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Front grille revealed a day early with POTUS visit
It's kind of surprising to get a glimpse of this thing before the official reveal tomorrow night. Looks like it will share a body and probably much of the underpinnings with the gas models, but this article hinted at an IRS setup.
Very interested to technical details on the Lightning. I can’t see how it would have the same frame, but we will see. An IRS would add weight and reduce capability, but would provide a nice place for the rear electric motor to mount.
Very interested to technical details on the Lightning. I cant't see how it would have the dame frame, but we will see. An IRS would add weight and reduce capability, but would provide a nice place for the rear electric motor to mount.
Maybe. But using a solid axle would add a lot of drivetrain complexity and weight. The military has been using heavy-duty IRS setups for decades, so it can be done well. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like tomorrow.
The heavy battery between the frame rails will make for much better weight distribution. I expect that between that and the IRS the Lightning will ride a lot better than gas models.
If memory serves Ford bought a lot of stake in Rivian along with Amazon. I'm betting they use the Rivian skateboard chassis or at least some derivative of which does have IRS and it's air not traditional steel springs. I just hope they price the thing low enough regular folks like my self can afford one.
These will likely be base priced slightly beyond the median. I don’t think Ford will want it in the stratosphere. The more of these on the road the better for Ford and for those who want to see EV trucks evolve and develop.
These will likely be base priced slightly beyond the median. I don’t think Ford will want it in the stratosphere. The more of these on the road the better for Ford and for those who want to see EV trucks evolve and develop.
I completely agree. I think it will be priced reasonably, but I most certainly more than an equivalent gas model.
I'm that rare edge case who bought an EV out of necessity, and I've never considered myself an environmentalist. But there is a lot to love about living with an EV. 95% of the time it makes my life a lot easier, but that other 5% (road trips) can be a hassle. I'm very interested to see the progress they make with public charging because of all this investment. In two years my only maintenance costs have been washer fluid, a set of tires, and wiper blades.
The idea of a solid axle, with electric drive, would be ... weird. How the heck do you do a solid axle with an electric motor driving it and not increase the unsprung weight through the roof? Install an electric motor where the transmission/driveshaft would be, with a driveshaft connecting to the solid axle.
That's a lot of wasted space. Instead, one electric motor, and IRS. Or two, one for each wheel.
If memory serves Ford bought a lot of stake in Rivian along with Amazon. I'm betting they use the Rivian skateboard chassis or at least some derivative of which does have IRS and it's air not traditional steel springs. I just hope they price the thing low enough regular folks like my self can afford one.
Only model that was supposed to use the skateboard was Lincoln. Ford announced they canceled that last year. Guess we will have to see what platform this really rides on. As for price, I expect it to be right around the Hummer and Rivian so 90-110k at launch is my guess.
As for price, I expect it to be right around the Hummer and Rivian so 90-110k at launch is my guess.
Snip from Rivian's webpage. Starting at $67,500 with 300+ miles of range.
I'm hoping Ford will hover around the same for it's high end trim and less for an every mans XLT price range of say, $40-45k. If they can match specs, eg; range, charge time etc, I'm all in with Ford otherwise I'll pay the extra for the Rivian with tank mode.
I think they will try to price it aggressively. Other brands, like GM, have made their premium technology into halo cars that few people could afford. Like the dearly departed Tahoe/Escalade hybrid and the upcoming Hummer EV. Many of us expected the Powerboost F150 to come at a huge premium and only be available on the top trim levels, but they chose to make it available throughout the lineup at a reasonable price. Likewise, the Mustang MachE is priced very competitively in the market, and can be had cheaper than my Tesla after that tax credit.
if they were going to make this a halo truck for luxury buyers, I think they would’ve called it something different than F150. Of course this is all just a guess, and I’ve always been an optimist. We will find out in a few hours.
I do remember them saying they purpose built it for work and not in the same "Lifestyle" class as other ev's like Rivian so I'm staying optimistic my self.
I would expect Ford to work to fulfill fleet orders to as many customers as possible who work trucks all day for short distances. Think municipal and state fleets, mining operations, shipping/port yards, construction sites, airports, etc. There would have to be significant range for farming/ranching or oilfield work.
Putting these to work in fleets will yield real world raw data that will lead to product improvement across the line.
