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Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

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Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#211

Post by zdragnar »

bsder wrote: post #192
kryogen1c wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty much dead on. I live in a rural part of the US and there are tons of old, worked-on trucks. The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years is, frankly, laughable. I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country.

> I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country. A van is almost always a better choice if you're actually looking at functionality. Shielding from the elements is way more useful than some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use. Sure, a very small number of people go offroad and need that cl…

> some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use

Spoken like someone who hasn't lived past the suburbs.

I needed some plumbing work done last winter and had to hire someone new because my preferred plumber couldn't access my road with his van.

The lack of AWD/4x4, lack of ground clearance, inability to tow are all massive drawbacks for several lines of business. Tonneau or hard covers and enclosed trailers take care of shielding from the elements just fine.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#212

Post by jandrewrogers »

bsder wrote: post #192
kryogen1c wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty much dead on. I live in a rural part of the US and there are tons of old, worked-on trucks. The idea that there might be an all-electric f150 hanging out in 40 years is, frankly, laughable. I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country.

> I know a lot of city kids think trucks are some obnoxious luxury good, but they're basically a functional requirement in most of the (very large) country. A van is almost always a better choice if you're actually looking at functionality. Shielding from the elements is way more useful than some mythical ground clearance benefit that you will never use. Sure, a very small number of people go offroad and need that cl…

> some mythical ground clearance benefit

Maybe not where you live but there are many parts of the US where you really do want significant ground clearance regardless of vehicle type. The ubiquity of Subarus in several regions of the US isn't because people are fond of Subarus as an automotive brand.

High ground clearance isn't about "going offroad".

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#213

Post by homeonthemtn »

exabrial wrote: post #43

I expected the "T word" to come out in the article, however this fails to address any of the practical reasons it isn't a good replacement for the value-engineered F-150: * The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive * They're difficult to repair. A regular F-150 is designed to be repaired; these things are designed like iPhones to be disposable. * Parts availability is scarce, contra…

That last point is important though. If you want a truck to be adopted it needs to tow.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#215

Post by moduspol »

nebula8804 wrote: post #112
exabrial wrote: post #43

I expected the "T word" to come out in the article, however this fails to address any of the practical reasons it isn't a good replacement for the value-engineered F-150: * The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive * They're difficult to repair. A regular F-150 is designed to be repaired; these things are designed like iPhones to be disposable. * Parts availability is scarce, contra…

I guess we will find out if many of these things actually matter with the Slate truck. It is in many ways the antithesis of this electric F-150. If that vehicle fails then there are no more excuses, a significant chunk of Americans just don't like electric vehicles and are destined to be laggards.

The Slate initially looked good to me, but there were three things about it that were not upgradeable that seemed problematic:

* Bed size is fairly small

* Towing capacity is low (Just 1000lbs)

* RWD -> AWD

I liked the idea of buying a barebones truck and customizing it myself, but if it can't tow much, can't carry much, and can't go off-road, it's only really a truck in terms of its shape.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#216

Post by rootusrootus »

exabrial wrote: post #43

I expected the "T word" to come out in the article, however this fails to address any of the practical reasons it isn't a good replacement for the value-engineered F-150: * The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive * They're difficult to repair. A regular F-150 is designed to be repaired; these things are designed like iPhones to be disposable. * Parts availability is scarce, contra…

> * The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive

I paid 50K. A comparable powerboost was 10% more expensive.

> They're difficult to repair. A regular F-150 is designed to be repaired; these things are designed like iPhones to be disposable

Huh? These share a lot of parts with a regular F150. Just not the motor.

> They're loaded with useless/barely-functional interior electronics that are poor copies of Tesla

You mean it has a normal infotainment system like every other F150?

> excessive exterior accent lighting, badges, over-complicated blinkers

Are we talking about the same truck? Aside from some trims with the light on the tailgate, I don't know what you're talking about. ICE F150s have the same sorts of lights and badges and as far as I know exactly the same blinkers.

> single-charge range issues are pretty much non-existent (for non-towing applications).

Hey, we agree on something after all.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#217

Post by NegativeK »

exabrial wrote: post #43

I expected the "T word" to come out in the article, however this fails to address any of the practical reasons it isn't a good replacement for the value-engineered F-150: * The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive * They're difficult to repair. A regular F-150 is designed to be repaired; these things are designed like iPhones to be disposable. * Parts availability is scarce, contra…

When they were first released, there was a fleet/commercial only model that was stripped down and roughly $40k. _That_ was the model that I expected to succeed. Presumably the same type of truck my employer bought from dealerships 20 years ago, with the sterile interior.

But that doesn't address any of your other points, and I can't imagine a business owner that has very little incentive to change how they're buying vehicles to even care about the Lightning if they aren't seeing their friends or themselves in the modern minivan that's called a truck today, just electrified.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#219

Post by rootusrootus »

tracker1 wrote: post #82
bink wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The price isn't right for small businesses. These trucks are quite expensive They definitely aimed for the luxury market, like Rivian. Who knows how successful they would've been if they aimed for mid-range like Scout. That's the market they claimed to be entering when they started taking reservations. They also could've offered a fleet ready version without the luxury features, but must've decided not to. > They'r…

Significant portions of the body and interior were not shared with general F-150 models... At least those parts most likely to be damaged in minor accidents... imagine having your work truck in the shop for 2-3 months for want of a corner light fixture.

The interior of the pro model is identical to an ICE F150. The only part which breaks with any regularity is shared with ICE F150s, in fact. The only interior difference I can think of on any trim of Lightning is the big screen on higher models. But it's the same underlying SYNC system as every other F150, no magic there.

It has breakable expensive headlights and taillights, that is for sure. But so do ICE F150s...

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#220

Post by onionisafruit »

baby_souffle wrote: post #122
nebula8804 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess we will find out if many of these things actually matter with the Slate truck. It is in many ways the antithesis of this electric F-150. If that vehicle fails then there are no more excuses, a significant chunk of Americans just don't like electric vehicles and are destined to be laggards.

I might be biased because I hang out in the slate subreddit and have been pretty attentive to The product as a whole since they announced it this spring but I think they're on to something assuming they can figure out how to build out the service and parts network. The vehicle itself may be a runaway sales success but if there's only or two locations in each major state where you can get it serviced, that runaway suc…

Their wikipedia page says they announced “a partnership with RepairPal, a network of certified auto repair shops and dealerships across the US, to give owners access to 4000 service points from day one”. I don’t know if a “service point” is the same as a mechanic shop though.
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