Check it out. There's also a short promo vid on Ford's Twitter account; #F150Lightning

https://amp.freep.com/amp/5020183001

 

Yeah great, like this isn't going to cause confusion with the Lightning models from the 1990s.

 

Ford is so afraid to depart from the formula that made the F150 so successful, so the next new thing has to look like the current truck even though this new electric truck is going to be be very different. Example, see how they tout the front trunk is the largest in the industry. That is because the Lightning was designed to look like the traditional PU, so the hood had to be big (giant really) even though there was no engine there, Ford had to do something with the space so the Lightning has a giant truck. Did you see how big the truck hood was when it was up? If you look at the back end, it has a tiny 5.5' bed. A better design would have been to shorten the hood by 2.5 ft and add it to the back. It would have moved the cab forward, but you would have gotten the same crewcab size + an 8ft bed on the same foot print as todays F150. In a way it would look more like an E series or Transit profile. That profile would be more efficient but would look different from the last generations of trucks. The great risk was that the current buying public would not like the design and the F series might not be the #1 selling truck anymore.

So the electric truck is on the cusp of being here. I thought Ford had done a great job of laying out a future with their aluminum bodied trucks with turbo powered engines to get the power and economy up on the trucks; but that was for a somewhat short future (2017- to maybe 2027). Whether we like it or not, we are going to be different kinds of nerds in the future starting in about 2027. Go to a Tesla or electric vehicle forum and see what they have been writing about. They do not wrench on their vehicles like the current truck crowd does.

Right now, Ford is about to go to 3 truck lines in 2022; F series, Ranger, and the Maverick designed around an internal combustion engine (ICE). Ford is making the EV Truck look like their F series but in reality, they could go to a one or two platform offerings that has the footprint of a smaller vehicle but capability of the current offerings. And there is the rub, they have so much invested in the current ICE designs, this transition period is hard to negotiate with the top brass. The next 5 years will critical to the future leadership position within the industry.

I do not think the future is going to be shaped by the $100K electric PU; it will be shaped by the $35-$40K PU. The sales numbers for the affordable etrucks will rule going forward (within the next 5 or so years starting with 2022 MY). Ford can make the best etruck now but will not sell very many at the higher price point. Case in point is top end current Hybrid F150. To get the offering Ford has been hyping about you have to buy a top end (Platinum) model to get all the bells and whistles. Ford says there will be a Lightning model available for under $40K. I sure hope they do this early in the 2022 MY introduction. Ford needs big numbers of etruck sales to lead how the future unveils. I think the companies that are embracing a battery powered design (skateboard) with a more efficient platform on top will get a lower cost PU to market for the masses will have a decisive advantage over the path Ford is taking. Right now, Ford and the other manufactures have lots of cash and clout in the vehicle business but this window is narrow. I think what Tesla has been able to do is surprising in the car/SUV segment given the long establishment of the major auto makers. Their truck design is dumb, but it is different and holds many efficiencies over the current ICE designs. Every Tesla truck sale is one less for Ford or other major manufactures. In fact every etruck on the horizon is chasing the high end buyer; how many ~$90K truck buyers are out there? VW and some of the Asian manufactures are investing in a better pathway to yield a better $35-$40K etruck. We shall see how this unfolds.

BTW, the whole chip shortage is going to make this whole transition period messy. If you thought the current ICE designs needed a lot of chips, the future designs can be done with fewer but more complex chip designs. So the best ICE trucks that have been designed and built today may turn out to have fewest availability going forward into the future because everyone is trying to get the chips they need to meet their expected demands. And those offerings will be competing with the etrucks. If the etruck buying costs remain high, than the ICE trucks will have a longer future. But, if a few EV manufacturers can get efficient lower cost etrucks available sooner in the pipeline, then the ICU truck will fade quicker.

I love my 02 F150 and don't think I will upgrade again until the etruck path has been established. I have been a long time owner of Fords and hope my last couple of trucks will have the blue oval before I pass... but I'm not spending $100K on a new truck with a giant truck.

 

Edit:

We need a new section in the Form for the Lightning to create less confusion to the previous Lightning models.

 

There is one.
2022+ F-150 Lightning - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums (ford-trucks.com)

 

Does anyone know if Ford will make crate engines for the F150 lightning?

Is Ford coming out with an F250 all Electric truck ?

 

I think they are only coming out with a hybrid F250.

 

I guess I have found an ancient thread about an 1800 lb. battery powered F150 that weighs 6500 lbs. that's real today !