Ford Unveils F-150 Lightning With A Price Starting Under $40,000 : NPR
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
There was some lofty rhetoric when Ford and the United Auto Workers union revealed the all-electric F-150 Lighting pickup Wednesday in Dearborn, Mich.
A solemn voiceover declared it "an electric truck that can match the ambitions of this nation."
Ford CEO Jim Farley made a simpler case: "It hauls ass and tows like a beast."
Ford is touting the much-anticipated vehicle as not just a pickup, but a mobile power plant — with a price tag designed to draw mainstream attention.
Why Ford Unveiling An Electric F-150 Is A Big Deal
The Lightning has a starting price of $39,974, lower than what was widely expected, making it roughly competitive with gas-powered pickups (which currently average more than $50,000).
When you factor in a federal tax credit, which Ford qualifies for and Tesla no longer does, it's the cheapest electric pickup confirmed so far.
Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at car data company Edmunds, calls that price "compelling," noting that Ford has the advantage of "economies of scale that most companies — particularly smaller, newer entrants to this space — can only dream of."
The F-150 Lightning will have a range of 230 or 300 miles, depending on the battery choice, and can add 54 miles of range for every 10 minutes on a fast charger. Those are not eye-popping figures — other automakers are making more ambitious promises for their battery-powered pickups.
As Auto Industry Goes Electric, Can It Avoid A Battery Bottleneck?
But in addition to touting towing capacity, speedy acceleration and other on-road essentials, Ford is emphasizing what the Lightning can do at a standstill — namely, run a work site or power a home during an emergency.
Eleven built-in outlets allow drivers to run multiple power tools at a work site or kitchen appliances at a campsite. (The new hybrid F-150 offers a similar feature.)
And when it's plugged in at home and the power goes out, the Lightning can automatically send electricity back into your home, keeping the lights on for days, Ford says. That potential selling point may be particularly appealing just months after devastating storms in Texas caused prolonged blackouts, which Farley explicitly referenced during the unveiling.
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This kind of bidirectional flow of power has always been a hypothetical advantage of electric vehicles — when they aren't actively driving, they're giant, charged-up batteries. But for most current electric vehicle owners, it's not easy to access that energy.
Ford isn't the only automaker that wants to change that. Hyundai and Kia are also marketing bidirectional charging as a feature of their new electric vehicles.
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I watched some video of the new ''Lighting'' really impressive truck. The horsepower and torque it produces is amazing.
Ford is betting the farm on this truck.
I'm not in the market for a pickup, but if I were, I'd have been concerned about the horsepower an electric offered. This sounds like it might put those concerns to rest.
563 horsepower and 775 lbs of torque. That is amazing, to say the least.
I'd be more concerned about the range on a single charge. when I was contracting, I was on the road a lot.
I guess it depends on what you're using it for. I'm in farm country, so farmers need towing capacity, but not necessarily range. Bringing in hay, feeding, transporting livestock, etc., might not make for long trips, but you can't do it with a wimpy truck.
A lot of people that buy trucks have no need for them at all, it's a status symbol of sorts for them.
Case in point is one of my neighbors that bought an F 250, Ford Diesel, a couple of years ago. He has never towed with it nor put anything in the bed. I asked why in the hell did he buy an F 250 Diesel, his response was because it looks cool...LMAO it's so high his wife can't get into it. Hmmmm that may have been part of the reasoning to buy it.
Well, that's true, too. Same for SUVs.
I'm not in the market for a pickup, but if I were, I'd have been concerned about the horsepower an electric offered. This sounds like it might put those concerns to rest.
No worries there!
(See video in comment #2.2)
Was this the video you saw?
Its beyond amazing-- I've never seen anything like it!
Kinda puts to rest any fears that an electric powered truck won't have enuf power!!!
Does it come with an instant pop-up tent and a hide-a-bed?
Add a built-in cooler, and you're ready to go glamping.
I keep telling you that I am not in my 20's anymore. it's a pillow top mattress, an in-room hot tub, and 24 hour room service or what's the point.
Under 40k.. That's not a terrible price and I think in general, it's a sticking point for people buying electric/hybrid vehicles, cost. As the prices drop on these vehicles, I think you'll see more people jumping into one. After my Jeep gets long in the tooth, I think I will try an electric vehicle. Jeep is going to be around for a while.. 3 years old and I just went over 12,000 miles last week.
My car is new - I was rear-ended a year ago, and my newish car was totaled, so I bought new. I tend to drive cars until they fall apart (unless some stupid girl not paying attention in the rain kills them first), but next one might be an electric or hybrid. Probably a hybrid - I take a lot of trips to my parents', and the range for an electric would be a problem, especially as I might have to take it someplace other than their house to charge it, once I arrived.
My preferred mode of transport, one horsepower runs on water and oats.
Yes, that's me in my younger days. The Russian judge gave me a 9.999 on my dismount.
My car has never kicked me, and it's not barn sour.
LOL, I haven't been kicked either, don't walk behind a horse is the ticket. Now stepped on is a whole different subject. LOL
The reason that I didn't get a 10 from the Russian judge is that I didn't have a saddle. I explained to him that I'm Indian we don't use saddles. Fell on deaf Russian ears.
Actually, I've never been kicked, either. Thrown, yes. Stepped on, once (foot was sore for a month). But never kicked.
Same here. I was in the 4H club as a kid and was at the county fair. I was admiring a Clydesdale that accidentally stepped on my foot. Fortunately the paddock had soft, sandy dirt and I was hardly hurt at all.
Wow, you were really lucky the ground was so soft. They're gentle giants, but they're still giants.
This was a neighbor's horse - a standardbred. The neighbor had a pair of horses, and let us ride a lot. We had just unsaddled them and were brushing them down, and the horse just sort of shifted his hoof a bit and stepped on my foot. The ground was hard clay, so I got pretty bruised.
That has, "broken hip" written all over it.
In Indian relay racing that is the only way to dismount before mounting your next horse. Speed on switching mounts is where you can win or lose a race. At the 55 second mark, you'll see what I'm talking about it where you can win or lose a race and this is where most injuries take place.
That last horse to join in looked like he was ready to go without a rider. Maybe dragging his handler around the track, even.
Great video, Kavika. This relay race is what inspired me to do this...
Thanks for the inspiration. (smile)
Looks like some of those horses are really into it, wanting to take off before the guy is barely on, lol.
What I thought was a bit funny was that, during the interview of the winning rider at the end of the race, the horse kept wanting to turn his butt to the camera, and at one point finally succeeded. I know it was just spontaneous, but, it did look rather deliberate on the horses part.
holy shit! explain to me again how white people were able to win the west...
They cheated.
I worked at that track when I was a kid... It was called, "Long Acres" back then.
Cool.