in EV (vs. Tesla and China) so Ford can't afford to "walk away from EVs."

[lipnorth]

Unfortunately, I just think pick up truck drivers have a huge bias against EV’s that it is difficult to overcome. That in the lack of advertising and awareness only adds to the problem.

Look at this article where they drove a lightning in Texas and you can see the bias in action. And people were very ignorant about the existence of our features of the lightning.

https://apple.news/ArXFFhbivT2SgORwWTYJM1Q

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[Danface]

I am not in the business but my outsider impression is that it is easier said than done. I don't think it is just a matter of buying smarter developers (although that definitely would help). The problem is Lightening is Frankensteined by slapping together tons of modules from different manufacturers. In order to get this Sh. Show under control, Ford either has to buy Rivian/VW brain and build a car around it or build a brain and body from ground up which is a completely different business model than mostly assembling what you get from your suppliers (including software). I am not saying Ford should not do what you are suggesting. I am just saying it requires heavy investment and risk.




I don't think the two of you disagree on that. I think Rick is saying if someone does not want to deal with the tech, that is their loss. And you are saying it is the car company and environment's loss if we can't lower that friction. The fact is current situation is what it is, and it will inevitably improve.

In a supermarket, I am like a deer in a headlight. My wife is that way with the computer settings and DCFC charging. She does the food shopping and I do the charging. Both of us are smart enough to learn the other stuff but the amount of energy it takes to get comfortable in each area are different for each of us. Her smart phone is capable of much more than she uses it for but it is designed so what she needs the device for works seamlessly so she does not have to spend the time she rather put on her garden messing with the phone.

I used to have higher tolerance for spending time fixing stuff and making things work but As I get older and have less time, I am more conscious of how I spend it. Opportunity cost of having to deal with a badly designed system is something many refuse to pay. But we all know designing the perfect system on the first go almost never happens. So I stopped becoming an early adopter. Now I wait until a tech is mature enough for me to own. First gen Honda Insight intrigued me immensely but I waited for Lightning. I am glad I did. In the same way, that a lot of folks got into EVs long before me, there will be more that will get in them after.

I drove dumb vehicles for 45 years before I got the truck and and I don't see how adding an app and letting Ford know everything about me is an improvment. I didn't really used the app when I got the truck back in Jan 2024 and I didn't accept the new "Terms and Conditions" that popped up about 6 - 9 months ago when I downloaded the new app so I just get in and drive it and it works great.

Funny thing, the truck is shop for the sceen blackout recall and they've been struggling with the software upgrade for the last 5 days. The only thing I don't like is the loaner (Explorer) isn't and EV, I can't wait to get the truck back!

BTW, I let them know I didn't accept the "Terms and Conditions" just in case that's the "problem"

 

[21st Century Truck]

Just bought a used Mustang Mach-E (2021). You say you drove it into the ground. What specifically how many miles did you get out of it? What was its demise?

75,001 miles on the odo when I traded it for the Lightning.

Three (!!) front motors, all under warranty, but still... when the 2d motor started giving me warning signs and the shop techs told me it showed metal shavings in its Mercon coolant, I decided to make it the next guy's problem.

The replacement of these motors, all within 26 months, made me learn that, when a dealer replaces such a major component under warranty, that component is only warranted for the next 12 months, so based on that history I would have to keep blowing the front motors every 11 months or less (ha haa), or pay out of pocket for the next iteration at 12+ months following.

The fact that I had the KW coilovers on the car since it hit about 23 thousand miles might, or might not have had anything to do with these failures, due to some slight potential changes in the angle of the front half-shafts going into the front motor... but I wasn't about to discuss that with Ford.

Hope this helps...

 

[lipnorth]

75,001 miles on the odo when I traded it for the Lightning.

Three (!!) front motors, all under warranty, but still... when the 2d motor started giving me warning signs and the shop techs told me it showed metal shavings in its Mercon coolant, I decided to make it the next guy's problem.

The replacement of these motors, all within 26 months, made me learn that, when a dealer replaces such a major component under warranty, that component is only warranted for the next 12 months, so based on that history I would have to keep blowing the front motors every 11 months or less (ha haa), or pay out of pocket for the next iteration at 12+ months following.

The fact that I had the KW coilovers on the car since it hit about 23 thousand miles might, or might not have had anything to do with these failures, due to some slight potential changes in the angle of the front half-shafts going into the front motor... but I wasn't about to discuss that with Ford.

Hope this helps...

Thanks for the info.

Interesting about the motors. The used one I bought has 70k miles. But my dealer insisted on selling me a bumper to bumper warranty (at a discount) since the car was for my kid. So the motors, battery and everything in-between is covered for three years or 100k miles. Usually i dont go for this things but something in my head said to buy it.

 

[21st Century Truck]

Thanks for the info.

Interesting about the motors. The used one I bought has 70k miles. But my dealer insisted on selling me a bumper to bumper warranty (at a discount) since the car was for my kid. So the motors, battery and everything in-between is covered for three years or 100k miles. Usually i dont go for this things but something in my head said to buy it.

I suggest making one, very very easy and cheap, mod to Your family Mach E: change the rear window wiper blade which is a 12-inch long Escaoe wiper blade Ford reused, to a Bosch 16-inch long wiper blade. The extra 2 inches on the outer end make a huge difference at night in the rain, right on the top of the swept area where the distant headlights behind You will be. I think the Bosch wiper blade is called either the A410, or the 410A model.

 

[lipnorth]

I suggest making one, very very easy and cheap, mod to Your family Mach E: change the rear window wiper blade which is a 12-inch long Escaoe wiper blade Ford reused, to a Bosch 16-inch long wiper blade. The extra 2 inches on the outer end make a huge difference at night in the rain, right on the top of the swept area where the distant headlights behind You will be. I think the Bosch wiper blade is called either the A410, or the 410A model.

Good tip. 2 inches makes a big difference. ”Thats what she said.”

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