Live data from Hacker News

Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

wired.com

621–630 of 915 posts

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#621
post #451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I might have thought that too if I didn’t own commercial vehicles. I own a few and the idea of switching to an EV for them is laughable. Go tow stuff for 8 hours one day and ask yourself “if I had to stop for 30 minutes every 90 miles how would I like this day?” Battery ranges decline by over 50% when towing. The long term health of a battery requires you to keep it within a range of about 60% of the max capacit…

Most heavy trucks are sold to people who don’t really need them, but buy them to signal cultural allegiance and get a tax break.

Define “need”. I only use my snow shovel like 3 days a year. Does that mean I don’t need a snow shovel? I only camp in my camper one month a year, but I can’t move that thing with anything other than a pickup. I don’t “need” my truck for that. I operate several food trailers. I can’t tow most of them even with my 2500 reefer van, but I could go back into software.

The better question might be how often does one utilize the unique shape and capability of a pickup.

Also, define heavy. Half ton and below, sure, those are just differently-shaped SUVs to most people who own them. 3/4 ton and up are work trucks. But every truck owner finds themselves moving things you can’t move in an SUV on occasion.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#622
post #541

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Citation needed This sound like every EVangalist who says road trips aren’t important when most everyone takes at least one a year.

Citation: "Ford F-Series Is America’s Best-Selling Model For The 43rd Consecutive Year (2024)" Either the US has a lot of electricians and plumbers, all those people aren't buying these trucks because they need them. Just look anywhere outside the US — nobody buys trucks like these. And that's because they're incredibly niche. They're worse than all other options. A regular sedan is a better everyday car and can fulf…

This is a combination of ignorance and prejudice that I shared not that long ago. It is, I assure you, incorrect.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#623

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people just love them as a symbol This is an unfortunate trope that is oft repeated by those that live their life in constant upgrade cycles. The regular F-150 is a pinnacle of value engineering for Ford. It's infinitely repairable for owners. Look around on the highway, you will see hundreds of 15+ year old F150s on the road, and a few times a day I will see 25+ year old trucks on the road too. There are thousands…

Fair. Look I think the big difference in perception is that in most countries outside US these trucks are just a symbol. Like if you see some F-150 or RAM it is always used by some angry MAGA and gun supporters. It makes no sense to use these in Europe. They are not road legal so they are imported under special licenses, they are so oversized they can't park anywhere. There restrictions on loading pickups so people d…

This is just social media and your news outlets of choice feeding you what you'd like to see.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#624
post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but you buy a truck and all of a sudden you have a lot of friends. I might not move furniture regularly, but it’s reeeeal nice to be able to do so when I need to. My dishwasher broke on Christmas Eve when I was hosting so I went to the store and got another and installed it within an hour. Not doing that with my Subaru.

I’ve literally transported dishwashers in a Renault Twingo. And the „small car + trailer“ combo will always carry more than a pickup. Pickups are pure lifestyle.

You live somewhere where things are tiny and close together. That’s lovely but not America. My dishwasher does not fit in your car.

A small car cannot safely transport much of a trailer, and a pickup can tow a much larger trailer.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#625

The F-150 is in one of the markets I think ev's will take over first (small commercial vehicles) but it just was not the right vehicle to start with. To expensive, even when the tax incentives were still a thing, and Ford suffers from having corrupt dealers taking a large cut on top of that. So you are selling to either the top 5% or bigger businesses. If you are a top 5% buying this you want it to tow your expensive…

It's tough if you live in a place without great EV charging infrastructure. You end up really having to strategize when/how you charge. If you ever need to make unplanned drives across town or to a neighboring city it can really screw you up. Charging stations are often poorly maintained too and out of order.

EV's still aren't practical for a lot of drivers in such places.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#626
post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My electrician drives an electric F-150, it's impressive how useful it is for him. The frunk carries a big box of tools, there's tons of outlets to charge his power tool batteries, he can even run a small welder

The F-150 is a great power bank that comes with a very useful set of 4 tires and a steering wheel for a truly portable charging experience.

A local couple runs a hot food stall at outdoor markets all over the city by backing theirs up to the stall and plugging in all the kitchen things they need into the outlets in the bed.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#627

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The F-150 is a great power bank that comes with a very useful set of 4 tires and a steering wheel for a truly portable charging experience.

I justified the lightning purchase to my partner by pointing out having an equivalent whole house battery backup in Tesla power walls would be more expensive than the truck

Trick is the power wall will be there in 10 years. The truck may be traded in at 4. Car trade in speed is what makes that math not work.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#628
post #301

The F-150 is in one of the markets I think ev's will take over first (small commercial vehicles) but it just was not the right vehicle to start with. To expensive, even when the tax incentives were still a thing, and Ford suffers from having corrupt dealers taking a large cut on top of that. So you are selling to either the top 5% or bigger businesses. If you are a top 5% buying this you want it to tow your expensive…

My electrician drives an electric F-150, it's impressive how useful it is for him. The frunk carries a big box of tools, there's tons of outlets to charge his power tool batteries, he can even run a small welder

All those things can be done with the newer gas F150s minus the frunk storage.

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#629

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> people just love them as a symbol This is an unfortunate trope that is oft repeated by those that live their life in constant upgrade cycles. The regular F-150 is a pinnacle of value engineering for Ford. It's infinitely repairable for owners. Look around on the highway, you will see hundreds of 15+ year old F150s on the road, and a few times a day I will see 25+ year old trucks on the road too. There are thousands…

'99 F-150 with >250k on original engine and transmission here. Going to pick up 900 lbs of rock tomorrow. Suspension is pretty poor, but it still pulls hard under load. I'd like to upgrade to a newer model, but the '99 refuses to die.

[deleted]

Re: Ford kills the All-Electric F-150

#630
post #483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Additionally, all ICE cars can charge from 0-100% in under 5 minutes. Even if their towing range was somehow less than an EV, it would matter less because you don't have to spend an hour at a charging station.

> spend an hour at a charging station This is exaggeration. A half hour for a well-loaded truck, sure, but an hour is generally exaggeration. And as for five minutes for a fill up, it's usually more than five for a regular fill-up on a regular passenger car for me compared to just continuing on.

Yeah 5 mins is not true, its 1 minute actual 'charging' as in refill from empty to full.

I don't know what your family does on the gas station, but my wife and 2 small kids can cover toilet visit (as long as there was no accident) for all 3 combined under 5 mins. So can I with paying, so at the end its 5 mins stop total all counted in. Eating as in lunch is once a day, and when we travel we certainly don't need restaurant experience of sitting around, quick sandwich is more than enough, driving on full stomach sucks anyway.

Never understood people loitering around gas stations for long time, but then again when we travel its often 500km or more, the typical trip cca 2x a year back home is 1500km.

EVs are not for us for quite some time, US EVs seemingly never.

Post reply on HN