My essay for Business Insider about Lightning ownership!

[georgepearkes]

If anyone is interested, my editor at Business Insider practically demanded that I write up the experience. I think it came out well and captures the challenges most of us have shared in actually getting our hands on trucks...as well as how amazing the experience of owning and driving is.

It took a full year, multiple calls to the dealership, and an angry tweet at Ford's CEO, to finally get my all-electric pickup truck delivered

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[Pioneer74]

Great article.

 

[boggle]

Interesting to watch everyone's demeanor change once they get the truck.

Feel like more articles like this need to make the rounds, Ford hasn't taken nearly enough flack for just how poorly the rollout of these vehicles has been outside of our little echo chamber here. I don't think a good final product should excuse that. "It was a nightmare getting it, but it was worth it!" isn't a get out jail card. How many Day 1 reservation holders are yet to even hear anything from Ford? The process has to improve and as much as Ford wants to deflect it's not just their dealers causing the issues.

 

[VTRedWingsFan]

Nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

 

[georgepearkes]

Interesting to watch everyone's demeanor change once they get the truck.

Feel like more articles like this need to make the rounds, Ford hasn't taken nearly enough flack for just how poorly the rollout of these vehicles has been outside of our little echo chamber here. I don't think a good final product should excuse that. "It was a nightmare getting it, but it was worth it!" isn't a get out jail card. How many Day 1 reservation holders are yet to even hear anything from Ford? The process has to improve and as much as Ford wants to deflect it's not just their dealers causing the issues.

Totally. And the thing that's frustrating about it is that the delays are not primarily because of something out of Ford's control (chips!) or inherent to EVs (eg, a recall of a new tech) but are instead because they're on-the-fly changing how people order vehicles and that's causing a lot of chaos on the back end.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Dropped my comment in the 8/15 build week thread.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/✅-8-15-lightning-build-week-group.10214/post-283357

 

[thecoloradokid]

@georgepearkes overall a very positive article, so thank you for taking the high road when talking about EV's compared to a lot of the other crap that is found on the internet, or Youtube.

I bought my first Tesla Model S in 2015, but shifted away from Tesla in 2019 to CCS compatible vehicles. I have had an Audi e-Tron, multiple Porsche Taycans, and now I have added the Lighting as a work/Home Depot errand vehicle. I feel I have seen more than most in terms of EV growth trajectory.

My one quibble with your article is your optimism on the charging infrastructure. Charging at home is obviously the best way to charge - especially if you have a time of use electricity plan set up with your power provider. However, many people do not have that luxury. I feel that the charging infrastructure has improved over the past few years, but still has a long way to go to hit anywhere near mainstream coverage. I drove my Taycan from Denver to Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and did not really have any issues with Electrify America during the drive, but it is amazing how few public chargers there are in an area like Scottsdale. You would think that since that area would have more EV's due to the higher income levels that you would see more chargers, but no. Most of the hotels do not even have charging stations.

I am not a fan of reading comment sections on the internet, but I am pretty sure you will get more than a few people complaining how the non-Tesla charging network is unreliable.

Other than that, I thought the article was great, and keep up the good work!!

Paul
Denver, CO

 

[sotek2345]

Good article. The only issue I take with it is that the "build in America" requirements are really "Build in North America", so while a lot of those jobs will come to the US, Canada and Mexico will get some too.

 

[skattch]

I liked the article a lot. I totally agree with the joy of driving this truck both physically and emotionally.

I also lucked out in that my delivery experience was very smooth and my dealer extremely responsive (once I switched Walnut Creek Ford from the cash-grubbing thieves at Future Ford in Concord, CA)

 

[georgepearkes]

@georgepearkes overall a very positive article, so thank you for taking the high road when talking about EV's compared to a lot of the other crap that is found on the internet, or Youtube.

I bought my first Tesla Model S in 2015, but shifted away from Tesla in 2019 to CCS compatible vehicles. I have had an Audi e-Tron, multiple Porsche Taycans, and now I have added the Lighting as a work/Home Depot errand vehicle. I feel I have seen more than most in terms of EV growth trajectory.

My one quibble with your article is your optimism on the charging infrastructure. Charging at home is obviously the best way to charge - especially if you have a time of use electricity plan set up with your power provider. However, many people do not have that luxury. I feel that the charging infrastructure has improved over the past few years, but still has a long way to go to hit anywhere near mainstream coverage. I drove my Taycan from Denver to Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and did not really have any issues with Electrify America during the drive, but it is amazing how few public chargers there are in an area like Scottsdale. You would think that since that area would have more EV's due to the higher income levels that you would see more chargers, but no. Most of the hotels do not even have charging stations.

I am not a fan of reading comment sections on the internet, but I am pretty sure you will get more than a few people complaining how the non-Tesla charging network is unreliable.

Other than that, I thought the article was great, and keep up the good work!!

Paul
Denver, CO

I do think charging networks are going to come as adoption ramps. There's going to be a ton of $ (both revenue and subsidies) on the table, and it's not hard to see long-distance drive charging locations near freeways doing all sorts of innovative business model stuff.

 

[thecoloradokid]

I do think charging networks are going to come as adoption ramps. There's going to be a ton of $ (both revenue and subsidies) on the table, and it's not hard to see long-distance drive charging locations near freeways doing all sorts of innovative business model stuff.

I totally agree with you on that, however there is going to be a lot of EV owner pain and frustration before we get to that state of charging.

The current non-Tesla charging infrastructure cannot effciently support the current number of EV's on the road, and there are more EV's being announced every day. Once Ford and GM hit peak production in a couple of years we will need a 100x expansion of charging infrastructure to support, let alone vehicles from VW, Hyundai, Audi, Porsche, Polestar, Nissan that are all rolling out currently.

The good thing is the dollars will be there, the bad thing is that it will take time to get current charging networks expanded and new networks built. I just hope people are patient enough to allow charging access catch up with the number EV's that will be on the roads in the next couple of years. I always time my road trips around busy times of the year, and weekends, so I have never had any issues while on multi-state long distance EV road travel.

That all being said, thank you for sharing your positive experiences with your new Lightning. I hope it will be picked up and shared by other outlets since much of the recent EV content has focused more on the negative aspects of EV ownership.

 

[Jhalkias]

If anyone is interested, my editor at Business Insider practically demanded that I write up the experience. I think it came out well and captures the challenges most of us have shared in actually getting our hands on trucks...as well as how amazing the experience of owning and driving is.

It took a full year, multiple calls to the dealership, and an angry tweet at Ford's CEO, to finally get my all-electric pickup truck delivered

Great article!

 

[GoodSam]

Why did Business Insider choose a non EV pickup for the header image? I wish the article had just focused on the causes of the manufacturing delays. I think management should take a bigger hit and so much comes down to communication to the customer. Are dealers at fault? Seems Corporate Ford has to ask more from themselves and their personnel. Engineering seems pretty good.

 

[Commodore]

I agree that we should adopt the Tesla standard for charging. I just hate feeding the troll by supporting Tesla

 

[luebri]

I agree that we should adopt the Tesla standard for charging. I just hate feeding the troll by supporting Tesla

What about electrical vehicles do you dislike about Tesla's leadership and how does it relate to charging infrastructure?

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