So Ford introduced the new electric Lightning F-150, and it pretty much just looks like a regular-ass truck if we’re being honest. But is that good or bad?
I mean it certainly has it’s benefits. Full-size truck owners expect a truck to look a certain way, and that way is basically a natural evolution of what trucks have been for the past 100 years. If Ford had gone too over-the-top futuristic to fit the EV-image, they’d risk alienating a large portion of real-word truck buyers. The last thing a builder, or a roofer, or a contractor wants – is to take constant sh*t from his buddies on a job site because his new Ford truck looks like a cartoon. BUT if you let American truck owners test the waters a little bit with a familiar design, you might spark some interest & start to win buyers over 1-by-1. And that is pretty smart & realistic path to a larger-scale EV adoption… rather than some big, phony, and forced EV revolution.
Is the Ford F-150 Lightning going to change the mentality of truck ownership in America?
The New Ford F-150 Lighting is conflicting. On one hand… it’s real fast, with a projected 0-60 of about 4 1/2 seconds. Truck owners will definitely like that. But – trucks in America are historically tough & rugged. And tough & rugged does not equate to efficiency. Electric vehicles need to be efficient, at least in this earlier stage of the game. Put a lift and heavy 37” mud-terrain tires on the new F-150 Lightning, and you’re potentially going to kill that *as advertised 300-mile range pretty quick. So it begs the question: What will the custom/aftermarket world look like for the EV F-150 Lightning? I imagine it will be strong, but it’s probably going to adopt a different mindset to a point.
Good for some, not all.
What it boils down to – is the new 2022 Ford Lightning will be a really good fit for some people. Even most people if we’re being real. But not all. Will it work for truck owners that use their truck for work… who don’t have a set commute, and have to be adaptable & add routes on the fly? Probably not initially. How ‘bout the guys who want to lift their trucks & tow their boats & side-by-sides? Probably not the best. What about the contractor who spends all day with the truck running & the AC on blast? Probably not.
But that doesn’t mean the electric Ford Lightning doesn’t have it’s place.
One thing people NEED to be cognizant of… is that this is not an either/or type of thing. Because BOTH internal combustion engines and electric engines can, AND SHOULD, exist in the same space in America… at least for the foreseeable future. Competition between the two will make BOTH better, BOTH more efficient, and BOTH less destructive. The wide landscape of America gives us a very wide spectrum of uses & passions for different vehicles. America loves trucks – of all shapes & sizes. If we look back, the old-generation Ford Lightning was not intended for everybody either. It was a specialty vehicle for a specific buyer. Same here.
