Share Your Pipeline to F-150 Lightning. G'on. It's Thanksgiving...

[Maxx]

Lightning is my first EV and my First new car. I have purchased an Electric scooter since.

Here is my transportation journey:

• My feet is my first and by far my favorite. The slower I go the more I experience.
• My tricycle is the one I enjoyed the most out of all transportations with wheels.
• 1987 - the year I had my first motorized vehicle; Ford Fairmont for $300
• Oldsmobile omega for $900
• Dodge shadow bought for $3K, drove for a few years sold for $5K
• two Buick Regals for less than $5K each
• Oldsmobile Aurora V8 for $10K (Loved that car)
• Nissan Frontier for $5K (it was 20 years old and running when I sold it).
• Saturn Sky Redline (still have it) for $10K.

I have had minimal car maintenance issues with all these cars except the Ford that developed a transmission problem and at one point my front hood popped open while I was driving (imagine Jim Carrey with his head sticking out of window). After that, I never thought I would own another Ford.

As I get older and have less time, I try to spend more time living and less maintaining life. EVs don’t need oil change, emission test, muffler or brake fixes so I put in my name for Rivian, Silverado, Cybertruck and Lightning. Ford Pro value and timing could not be beaten. With Cybertruck I was expecting to pay $50K for dual motor and they came back 4+ years later with $100K. With Ford I expected to pay $40K for dual motor, I got it for $32.5K a year after announcement. It has not been problem free but so far I have no regrets.

My ideal transportation is probably an e-bike in a European city.

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[bmw325_num99]

My cheap, high-mileage Long Range RWD model 3 with 150,000 mi on it was my "gateway drug" into EVs. I bought it as a fun third car to use along with our gas BMW 3-er wagon and 2010 4runner.

Well, my wife and I rarely drove the gas cars and only wanted to drive the Tesla so the gas cars got sold and I got the Lightning to replace the 4runner.

 

[B177y]

Okay, I love this!

In the spirit of sharing... Is now the time to say that I have a MY26 Flash on order?

My (Brian's) personal journey:
Always been interested in technology, software, design, etc. and would consider myself an early tech adopter (like many of you). I was a littler slower to the electric race, but below is my pipeline.

• 20 Escape Hybrid
• 21 Mustang Mach-E GT
• 24 Mustang Mach-E GT Performance
• 25 Mustang Mach-E Rally
• 26 F-150 Lightning Flash (on order)

Do these all live together in a garage or is one traded for the next?

 

[Aminorjourney]

Do these all live together in a garage or is one traded for the next?

I believe Ford employees switch them out. It's both a blessing and a curse, based on what I've heard

 

[B177y]

Lots of gas and diesel cars until 2023. My favorite was a 2001 Golf TDi 5-speed manual that was super fun to drive and easily got 48 mpg. Unfortunately it self destructed after 135,000 miles...

First car with a HVB was an inherited Prius. I don't remember what model year. I hated everything about that car except the mileage which was about the same as the TDi. It was the most boring, utilitarian, loud, cheap, bad visibility, gutless car ever. Worked perfect as a commuter and mostly the wife's daily driver. I could barely get into or out of it as the seats were low and the door frame forced my to bend in ways that my jacked up back hated.

2023 - I was walking into the Ford dealer to sign papers to buy an Edge Titanium. There was a line of 12 or so Mach-e's lined up for sale that weren't moving (pre-price drop, so they were still pretty expensive). The salesman asked if I had ever driven an EV. I laughed at his absurd statement. He replied, "Just try ....". Me: "Sure, why not. I'll try anything once". I mostly expected the test drive to prove that EV's were stupid.

Before I left the parking lot I thought to myself, and told the salesman, "I'm screwed". I didn't buy the Edge.

I went home and researched EV's for a week. I read every post on the MachEforum. After a week, I went back and signed the papers for the 0% loan on a CR1 trim in carbonized gray that arrived a week later. I was hooked. The prices dropped about two weeks after that....

I still had a 2001 F350 v10 that I used for family trips, towing our travel trailer, moving stuff, running truck errands, getting up in the hills, etc... After driving the Mach-e, the F350 felt so .... primitive.... I had a long-term issue with the Mach-e that almost lead to a lemon case because parts weren't available. One of the loaners was a low-trim ICE F150 that was a pretty nice ride. Literally the day the lemon law was going to happen, the part came for my MME and was fixed, yay!

That F150 loaner stuck in my head. Could I trade the MME, sell the F350, and have a Lightning work for both things? One test drive later of a 2023 Flash confirmed that I could do exactly that. Unfortunately that test drive was at literally the worst dealer I had ever experienced. Too bad, no sale for them.

Just like the MME, I got on the Lightning forum for a few weeks looking for Lightning info. I finally found a good deal, another 0% loan, and had a short window of federal and state incentives that helped make the 1 year depreciation pain of the MME a little more easy to stomach. I got a 2024 Pro ER with max-tow from a great dealer for a manageable deal. I had to trade the MME and sell the F350 to make it happen. I miss both of those and wish that I could have a quiver of all 3 vehicles, but the Lightning is truly my favorite vehicle ever. The MME is my second favorite, with that TDi still in 3rd place. The F350 was a great massive workhorse that even though it was in "beater" status it was still clean and could pass as a fancy ride if needed. Sold it for more than I bought it for. Eventually, I want to get another MME, hopefully a used rwd that I can use to offset some miles on the Lightning. We live in the "country" so everything is long drive. I also have kids that will hit driving age shortly. I put over 30,000 miles on both the MME and Lightning during their one year each of being my vehicle.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

2011 Prius (and 2003 ICE Tacoma)
2016 Leaf (sold Prius to daughter)
2021 Mach E (still have)
2022 Lightning (sold Leaf and Tacoma)

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

The EGO mower is fine but won't cut the acre and a half on a charge as advertised on 4 10AH batteries (it holds 6). Not as quiet as you would think. Don't get 2nd party batteries despite their being 1/4th the price. The lack of a full cut is not a problem as I have other things to do.

I can take it elsewhere and charge from the truck.

Ditto with our EGO powered walk-behind mower. Every now and then I'll get through a full cut of our 1/3 acre but usually take a 15 minute break part way through the cut to recharge.

 

[Highpi]

The Lightning is my first EV and first full size pickup. Traded in a '17 Honda Ridgeline. Originally, I was set on a F150 Power boost with a 6 1/2' bed.
I'm not sure what kicked me over to the Lightning, maybe reading too many posts on the Ford ICE forum about the turbos going out or some other thing failing early.
I think the other reason was, I just got tired of the mpg on the Ridgeline. I've had four trucks in my lifetime, an '89 Toyota, a 2000 Toyota Tundra, '17 Honda Ridgeline and now the Lightning.
I was getting 13-19 mpg in the Tundra and I was getting a bit better mileage in the Ridgeline, 17-27. The Power boost gets 24 or so mpg, which isn't bad for a big truck, but something just clicked in my head as I thought, there has to be something better.
So far (3900 miles) the truck has been fantastic. There are a couple of things I miss with the Ridgeline, but overall, I'm very happy the truck and I think I would have a hard time going back to a gas version, if I had to.

 

[Mach Turtle]

• Years of keeping gas suckers on life support. Got tired of that.
• 2021 Mach-E to replace an ICE car that was in the ICU. Very happy with the Mach-E so far.
• 2022, added solar panels to feed the house and Mach-E. Also happy with those.
• 2024, got Lightning XLT SR to haul stuff, tow stuff, and power the house during frequent outages (our solar is the cheap grid tied kind so far). Happy with the truck so far as well.

 

[hturnerfamily]

coming from owning a big Thor Diesel Pusher motorhome, traveling the country, Canada, and Alaska, to add a 2014 Nissan LEAF back in 2018, was a new type of 'ride', and yet, the years and thousands and thousands of miles traveling in a motorhome, towing a Ford Fiesta or Focus, finding places to get 'diesel', and get it on the cheap, and, at the same time, finding a place to 'park' that beast, with at least an electrical hookup of some sort, with electrical adapters of all sorts, may have served me well when entering the 'EV' world...
I already understood the need to 'plan' for a stop, whether a stop for the night at a RV park or campground with electrical options, or later when planning a 250mile trip in the LEAF, and finding places to 'charge' along the way, within the 'range' of 50-60 miles each time. Yes, 50-60 miles, at most... or the pucker effect would start.

Yes, the diesel motorhome, with a Cummings ISB6.7L efficient engine served us VERY well for over 100,000 miles over several years, but, just like with an EV, while you might can 'go' well over 300 miles, you're not going to 'wait' to get to the 300mile point to 'hope' you have a place to get diesel... you might have to stop at 200 miles, fill up, and go again, etc., ESPECIALLY in the wilds of Alaska, where gas or diesel options may be 100 miles apart.
Similarly, EV charging has the same concerns, or, well, it did much more so back 5-7 years ago... and, remember, the Leaf uses CHadeMO... just like diesel pumps are different from gas pumps, and sometimes placed in different locations, and not necessarily 'easy' to get next to with 60' or more of 'train', finding DC Fast Charging locations with CHadeMO, and somewhat relevant to your direction of travel, was a challenge during those years.

Nowadays, it's more of a breeze. Although, no, I don't own my two '14 Nissan Leafs anymore, and CHadeMO is no longer any issue, but they provided a GREAT in-depth learning curve for future EVs, such as our PHEV, a '22 Kia Sorento, which worked flawlessly, could be used in purely EV drive mode, and was very comfortable.
But, that PHEV was just the 'interim' between wanting a three-row PURE EV, and like our current '22 LIGHTNING PRO SR, a truck, in August '22, that three-row that finally showed up as a '24 KIA EV9 in Feb '24.
These two are a 'breeeeeeze' compared to the former LEAFS. The Leafs were a great learning experience, teaching me, with my experience with Motorhome batteries, inverters, travel planning, solar, and electrical DIY, that EVs are for me. I am comfortable with them.

Along the way, we had two younger sons, in college, who we 'upgraded' from the Leaf, and a Focus, to '17 and '19 Chevy BOLTS.


EVs have spoiled me - I will never go 'back' to gas and diesel and oil and oil changes and filters and smells and leaks and gas stations. Well, at least I don't PLAN to : )

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