The F-150 Lightning has turned out to be a very interesting product. I'm impressed with the design and the specs but have not seen one in person. The 98/131 KWh pack size choices are probably ideal. A couple of comments. When the F-150 has battery problems, and it will, it will be interesting to see how the media handle it. Tesla was crucified for every issue while Porsche was given a pass even though they had to replace every Taycan pack after fires and problems. There also was no high profile mention of the max charge rate having to be rolled back 30% from their boisterous initial claims. Expect problems. Expect solutions. It's part of EV product development. I will also opine that Ford's overtures of using less precious metals in their packs looks like a load of horse shit to me. They are using as much as everyone else and more than Tesla, according to the numbers I've read. I hope SK Innovation can improve the battery formulation over time but the initial chemistry looks well behind Tesla, as far as I understand it. Still, nobody should expect Ford to break ground on battery technology. I suppose a little completely unfounded hyperbole is not out of character for the American auto industry.
Every review Ive seen on the Lightning makes me want one, even though I do not need an EV pickup! The biggest pro to EVs from Ford is that there are Ford dealerships all over the place, so when there is a problem its not going to be a 2 month wait like some Tesla owners have reported.
I'm going to go ahead and preserve this quote. My current pickup is a diesel 1 ton. My next pickup will be a gas half ton. I will trust a $38,000 Ford/GM battery pack when multiple examples roll over 300K miles.
Some news on the F-150 EV... Feb 14 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Tuesday that it had stopped production and shipments of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup after discovering a potential battery issue during pre-delivery checks. "We are not aware of any incidences of this issue in the field," Ford spokesperson Emma Bergg said in an email. She said the production stop was issued at the start of last week.
They can work on pack longevity once they figure out how to get a transmission to last 75,000 miles in an Explorer
Make your auto loan payment..... Ford wants to be able to shut down your air conditioner and radio if you miss a car payment—and the car could even drive away on its own. What’s that aggravating beeping in your car? You might have missed a payment. Ford Motor Co. has filed for a patent on technology that could remotely shut down your radio or air conditioning, lock you out of your vehicle, or prompt it to ceaselessly beep if you miss car payments. Ford said it has no plans to use the technology, contained in just one of the many patents filed by the auto-making giant. Still, it emerges at a troubling time for car owners. Loan delinquencies have been steadily ticking back up from their pandemic lull. Cox Automotive data showed severely delinquent auto loans in January hitting their highest point since 2006. The use of technology to aid repossessions isn’t new, but the patent application is wide-ranging, even proposing the idea that an autonomous vehicle could drive itself to a “more convenient” location to be collected by a tow truck. “It really seems like you’re opening up a can of worms that, as a manufacturer, you don’t really need to be doing,” said John Van Alst, a senior attorney with the National Consumer Law Center. According to the Ford patent application for repossession-linked technology, cruise control and automated windows could be disabled if a consumer doesn’t acknowledge a notice of an overdue car payment. Ford could also shut down key fobs, door locks — even the accelerator or the engine itself. “Disabling such components may cause an additional level of discomfort to a driver and occupants of the vehicle,” the patent application states. Wes Sherwood, a spokesman for the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker, said Ford has “no plan to deploy this.” Ford was granted more than 1,300 patents in 2022 as part of “encouraging a culture of innovation,” the automaker said in an email. “We submit patents on new inventions as a normal course of business, but they aren’t necessarily an indication of new business or product plans,” Ford said in the statement. The patent is concerning because by creating this technology, lenders with less-than-stellar reputations for repossessions could possibly take advantage of it, NCLC’s Van Alst said. “You’ve now created this device which is like the doomsday device in Dr. Strangelove,” he said. And what about the beeping sound? Car owners would be unable to shut off the noise without first contacting their auto lender about a delinquency, the patent application shows. Ford called the sound “incessant and unpleasant.” (Fortune.)
Ford has won a contract to supply over 9000 e-Transit vans to USPS. While this isn't going to significantly impact the company, it is a nice win for the uber useful Transit van. Tesla is said to be very close to announcing a van product. Some people think it will be the next vehicle announcement. Personally, I think some people are full of noise. Still, Ford beat Tesla to the punch on this one.
Ford shifting the Lincoln Nautilus from Canada to China it appears. Ford unveils new Lincoln Nautilus to be imported from China (CNBC). https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/17/ford-lincoln-nautilus-imported-from-china.html KEY POINTS Ford Motor will import its next-generation Lincoln Nautilus from China to the U.S., the company said Monday night. The vehicle is currently produced for the U.S. at a Canadian plant, where the automaker recently announced it would be investing about $1.3 billion to transition the facility for EVs. Importing a vehicle from China to the U.S. is not unprecedented but can draw public and political criticism.
Ford sales in China stopped. This is an obvious outcome of that situation. China has out played US on this
It appears Ford will be exiting both China and Europe. Ford is in an existential fight for survival. I applaud this move, despite not loving the implications of it. BTW, it appears BYD is no longer engaged in buying Ford China's facilities.
You know every time I see the Ford symbol....I think of many, many, years ago I was somewhat acquainted with a couple of folks that worked at a Ford glass plant. Its long gone now, but provided some good jobs back then.
I understand Ford is backing down production of the Lightning while increasing production on Ranger and Bronco lines. Demand: ICE > EV
Ford just had an earnings beat. I dare say their truck and commercial vehicles are carrying the company nicely. Electrification isn't important in these two spaces. I'm trying to keep this positive but simply cannot. Jim Farley mentioned on the earnings call the number of customers willing to pay a premium for an electric vehicle is limited. No shit, Sherlock. (I know this is a Ford thread) GM's ultium battery is perhaps an OK design for a first generation but it is way too modular to be cost competitive on the long term. Tesla is cooking the big three using basic engineering. Reduce component count. Reduce complexity. Reduce cost. Imagine the pickle that will come with the 4680 structural pack. Despite Tesla's timeline, the 4680 structural pack isn't here in significant numbers. If it was, it would further widen the gap. I was given a tour of Team Greene racing, about 20 years ago. I was fortunate to be friends with one of the teams managers. He said other teams accused them of cheating because they were 2s per lap faster than everyone else. He said they way you go 2s faster that everyone else is 1/10s at a time. They even developed lighter paint. They tried titanium fasteners and later returned to steel. You name it, they tried it. They never stopped engineering. That is how you beat everyone else.
I used to think Ford would be the last North American legacy auto maker to go bankrupt. That was then; this is now. Ford's strength is their trucks and vans. These vehicles are a significant part of the foundation of the American economy. Ford should be a leader in these fields. Ford is having a ton of problems with their ICE platforms, including their trucks and vans. Social media is littered with failed drive trains with ultra low miles and denied warranty claims. The two lemon law lawyers I know tell me Ford trucks are the easiest vehicles to force a buy back to the point it takes very little effort on their part. WTF is wrong with Ford? They need to do something well. They had some of the best loyalty in the world and it is fleeting like a crypto trader's net worth. $F is $F'd.
Anything I could say would be a guess... -- Too focused on the next quarterly numbers, not running the business for the long term? -- Executives passing through, more worried about their next stop and personal career than what happens at F(ord? -- Unable to exercise quality control over the workforce, due to contractual obligations, seniority rather than merit, etc.? -- One or more of the above. -- None of the above. Regarding the FIRST bullet point, above - focusing on near term rather than long term results - has management today in the U.S. trended toward becoming the equivalent of a bunch of "speculative day traders" instead of "long term investors"?
