Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

electrek.co

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

641–650 of 1001 posts

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#641

Post by rootusrootus »

evan_ wrote: post #570
rootusrootus wrote: post #459

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know how pickups became the most popular vehicle in America? By not being appealing to just one type of guy. There is no "truck guy", there is "everyone." (well, yes, there are some anti-truck people, but they're niche and mostly online).

SUVs are the most popular body type in America, not pickups. Pickups always top the "best selling model" list, but there are only a couple models of pickup and dozens of models of SUV. If you total up all the SUVs, they sell much better than pickups.

That may be, but it remains true that pickups are extremely popular. They are not even slightly a niche vehicle, they are broadly popular.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#642

Post by paddy_m »

aeonik wrote: post #432
doublesocket wrote: post #427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never understood why the yanks don't like vans? Pickups are much less popular here in the UK, many more people use vans. A crew cab van with removable seats is infinitely more flexible than a pickup, other than long stuff which you chuck on a roof rack.

Vans usually have a very difficult time off-road or in mountainous terrain. Vans are commonly used in urban areas, especially by businesses, but suburbs, rural, and construction benefit from higher clearences of SUVs and trucks. SUVs are also usually much better in hazardous driving conditions because of a more optimal weight distribution.

I can't take this comment seriously unless you are buying snow tires. If you have snow tires, and you still can't get where you want in the winter, sure get 4wd.

I had a RWD pickup with snow tires and went anywhere I wanted to through two utah winters and many vermont ones too.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#643

Post by phkahler »

dylan604 wrote: post #531
mrexroad wrote: post #485

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bingo. Sprinter vans, utility vans, or even minivans are far, far more useful for trades than modern pickups. Heck, my minivan was the goat for home renovations—it’d easily fit a dozen full 4x8 sheets of drywall/osb/ply/mdf/etc and I could still close the rear gate. I always got chuckles from guys awkwardly wrangling/securing sheets onto a pickup’s bed at the supply yard when I’d easily slide the sheets off the cart…

> I’ll take a moment to lament the demise of the light duty pickup that provided a bit of extra utility while still fitting in a normal parking space. I miss the hell out of my '82 Chevrolet S10 with extended cab and two-tone paint job. The extended cab isn't going to be used for hauling the soccer team, but I could put it was plenty of space for "inside only" cargo. Damn thing threw a rod and cracked the case, and I…

Buy a Ford Maverik hybrid. Similar size, great mileage.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#644

Post by rootusrootus »

epolanski wrote: post #504
mebizzle wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also conveniently ignores Toyota's quality slipping to shit in recent years

Toyota and Lexus are still the most reliable cars on the planet.

We reached the point a long time ago where there weren't really any 'shit' cars any more, just variations on okay. Toyota does have a good record, though it tends to mean that buying them brand new is the best choice, they hold their value too well on the used market compared to their actual reliability advantage.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#645

Post by seanmcdirmid »

GloriousKoji wrote: post #520
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #420

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, you are encouraged to slam on your brakes at least once a month to get the rust off. I live on the west coast (rain but low humidity and hardly any snow), so its less of an issue.

You'd think with all that electronics it would be smart enough to use real brakes every now and then. The plug in hybrid Prius runs the gas engine every 100 miles or so.

I don't think that is a good feel, you sort of get a feel for how fast you slow down with regenerative braking and throwing real brakes into the mix randomly sometimes would make for a horrible driving experience.

Better to have a reminder, surely the car could figure that one out.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#646

Post by rootusrootus »

epolanski wrote: post #503
rootusrootus wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You give them credit for taking a risk on hydrogen but not the manufacturers who took a risk on EVs? Interesting.

No, because the manufacturers who took a risk on EVs, at large, did it due to FOMO and investor pressure after seeing Tesla balloon in the stock market.

Now that's a hot take, do you own Toyota stock or something? ;-) A more sober analysis would suggest that EVs have been surging in popularity while every rational analysis of hydrogen overwhelmingly suggests it is infeasible.

Toyota did make a BEV, too. FOMO?

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#647

Post by brk »

plorg wrote: post #623
QuadmasterXLII wrote: post #603

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could run a single issue presidential campaign on bringing the S10 back (all it would really take is patching some weired emissions regulations mistakes). A better truck from a better time.

My pitch to the people near me who have no connection to the auto industry is that an electric Ranger (90's style) would have been a huge hit. I get the feeling that the Lightning came about because Ford managers don't really know how to make vehicles that regular people want.

Funny thing is that Ford made an electric 90’s Ranger. Sold only in Mexico IIRC. Internally it was referred to as the Ranger Glider.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#648

Post by queuebert »

omnimus wrote: post #496
queuebert wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're out of touch with the working class. Some people practically live in these trucks. A little comfort goes a long way toward making their day bearable. Leather is easy to clean, power adjustment makes the seat more comfortable. Auto wipers, climate, etc., help them focus on the calls they're taking. And so on. Fleets of these are bought for commercial purposes as well. Companies wouldn't spend that kind of money…

Maybe you are out of touch. I bet even many people here think it's mainly virtue signaling. I mean… do any of the commercial services in US use pickup trucks? It seems to all be vans? Why not to get a van then as a contractor?

Most commercial services near me use trucks with or without a trailer. Painters tend to use vans, and some electricians. Everyone else has a truck with a logo on it. You can't tow well with a van, so it has to be a company that never tows.

Granted probably most people on here are CA or SV adjacent, which has a fairly idiosyncratic relationship with its service industries and stricter emissions regs.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#649

Post by rootusrootus »

loeg wrote: post #547
rootusrootus wrote: post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hell, ain't true for any gas pickup I've owned, either. Big tanks, and often temperamental bastards that have to be babysat and won't take fuel at full pump speed in any case. Most road trip stops, according to the AAA, are 15 minutes anyway. Only on the Internet does everyone take 5 minutes to refuel.

~60 kWh still takes 18 minutes to charge at 200kW, and 200kW is a relatively optimistic average charge speed for most EVs at this time. Bigger batteries, or slower charge rates, take longer.

That's more of a Tesla thing. The Korean EVs have a more modern 800V setup and get much closer to the 400kW charger rating. Ford also lags in this department because they're using 400V and a big battery, which isn't a great combo.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning outsold the Cybertruck and was then canceled for poor sales

#650

Post by vpribish »

mrexroad wrote: post #485
alexjplant wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A pickup truck should just be max utility, especially if you're a manufacturer making your first one The modern US pickup truck isn't built for utility. It's a $60,000 four-door lifted luxobarge with leather interior and a short bed. It signals (perceived) wealth while preserving working-class alignment. It can also be justified by way of having to pick up used furniture for TikTok refinish and flip projects or bim…

Bingo. Sprinter vans, utility vans, or even minivans are far, far more useful for trades than modern pickups. Heck, my minivan was the goat for home renovations—it’d easily fit a dozen full 4x8 sheets of drywall/osb/ply/mdf/etc and I could still close the rear gate. I always got chuckles from guys awkwardly wrangling/securing sheets onto a pickup’s bed at the supply yard when I’d easily slide the sheets off the cart…

Really hoping Slate works out! The modern pickup is usually a tuba for assholes not a working tool.
Post reply on HN