Important Update: Ford EV Roadmap & Future of F-150 Lightning (EREV Next Gen Model) - ⛔️ ADMIN WARNING: NO POLITICS

[jeff_h]

With the volt the original marketing said electric when you want it, gas when you need it. Apparently when it got down to 14F Chevy thought that I needed it (I actually didn't need it). After a few weeks Chevy thought I needed it to run for engine maintenance. After months it ran for fuel maintenance. None of these fell into when I needed it. I needed it on that one trip to mount Washington. My wife needed it to complete a 70 mile round trip. A bigger battery would take care of the second situation and better infrastructure takes care of the first. We have better infrastructure.

I also had a Volt, and even though I drove over 100 miles per day I was able to charge at work and the only time the ICE (aka generator, I guess) came on was during the engine mx mode every 6 weeks, or fuel mx mode every year.

Now I have the XLT ER and still drive a lot, 73k miles in 18 months and I always keep my eye open on the market as I get a new car every 3-4 years, just the nature of the long commute. I have no desire to add the complexity and carry around an engine that I'll never use (but if Ford's market research says others will, more power to those customers), so I will get a BEV and it needs to be a pickup (I live rural, no curbside trash pickup so the toter gets loaded into the back). I just hope it doesn't have to be a GM BEV pickup, I use CarPlay everyday and they've removed it so out goes them... oh well, will keep reading these forums and hope to be ready when the time comes.

Sponsored

 

[VTbuckeye]

I do think the achilles heel here is that EREV is not enough of either EV nor Fuel to make anyone happy. If it's a 50kwh battery that needs to be charged, and a fuel tank that needs fuel, but also fuel stabilizer because you charge it every night.... but then arguably also have to fill it up... As many people said in this thread early, it's maybe the best of both worlds, but it's also both worlds.

What was your perspective from the Volt side? I see a bit here, but did it all just seem like a lot?

For the volt is was one more thing to possibly go wrong, though we only owned it for 6 years so not much actually went wrong with it. I'd rather not fuel up a car. I'd rather not have a noisy vibrating contraption under the hood. My wife's first thought when driving one of our ice cars was always "is something wrong with this? Why does it sound/feel like it does.". At highway speed the volt was less bad than city driving. There is nothing quite like sitting at a red light or going 5mph with the generator going 2k RPM. You drive an electric vehicle partially for the peaceful driving experience. A constant rpm generator screaming away 6 feet from you is exactly the opposite of that driving experience. By the end of the first year with the volt I wanted a full EV. It was replaced with a bolt. We are all EV in house at this point (Volvo EX90, Volvo xc40, lightning, mini Cooper SE).

 

[Lightning Rod]

This f150 Lightning is the best and my most favorite vehicle I have ever owned. I was really hoping to replace it with an even more improved version.

This.

I had planned to keep my 23 Lariat for 8 or 12 years and was looking forward to buying a new and improved version in the future. Ford has completely pulled the rug out from under us.

 

[Lomilar]

For the volt is was one more thing to possibly go wrong, though we only owned it for 6 years so not much actually went wrong with it. I'd rather not fuel up a car. I'd rather not have a noisy vibrating contraption under the hood. My wife's first thought when driving one of our ice cars was always "is something wrong with this? Why does it sound/feel like it does.". At highway speed the volt was less bad than city driving. There is nothing quite like sitting at a red light or going 5mph with the generator going 2k RPM. You drive an electric vehicle partially for the peaceful driving experience. A constant rpm generator screaming away 6 feet from you is exactly the opposite of that driving experience. By the end of the first year with the volt I wanted a full EV. It was replaced with a bolt. We are all EV in house at this point (Volvo EX90, Volvo xc40, lightning, mini Cooper SE).

I went from a Ford Fusion + Mazda 2 to a Bolt + Mazda 2, got jealous of my wife because she got to drive the EV and I learned to hate car farts once I experienced a full EV. Went to Bolt + Spark EV, then Bolt + Y, now Lightning + Y. Nothing in my house uses gas except the stove (and I keep eyeing it).

In my head, the problem with EVs isn't the experience of owning an EV, it's 1) getting people into one, and 2) keeping them from getting back out because of no-garage/rental/infrastructure reasons etc.

The driving factor for these decisions isn't the EV ownership experience, it's not being able to sell EVs when people walk in the door.

 

[F150ROD]

I honestly don't recall any of our feedback including cancelling EV Tech.

More range? Yes.
Faster Charging? Yes
Better Software? Yes
Something other than You Tube while charging? Yes

I look forward to the EREV. Hopefully you plan on making the Maverick or Ranger an EV.

But I understand. Tesla couldn't compete in the truck market so there is no need for you to continue with an EV Truck.

I hope the focus group included non ICE owners.....

 

[EV Engineer]

I feel like this a weird solution to a complex problem. I own an EV for a plethora of reasons....charging rate at home is pennies, I don't have to deal with unhoused at gas stations, my ride is quieter, I don't have to schedule maintenance. And this might the little liberal in me but I think EVs will eventually be a piece of the puzzle to curb climate issues. Putting a generator in a truck does not serve any needs I have

I take my truck camping, I haul, I do road trips, I drive it as a truck and never had any concerns.

Agree 100%. Weird solution for a 3% use case probably.

I just fundamentally believe this is a consumerism issue, not an engineering issue.

Something tells me when ford hashed all this out 8 to 10 years ago they realized most people, most of the time (yes even truck drivers), would not need more than a 200-300 mile range daily. Even towing.

They built it and it works great. Convincing people it's a great truck is just where they failed.


The EREV just seems over engineered and over expensive. I fear they're making a big mistake but wish them well.

 

[VTbuckeye]

I went from a Ford Fusion + Mazda 2 to a Bolt + Mazda 2, got jealous of my wife because she got to drive the EV and I learned to hate car farts once I experienced a full EV. Went to Bolt + Spark EV, then Bolt + Y, now Lightning + Y. Nothing in my house uses gas except the stove (and I keep eyeing it).

In my head, the problem with EVs isn't the experience of owning an EV, it's 1) getting people into one, and 2) keeping them from getting back out because of no-garage/rental/infrastructure reasons etc.

The driving factor for these decisions isn't the EV ownership experience, it's not being able to sell EVs when people walk in the door.

I have a two car garage and 3 EVSEs installed, so charging is a non-issue. I don't know if I would own one if I couldn't charge at home. The only gas I ever use is for a snow dog for trail grooming in the winter at local trail network. I take off my coat and immediately wash it when I get home. Some smells you don't notice until you are rarely around them. When we had a mixed fleet the gas powered car was the last choice, other than driving to the inlaws three states away (now we just don't drive to the in-laws since the children are older, more opinionated, and have busier schedules). The in-laws can come visit us.

Getting people into an EV where they can be successful is key. EV rentals at an airport where they want a 90+ percent soc at turn in at an unfamiliar location with zero EV experience is not a good way to introduce someone to EVs.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Maybe I get one of these EREV trucks.
I’ll crank up the audio and play Jethro Tull “Locomotive Breath”

 

[Oafy44]

Not to defend Ford , and I have posted a few posts on this thread about my disappointment ….but ….as single /purchaser/homeowner , small business - we forget that ford has a huge commercial business and a ford pro / fleet would just not be justifiable with the build out needed to support a fleet at a business location …unless the location was built new and the charging infrastructure was added during the build but still won’t justify vs cheap gas right now. and honestly maybe it’s for the best right now as electrical companies can charge a premium right now for all the build out going on right now. Retrofitting a shop for more then 4 or 5 vehicles costs $100k or more - I just talked to a business owner and he got quotes for $1m to be able to charge 25 vehicles at his shop

Ford sells municipalities /business’ dozens /hundreds of trucks a year. Most business would love EVs but the build out /retrofit just isn’t feasible for the most part….yet

So ford has to focus on what it makes money on - if they don’t - they will fail. Selfishly I would love them to make the lightning just like Ram made the 1500 classic for so long even though they had newer models for retail. That way business can grow with the infrastructure that is being built now. But I’m not the one responsible for a $20b 4th quarter charge off.

I’m confident ford/3rd party will make parts and batteries in the future

I still don’t think large business will buy a EREV - because they still need a charging Infrastructure. So I’ll be interested to see how ford does with this offering. My neighbor powerboost and was getting 1 MPG better then his ecoboost - so it’s all marketing and non knowledgeable buyers think they are saving money. My neighbor bought a lightning last year and says it’s the best truck he’s ever had

As far as retail /singer lightning purchase - it is ironic the very customer ford caved to will be the one that probably hurts it in the long run.

 

[hturnerfamily]

Get this Ford, I will NEVER buy an EREV. The Lightning isn’t perfect but I will stick with it until either it dies or I die or a much better EV comes out.

I will say this for all the Lightning fans, the Lightning became a classic as soon as it went into production. Someday our Lightnings are going to selling for high dollars at classic auto auctions. Just the power alone puts most of the classic cars of the 1960s to shame.

agreed, as this whole idea that simply because FORD may be waffling and going in a different direction somehow makes our LIGHTNING outdated, is pure poppycock... that's not how it works. A good vehicle, or, well, a GREAT vehicle like the LIGHTNING, will always be a Very Big HIGHLIGHT event in the annals of time. We may already be driving a CLASSIC. That's o.k., as I've owned many CLASSIC 1965/1966 MUSTANGS.

 

[hturnerfamily]

"as for me and my house..."

I haven't owned anything that requires gas or oil in many years, and don't miss one single day of it...

I don't EVER look forward to going back to 'gas', no matter what 'type' of powertrain or generator these manufacturers promote... a PURE EV is the only way to go... whether my LIGHTNING, or my TRIMMER, or my WEED EATER, or my iPHONE, or my CHROMEBOOK... you get the idea.

I haven't visited a gas station in YEARS: that is a very strange idea for most drivers, but, unless I need a bathroom or a snack, I'll just continue to pass them all bye..... bye bye.

 

[evowner]

No, it's just going to likely be a tuned version of a NA engine that will be optimized to run at certain RPMs depending on called for load for the generator. An ICE motor used for propulsion is far more inefficient than one used for generator use.




You truly think an EREV will kill you in the garage running?

I have an idea we can test this theory. Go get a generator fire it up in your garage. Get back with us on your results.

 

[evowner]

No, an EREV is not an EV. ELECTRIC VEHICLE.

People can wordsmith all they want. ELECTRIC VEHICLE doesn't include GASOLINE.

A PHEV is a misnomer also. It's a Plug-in HYBRID. If you want to call a HYBRID an ELECTRIC VEHICLE, THEN YOU HAVE TO ALSO CALL IT A GAS VEHICLE...

Bunch of BS garbage they're using.

Exactly. It is just like my wife's Camry Hybrid. The ICE engine / generator is now 10 yrs old. It has been maintained by the dealer at approximately $200.00/yr It is now 10 yrs old. the engine still runs but it burns about a quart of oil a month. We really need to take it to the scrap yard but she won't let it go.

There will be similar problems over the years with a generator. If they put it in a spot that you cannot easily access, the service fees will be high and make it difficult for a do it yourself person.

 

[Tony Burgh]

Just for giggles for our engineers here:
I want to drive 80 mph for 5 hours straight in my new Lightning EREV. Nice conditions but getting 1.25 mi/kwh (these are what my physics prof used to call “nice” numbers). I have a 200 kwh battery (hahaha, like that will happen). I like diesel fuel to run my generator.
What power rating do I need for the engine running my Ford Lightning gen set?

Start at 100% SOC. End at 0%. Don’t worry, diesel breath will limp you to Tesla supercharger.

Show your work and assumptions for full credit.

 

[drdirk]

I do not see many reviews on the #1 and only reason Ford discontinued the Lighting and that is that they lost way too much money on each one they sold. It just does not make sense for Ford or any other manufacturer to looks $20k per vehicle. A big battery in a heavy EV truck makes for a VERY expensive vehicle. Thats why the rest of the world only builds small EV for the most part.

Sponsored