Lightning Waves #1-4 have a 47% order conversion rate.

[metroshot]

Not going to lie, the Silverado sounds too good to be true, so I will believe it when I see it.

Specially with the price of the hummer EV.

Yah - the Silverado EV W/T base is also supposed to be $40K - I'll believe it when I see one.

Just like the Ford Lightning Pro trim which seemed to be a pie in the sky...

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[gorwell]

Yah - the Silverado EV W/T base is also supposed to be $40K - I'll believe it when I see one.

The thing Silverado has going for it for a base $40K is that it isn't being sold until Summer 2024 (lets just say Fall of 2024 ).

Battery prices should keep falling, but who knows in the world now.. Shit just keeps hitting the fan, you think supply chains are getting better, then Russia decides to make everything worse.

 

[maverick92]

The thing Silverado has going for it for a base $40K is that it isn't being sold until Summer 2024 (lets just say Fall of 2024 ).

Battery prices should keep falling, but who knows in the world now.. Shit just keeps hitting the fan, you think supply chains are getting better, then Russia decides to make everything worse.

The Silverado is also designed to be an EV from the ground up whereas Ford shoehorned batteries into the current F-150 to get to market faster. $40k seems unlikely to be widely available just like the Lightning Pro. I'm curious to know how you like the Ioniq 5, shoot me a PM when you get a chance.

 

[LightningShow]

Yah - the Silverado EV W/T base is also supposed to be $40K - I'll believe it when I see one.

Just like the Ford Lightning Pro trim which seemed to be a pie in the sky...

Considering what Ford did with the Pro, and Rivian significantly raising prices, we should all be very skeptical of a $40k EV truck being available to anyone. The few people who got Pros in wave 1 might turn out to be the only people that ever get a $40k EV truck (and they'll get the $7.5k rebate).

 

[ExCivilian]

EV from the ground up

This probably won't matter much to car drivers but it's unibody, which (if I was a betting man) is what the redesigned F150 EV will be, too.

I estimate in about five years we'll all be driving SUVs--no cars and no "trucks" unless you actually use one for work or real towing and need something larger than a 1/2 ton. It remains to be seen whether Ford continues making an F150 "truck" after the redesign. Maybe they make an EV and maintain the F150 ICE models for some time...or maybe the 22/23 Lightning is destined to be the first, last, and only box on frame EV. I wouldn't say they "shoehorned" the battery in because they "simply" bolted the battery pack inside the frame. It's not like a unibody where they have to figure out where to stuff cells this way, that way, and every which other way.

 

[Snakebitten]

Ohhhhhh, I'll take that bet!

Look, I believe the Lightning IS a glimpse of the future. I'm not a deny-er. But there's just no way anyone could convince me that the ICE/Hybrid F150 is a thing of the past that quickly. Heck, if I was forced to bet a months pay TODAY on whether or not you could still buy a twin Turbo V6 F150 in 2030, I'd be forced to bet YES.

Thinking the ICE will be gone by 7 summers from this summer is incredibly unrealistic. Sure, there are many that want that to be, but it's just not possible.

 

[vandy1981]

Look, I believe the Lightning IS a glimpse of the future. I'm not a deny-er. But there's just no way anyone could convince me that the ICE/Hybrid F150 is a thing of the past that quickly. \

The Powerboost and Ecoboost aren't going anywhere anytime soon. I predict the Coyote V8 will not be long for this world, though.

I would love to see Ford beat Ram to the punch with a Powerboost PHEV. I think it's the perfect solution for those that use the F150 as a commuter vehicle during the week and tow a boat or RV once or twice a month.

 

[rodhx]

The other benefit the Evalanche has that many seem to miss is that it will be the second vehicle on the platform. Hummer roll out is doing the heavy lifting. Silverado is a different body on the platform, as will be the Sierra variant. This should allow a faster rollout.

 

[ExCivilian]

Thinking the ICE will be gone by 7 summers from this summer is incredibly unrealistic.

If you're responding to me, that's not what I wrote.

I'm predicting that the F150 as a box on frame will not be around after the redesign. The only "trucks" will be 3/4 ton and larger. This has nothing to do with ICE vs. EV--it's about frame vs. unibody. Maybe Ford will retain an F150 Blue and an F150 EV, and maybe only the EV will be redesigned, but from past behavior is seems most likely that if the F150 is redesigned into a unibody design, then a 2025 ICE F150 (assuming it's still an option) will be a unibody like the Maverick and newer Ranger.

 

[Snakebitten]

My post did sound like I was responding to more than what you said. That was unfortunate because I didn't mean to imply that you said anything that you didn't.

Having said that, I hope that the F150 ICE being only available as a unibody isn't true. I'm so old that if the F-series can hang on for just a little longer I won't have to witness such a travesty. ?

 

[ExCivilian]

Hahaha, true, true

FWIW, I agree with both of your posts. I don't think ICE is going anywhere anytime soon and I also hope the F-series makes it into the 21st century without too much "redesign."

Now that Ford has announced two separate divisions it's entirely possible they'll maintain an F150 box on frame for their Blue division. I'm as certain as an outsider can be that their "redesign" of the Lightning means it's going to be a unibody with a skateboard battery...like every other EV out there (and not yet out there). The Lightning will probably become its own line and won't be an F150 anymore after the redesign.

All of those words when all I really wanted to say was the F150 Lightning is likely to be the only box on frame EV we get from Ford or anyone else other than retrofitting classic trucks.

 

[BEMOH]

Apparently I was the first one at my dealer. Not sure if that means others decided to pass or I was just early enough in the reservation line.

 

[vandy1981]

All of those words when all I really wanted to say was the F150 Lightning is likely to be the only box on frame EV we get from Ford or anyone else other than retrofitting classic trucks.

The Lightning's body-on-frame construction is a differentiator from the competition, but I don't understand the bias against modern unibody construction in the half-ton truck segment. It's comical to hear Chevy and GMC talk around the fact that the Hummer and Silverado EV are essentially unibody trucks.

You get better structural rigidity and efficiency with unibody construction and the R1T proves that you can have amazing off-road abilities and almost best-in-class towing capabilities with unibody construction.

Is there something I'm missing or is it just an example of truck buyers being irrationally conservative? It reminds me of the ruckus that happened when the F150 went with aluminum body and truck bed construction.

 

[greenne]

If you're responding to me, that's not what I wrote.

I'm predicting that the F150 as a box on frame will not be around after the redesign. The only "trucks" will be 3/4 ton and larger. This has nothing to do with ICE vs. EV--it's about frame vs. unibody. Maybe Ford will retain an F150 Blue and an F150 EV, and maybe only the EV will be redesigned, but from past behavior is seems most likely that if the F150 is redesigned into a unibody design, then a 2025 ICE F150 (assuming it's still an option) will be a unibody like the Maverick and newer Ranger.

As a practical manner..do we really need a 1/2 ton(f150) "body on frame" truck anymore? I know purists are going to grill me here, but if unibody has progressed to the level they can haul/tow, and take abuse to a level that supports 1/2 ton work..why not go unibody? Most users (in the US anyway) never haul anything, tow anything, or go off road. Such uses would be considered outside the norm and if the unibody can handle that perhaps it is a good move.

I remember when 1/2 ton truly meant 1/2 ton and you could tow maybe 5000lbs. Nowdays even f150 can tow 10k or more which is truly overkill for most people. Body on frame is heavier, does not handle as well, cumbersome. If f150 went unibody, consumers would still have an f250 or f350 if they needed that capability.

Just my unpopular opinion.
(Still have happy thoughts of my manly '85 f150..which got 10mpg and rated to tow all of 4000lbs)

 

[ExCivilian]

I don't understand the bias against modern unibody construction in the half-ton truck segment.

I don't hold that viewpoint so I can't speak to it other than to say a framed construction seems correlated to longevity. Whether we're talking about total losses in a collision, replacing the bed with something larger or newer when necessary (the F150 is the only EV truck that has a separate cab from the bed, aside from the box on frame consideration), or a possible aftermarket battery pack, the differences seem to give the framed construction an edge over unibody.

I suspect that bias is primarily based on unibodies being associated with cars, their traditionally shorter wheelbases, the lack of structural mount points for towing, their historically limited tow ratings, and now a push toward FWD (eg, Ford Maverick).

I've also read framed construction has reduced road noise due to the separation between body and frame. Having driven in several generations of same brand/model unibody vehicles, modern unibodies have significant noise reductions compared to their older counterparts but I'm not sure if that's attributed to the unibody itself or because unibody construction has gotten so much better over the decades.

As a practical manner..do we really need a 1/2 ton(f150) "body on frame" truck anymore?

I don't think so, which is why I predicted Ford's redesign of the F150 is likely to result in a unibody design. The most recent statements indicating Ford will split its production into a Blue division and an EV division may mean the ICE F150 will retain its framed construction but that seems unwieldy for Ford to maintain two separate production lines for the same model. If that happens, I would expect the Lightning to become its own line separate from the F150 proper.

But yeah, my overall observation is that vehicle manufacturers are homogenizing vehicles into SUVs. Some are lifting their cars higher into the air and others are removing cars altogether. Now we're starting to see blending between SUVs and what were traditional trucks with the Ranger and Silverado and I expect that trend to continue.

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