How bout that Ford Lightning

It's also hugely dependent on size of house and time of year...Texas summer is going to be pulling way more energy than Indiana fall for a house of similar size. Too many variables to even bother speculating.

 

There are cars that are able to be recharged in about 15 minutes.
It's not quite there for me yet, but with as much gain as they have made in the last 5 years, I give it another 3-5 years and it will be a very viable option.

 

I’m all for advancement of technology, but don’t fool yourself in thinking EVs are fossil fuel friendly. More than half the power plants in the US are powered by natural gas. Granted, natural gas combustion has much lower CO emissions than diesel or gasoline powered engines. Also, we don’t have the infrastructure to handle millions of plug in vehicles. Every substation would have to be upsized to handle nightly plug ins. At that point power prices will increase and gasoline will be the more economic option.

 

I mean, the nerd me thinks it's awesome....

...but the son in me who had to lend his parents his generator because they were out of power several years back for *THIRTEEN DAYS* has issues with real-world implementation.

 

Found on road dead will be quite the norm around here in TX

 

With that “Texas” power grid. You are probably spot on.

 

This is for the consumer that prioritizes gadgets over utility. Just like EcoBoost MPG, I expect real world use will rarely achieve what’s on the sticker.

 

Electric vehicle tech just isn’t there yet to be able to replace an ICE truck unless all you do with your truck is drive around town with no load and no towing. Eventually battery tech may get there, but not yet. I really like this video as it does a great job of explaining the issue. It’s all about energy density.

https://youtu.be/S4W-P5aCWJs

 

Agreed, but here in Texas most of the new trucks in the city never really get used for truck things. I did see something in the news about solid state lithium batteries which should be promising in charging time and energy density... pretty cool stuff

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a36440563/lithium-metal-battery-breakthrough-electric-vehicles/

 

So we can strip mine more lithium?

 

lithium that's some nasty stuff

every aspect of mining and refining Lithium is very bad.

but, we don't speak about that.

and...you will have to power the lithium batteries with.....fossil fuels.

 

Lithium batteries aren't going away anytime soon. So we're going to need to do what we have to to get by. I'll keep looking for oil and gas until we don't need it and my mining cohorts will mine more lithium and rare earth metals until better solutions present themselves. If ppl don't want this to happen then they should stop consuming or even better, provide more funding for research and find better alternatives.

I'd also add that the US could go alot further in how and what we recycle. Im not too familiar in the pheasability of lithium battery recycling, but my guess is we aren't doing enough to reduce our dependency on new raw materials.

 

Exactly they are the apple of car manufacturers whereas ford is the android. Ford just throws stuff at the wall to see if it sticks before it's ready and toyota will refine it and make it so that when they do release it, it just works and people are amazed at how refined it is, but then you have the small brains saying " well ford did that 6 years ago "

 

I hope they are left behind. I hope they keep making old school vehicles. I would never even consider other brands.

 

Looks like a good possibility for my next vehicle. I don’t tow hardly at all anymore, commute 65 miles a day(about 100 on soccer days and more on game weekends) spending around 100 bucks a week in gas now is annoying. I could go get a beater I guess for commuting but I would rather just have one vehicle. Guess we will see what the 2022’s offer. Tundra, F-150 or AWD sedan.

 

My Grandfather was a farmer and rancher. I can see him buying an electric truck for farm use. Light towing (he had tractors for the heavy stuff), an occasional trip to town (15 minute drive), and hauling a few bales of hay from the barn to the field to feed the livestock. All easily done with a 200 mile range, and refueling would just be another outlet in the garage. His was a simpler life and a simpler time. I don't see electric trucks being useful in modern farming until vast improvements are made in range and recharging time.

 

This is what I’d like to hear too…. Does towing cut range from 300 miles to 50? 2000 lb payload do the same?

If so, not sure it’s really a “truck” in the sense of a work truck, but I admit, I’d be curious to drive one and see if it could serve as the typical “family hauler” most folks use trucks for these days.

 

Tech isn't there yet. They need to solve storage issues and charging time before EV's are viable for anyone who travels or tows. >> REAL world << charging times have to be brought down on family's road trips to the time it takes everyone to go to the bathrooms and grab a snack and you need to get 400 miles of actual range or more.

And the batteries have to be made of something other than ethically compromised lithium.

Right now they're a cool toy for a second or third vehicle if you sweep the other issues under the rug and cover your eyes. I want to love them but I can't.

 

the $39,9 version is "commercial" and likely either hard to find or only available to stripped down fleet sales.

the fine print has the normal XLT for much more.

and yes, it could power your house - IF you're running gas heat or just the fridge or whatever limited needs you have. Keep in mind 9.6 KWH is only 80 amps of service. Old houses may be fine, but modern houses have panels at 200 amps or more.

Second, the average house seems to draw 750-1000 watts of power during blackouts, so that's going to be about 10-12 hrs. MUCH nicer for camping than truly powering your house. The image below is for half the battery size - but even that is saying a fridge, a few lights, and a TV is only 10 hrs. Hardly a whole house.

 

$40k for a Crewcab 4x4! I am in for the 2nd model year. Electric vehicles are still very much a novelty for most and I certainly don’t believe they are better for the environment but am not concerned with that.

My interest is certainly sparked!!
But I don’t like tons of options. I am a fan of stripped down vehicles so the base should be plenty fine for me.
Everyone complains how outdated our Tundras are. I like them.
This EV stuff I love the technology and possibilities. I don’t want self driving, lane assistance, movie theater dash, none of that garbage.
Just a 4x4 truck that fits the wife, 3 kids, a dog, and some stuff.
I tow and haul small stuff so that is not a big battery drainer for me.

If we are traveling outside the charge distance we’ll take the wife’s SUV.

 

Car and Driver has some concerns about towing range, as do I.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36481590/ford-f150-lightning-range-towing/

 

That taillight bar thing is hideous..

 

That tablet shown is the larger option.

As for the grille it is likely aesthetics. Though they maybe able to vent air to the brakes or battery to help cooling. May also be needed for A/C. We are so used to seeing grilles it will take designers awhile to get folks used to it.

The Tesla Model 3 is hideous as it did away with the grille.
The Model S still looks good because it has a grille.

Now Ford needs to get with it and have the rear glass roll down.

 

All this concern about the range of Ford Lightning....someone should propose and build a Hybrid Truck. I wonder who?

 

As a previous owner of both a 2004 ford Lightning and 2006 Ram Srt 10, I have to say I'm extremely disappointed. They butchered the Lightning name. I was hoping for a more Raptor like, street electrified performance truck. Now they bring out a sub par basic electric truck. Maybe they'll make a "R" version or something to that extent

 

40/k for something that only has 300 mile range if you're light on the pedal. That can't get me from miami to tennessee in the same amount of time that my tundra can do for me.

 

hoping the new tundra will be able to make an ultra efficient hybrid that we will actually rather use

 

That seems to be Ford's new MO.

 

destroying famous model names is their game

 

Though GM is no better these days and Dodge has been doing it for years.