Interesting read.

https://www.motortrend.com/features/...from-lightning

Summary:

• Make Sure It’s Quick
• Keep the Frunk if Possible
• Retain a Quiet Cabin
• Improve Fast Charging Speeds
• Tighten Up the Steering and Body Control
• Achieve Better Range While Towing
• Beat the F-150 Hybrid’s Range
• Improve the Digital Experience
• Spruce Up the Interior

 

I think Ford is building a bridge to nowhere. Ram j\has already admitted that they expect to sell very few REPB trucks. And almost no one is talking about the REPB Wagoneer.

Scout keeps pushing their availability dates back. Now 9/28 for the Traveler and 02/30 for the Terra pickup. Why, who knows. A strategy change? VW reassigning the plant and cancelling Scout altogether? Not much real news coming out of there.

 

I hate to agree with this, but it’s tough to see otherwise. EREVs are great in theory, but they’re the most complicated things on wheels because they shoehorn two power sources into a single chassis. I’m sure it’s possible to build a reliable truck like this, but I don’t have much confidence that Ford will get it done. It’ll have all of the hardware the Lightning has, plus all of the complexity that comes with an ICE generator set.

I think the way to start is to sell EREVs in smaller segments that can be sold profitably in high volume, then scale the technology to the F150 when it’s proven itself. I think it’s going to be too expensive to sell in high volumes, and most of us won’t have confidence it’ll stick around after they pulled the plug on the Lightning so quickly.

I hope Ford proves me wrong, though. Time will tell.

 

In my opinion, the design and development for the REPB was way too far along to cancel it. So put it out there, and see what happens. Make it a de facto beta test vehicle, with great lease deals, and let the public put it through trial and error in the real world.

 

Yes it is hard times for Ford (and other US Auto corps) but in the big picture EV is where the motor vehicle will be. That future is closer than I suspect you imagine. Having a drive system with one foot in two separate engines is naturally going to be fraught with problems. There is a Canadian company that has done this with class 7 & 8 vehicles that met with success. They began with logging trucks and have done specialty works for others. But that's mainly an aside. Here are some facts about electric vehicles. They are being manufactured across the spectrum from MCs, subcompacts and on up to Semi's and beyond. Some of the largest mining machines and vehicles on the planet are going electric today. They do so because of costs. Semi companies who have used EVs and test them out are excited and will begin transitioning in the near term. Currently the battery manufacturer CATL, the largest in the world, is bringing out a battery right now that is projected to have a range of 1000km (600 miles) and will rapid charge in approx 6 min from 10-90%. If it's not quite that or not available in mass production this year or next it will be in just a few years. This means it's game over for ICE. You think not? ICE sales have declined every year since 2017. That includes the US. US decline in EV sales is 100% driven by the anti-climate current administration. Meanwhile across the globe EV sales achieved a new high at 20 million vehicles. They are selling at the rate of one in five of all new vehicle sales. Even in the US used EVs are selling at a higher pace with the current high cost of fuel. This will never reverse back to internal combustion engines. Electric power systems are much better on every level from power and reliability to energy efficiency and all operational costs. Yes yes towing, I get it. But the CATL and DONUT batteries reveal towing will be conquered most likely in the next half decade. Ford and every American car manufacturer better wake up to this or get left in the dust bin of history.
I understand if this message is not popular here but I am involved in EVs and a student of clean energy. Just as we see today that solar became the largest source of electrical grid energy now we are, as described, currently in the transition to electric vehicle transportation - globally with circa 80 million light duty vehicles. Heck there is even an African created electric bus manufacturer.

 

Well written and I couldn’t agree more.
My 2007 Escape Hybrid went over 350,000 miles without a single issue in the Hybrid system. The CVT finally began to fail.
The world will move forward with or without you.

 

it honestly doesn't need to be as fast as the outgoing Lightning.
how you gonna keep the frunk if there's a gas engine? not logical....
Yes, the Lighting is very very quiet and we'd like to keep it that way.
Improve fast charging speeds? Who among us thinks anyone is going to do that? Most PHEVs never get plugged in. People will use gas on long trips.
Tighten up the steering and body control? It's a truck. The Lightning rides extremely, extremely well. I would change nothing, and definitely not for the race track crowd.
Better range while towing? Sure, people are going to use gas.
Beat the hybrid range? Who cares, my #1 priority is usable EV only range to get to and from work without gas. If it doesn't have that, I'm out on this model.
Improve the digital experience? I would say just work out the bugs, otherwise, just need them to not go Google only like garbage motors.
Spruce up the interior? Absolutely not! I love the current interior.

bottom line - I doubt i would buy one. I want 100+ miles of all weather EV only range. I have a 60 mile commute round trip. I doubt this vehicle will have this capability, as it would require a 50+ kwh battery to achieve in a full size truck at 2.0mi/kwh.

Also physics are hard. The only series hybrid that sold in any sort of numbers, the cheby Bolt, had a planetary gear that coupled the motor directly to the drivetrain above 70MPH, because the engine driving the generator didn't create enough energy to power the wheels otherwise. I don't know how Ford's going to be able to do it either, it would be best to use an Ecoboost that makes decent torque in the mid range. An NA motor would be screaming to generate enough power to send a large vehicle down the road at 80.