Jim Farley talks about switch to NACS

[Maxx]

Nice video and interview. Finally good to hear it from Jim the story of how it all happened. I'd be a bit amiss though if we don't recognize that Jim had a blind eye for a while - all he had to do was listen to his customers and those Charging Angels which were brought up more than once. He didn't. He says it all happened because of personal experience on a road trip with his kids who noticed the Tesla Superchargers. I'm sure he did hear the resounding complaints, but too bad he didn't act just on them and it took his own personal experience to get us here. Where is that in listening to your customers. hmmm.

Be fair, that is how most of us operate. Would you act with the same urgency when you hear some stranger is about to be bombed as you would if you were the target? When all said and done, deep down, even my empathy is always about me.

Sponsored

 

[intensifi]

@tommolog
@Ford Motor Company

Thank you for the interview. A few interesting nuggets.

The next time you have the opportunity, please ask the Ford team the following questions:

1) For the ‘24 MY why was the “fake” passenger side charging port on the Lightning removed when the smart thing to do would have been to make that the actual charging port given the Tesla agreement? The ‘22 and ‘23 model years already defined the bodywork and tooling. This is a real head scratcher given cable lengths and parking stall design at Tesla Superchargers.

2a) Do they realize that every time Jim speaks about the T3, they condemn the existing Lightnings sitting on the lots to continue sitting on said lots? This is the Adam Osborne effect some of us experienced firsthand. Others learned about it in business school. Two dealers in my local area have relegated the Lightnings to the back storage lots because no one is coming to look at them. A Colorado dealer in a Facebook group listed a liquidation sale with big dealer discounts. We are still in the early adopter phase. All the early adopters are now saying: “I’ll just wait for the T3 or the Ram or the Silverado”. This behavior is just nuts. Sadly it is too late now.

2b) Can Farley offer future battery upgrades when available to increase range where the net cost is minimized by selling the existing batteries to Solar Power Plants? The Lightnings are great trucks! But those of us who take long trips and tend to keep our vehicles would likely take Ford up on the offer. Even if it is not feasible until well into the T3 timeframe, the offer alone would increase goodwill and would likely help sell the trucks on the lots. I know Ford always wants to sell new vehicles. However EVs change the economics of car purchases as there are significantly fewer parts to ever wear out. This is another opportunity for Ford to lead the industry.

3) For the late ‘22s and most of the ‘23s, the security pack removal, multi-contour seat removal, scale removal, etc. are very sore subjects. Ford could create a lot of the good will Farley is trying for by saying: “This is the kit required to add the feature back. We will sell it to you for the credit price on the sticker. For those of you with the skills, you can install it yourselves. If not, we have arranged special pricing with specific regional dealers to minimize the cost of installation. For early ‘23 owners who experienced the price increase, there is no cost for the parts or installation.” No one will likely take them up on the scales, but the other features would be a welcome return. It would also make late ‘22s and ‘23s whole again. Right now this is a VERY SORE subject. It’s also another reason the late ‘22s and ‘23s will continue to languish on the dealer lots. Why would anyone pay the upgrade price to the Platinum without the Multi-Contour seats?

4a) Can you please support the ISO standard for V2H and V2G? The current HIS product is a costly bad joke for the early adopter crowd. Most of the early adopter crowd already have solar and are not going to rip it out for the Delta/Sunrun device. Sunrun’s support and response to information requests is also giving Ford a Black Eye. Enphase and SolarEdge are ready to go with the ISO standard bi-directional device. Many of their customers are the same early adopter types who are likely to purchase EVs. Hello!

4b) The ProPower 240V outlet can also be used for home backup power. Can you please partner with the regional utilities who offer electric meter collars for easy generator hookup to customer homes? People in areas hard hit by lengthy power outages would then be potential customers even though they are not in the current EV market demographic.

Thanks in advance!

I’m happy to discuss offline if you would like to send me a DM.

 

[02Reaper]

Regardless, We need to thank Jim and Elon both on this. Without Jim pushing for this, its extremely unlikely that the rest of the team at Ford would have done this for us. Seems that they were pushing back or not pursuing this aggressively. Without Elon agreeing to this, it would not have happened.

 

[Dinozero]

I enjoyed listening to the interview in my Sauna last night. Jim was absolutely right about providing the adapter for free being the right move. Otherwise it's a slap to the face to everyone that bought into Fords early EVs.

 

[Maxx]

I enjoyed listening to the interview in my Sauna last night.

As Seinfeld may say, Not that there is anything wrong with that...

 

[PreservedSwine]

Thank you. Jim's a rock star, IMO.

I’m glad you think so. Love your channel by the way.
To me, Jim will be the guy that came out and promised a truck under $40,000 from the mountain tops (reserved on day one) that went up in price $18,000 by the time I could actually turn that reservation into an order
In the meantime, Tesla’s prices came down.
He’ll never get over that hurdle in my eyes.

 

[Maxx]

I’m glad you think so. Love your channel by the way.
To me, Jim will be the guy that came out and promised a truck under $40,000 from the mountain tops (reserved on day one) that went up in price $18,000 by the time I could actually turn that reservation into an order
In the meantime, Tesla’s prices came down.
He’ll never get over that hurdle in my eyes.

Totally get where you are coming from and have no intention to change your mind. I reserved on day one as well. Was one of the first people that got the invitation just to see the Pro I was waiting for was not available and Ford tried to get me to buy a higher trim. I already had gotten my deposit back for switching dealers. So even though that rubbed me the wrong way, I didn't cancel. So Ford came through on the second round and I ended up with a $40K Pro.

In the mean time, the $50K dual motor Cybertruck I had the reservation for is selling for $100K and single motor $40K CT is nowhere to be found more than 4 years after announcement (Ford did it in a year).

I had Rivian and Silverado reservation too. Just saying none of them are perfect, you just have to keep your options open to find the perfect one for you (not a marriage advice but close).

 

[TomB985]

The car industry is tough. Ford’s EV program lost $3.7 billion last year, and prices spiked when commodity prices drove the cost of batteries through the roof.

I vote with my dollars. I cancelled my reservation after the first round of price increases, and then bought one when they announced the NACS switch. Prices came down significantly during that time, which was a critical factor for me.

 

[Grumpy2]

To me, Jim will be the guy that came out and promised a truck under $40,000 from the mountain tops (reserved on day one) that went up in price $18,000 by the time I could actually turn that reservation into an order

Amazing how things work, We reserved within a few hours, waited until Aug 2022 to order, and paid the $40,000 base + options in June of 2023.

Ford now has provided access to Tesla SC network at no extra cost, will provide a free charger, and continues to provide downloads without a subscription.

I don't know about a "rock star", but Farley seems truly a CEO with vision of doing the right thing.

 

[tommolog]

I’m glad you think so. Love your channel by the way.
To me, Jim will be the guy that came out and promised a truck under $40,000 from the mountain tops (reserved on day one) that went up in price $18,000 by the time I could actually turn that reservation into an order
In the meantime, Tesla’s prices came down.
He’ll never get over that hurdle in my eyes.

Thanks for the comment, I'm disappointed in the price also but I don't agree with the the summary of Ford's prices going up while Tesla's have gone down, let me explain.

Ford, GM and Tesla all promised a $40,000 electric truck 3-4 years ago, and none of them were able to deliver that. We all know that COVID was an extraordinary disruption that caused prices across the board to increase massively and almost instantly. The cost of refined lithium increased so much it made all EVs cost much more to manufacture - and then there was the chip shortage that drove up prices itself.

Tesla's prices went up also, but then came down. That's what happened to Lightning prices. Ford increased the price 3 or 4 times as the cost to make it kept going up, but once prices stabilized and then started coming back down Ford also reduced prices. My Lightning spec (extended range Lariat) now costs less than it did in the summer of 2022 when it launched. Other OEMs have also raised and lowered prices during the past 3 years as the supply chain and refined lithium prices spiked.

 

[hturnerfamily]

Tom, I'll disagree on something:

"Ford, GM and Tesla all promised a $40,000 electric truck 3-4 years ago, and none of them were able to deliver that."

My '22 F150 LIGHTNING PRO SR was exactly $39,994.


I understand where your statement was meant to be placed, but FACTS are facts.
Ford DID exactly that.

Now, if you want to complain that they didn't build 'enough', well, that's a different aggravation and conversation.

 

[hturnerfamily]

I also have a truck that I decided to buy. No one made me.

I paid for it.

I don't 'complain' now about what else might be going on.

I bought a truck to drive, not to invest in, nor to worry about what happens to 'prices' of new ones... none of that affects my everyday ownership and enjoyment in this fine vehicle, which works exactly like Jim Farley said it would...

 

[hturnerfamily]

I drive it, A LOT.

I tow my camper with it. People say you can't. I don't care what 'they' say.

It works. People say it won't. It does.

I don't worry my old self about what people 'say', or what other owners 'pay'... it doesn't matter.




ENJOY! : )

 

[Maxx]

Tom, I'll disagree on something:

"Ford, GM and Tesla all promised a $40,000 electric truck 3-4 years ago, and none of them were able to deliver that."

My '22 F150 LIGHTNING PRO SR was exactly $39,994.

I understand where your statement was meant to be placed, but FACTS are facts.
Ford DID exactly that.

Now, if you want to complain that they didn't build 'enough', well, that's a different aggravation and conversation.

I still can't believe the value of my Pro. Except maybe Chevy Bolt, nothing comes close. The only reason I will question my purchase is reliability and longevity issues. So far it has been rock solid.

 

[FinsNBolts]

Thanks for the comment, I'm disappointed in the price also but I don't agree with the the summary of Ford's prices going up while Tesla's have gone down, let me explain.

Ford, GM and Tesla all promised a $40,000 electric truck 3-4 years ago, and none of them were able to deliver that. We all know that COVID was an extraordinary disruption that caused prices across the board to increase massively and almost instantly. The cost of refined lithium increased so much it made all EVs cost much more to manufacture - and then there was the chip shortage that drove up prices itself.

Tesla's prices went up also, but then came down. That's what happened to Lightning prices. Ford increased the price 3 or 4 times as the cost to make it kept going up, but once prices stabilized and then started coming back down Ford also reduced prices. My Lightning spec (extended range Lariat) now costs less than it did in the summer of 2022 when it launched. Other OEMs have also raised and lowered prices during the past 3 years as the supply chain and refined lithium prices spiked.

Thanks for getting us great access and for asking some tough questions. I think it’s clear Farley is going about it the right way. In many ways he’s trying to steer an aircraft carrier. It can only pivot and move so fast.

I love hearing about the charge port location and his subtle references to the T3. I really think he saw how Tesla could adopt some of the things added to the lightning, knows Tesla does not make major vehicle changes quickly, and knows he can get a competitive advantage by keeping the T3 locked down. It sounds like it is going to shock a lot of people when it gets released. They will have had a few years to learn and I think they come out swinging with the next gen Evs.

Sponsored