Will Rednecks Buy the Ford Lightning?

[Blue Crab]

I doubt it. Antithetical, really. Doesn't support unlimited oil and gas pipeline projects, and so on. The 2022 Lightning is already sold out but that's for the F-150 which are actually driven by soccer moms these days. Natcherly Chevy is sucking hind teat as usual behind Ford.

The F250 will be out in 2023 [if there is a 2023]. That will separate the men from the girls. 

 

[Olsonist]

I doubt it. Antithetical, really. Doesn't support unlimited oil and gas pipeline projects, and so on. The 2022 Lightning is already sold out but that's for the F-150 which are actually driven by soccer moms these days. Natcherly Chevy is sucking hind teat as usual behind Ford.

The F250 will be out in 2023 [if there is one]. That will separate the men from the girls. 

I liked one of the early demonstration commercials where the Lightning tows a 500 ton train. But my guess is that the rolling coal types will never change, the definition of conservatism. Still, the Lightning will have a market as will the CyberTruck.

 

[Blue Crab]

Bet the FAA has larger and sharper teeth than the FCC.

 

[SloopJonB]

the rolling coal types will never change, the definition of conservatism.

Exactly.

Truck types hate anything that even hints at change. Decades ago one of the big rig manufacturers (can't remember which) came out with an aero shaped tractor that cut fuel consumption bigly - like 15% or something - do I need to say it was a flop and was changed back to a chrome laden box shape?

 

[Steam Flyer]

The local RWNJ rag... 75% local business advertising... had a "news" article the other day about how electric vehicles are actually bad for the environment. Full of ignoring the math, plenty of counterfactual statements, etc etc. Could have been written by one of our slightly-more-literate RWNJ residents.

They hate electric vehicles. They don't know why, but they hate 'em.

- DSK

 

[Raz'r]

The local RWNJ rag... 75% local business advertising... had a "news" article the other day about how electric vehicles are actually bad for the environment. Full of ignoring the math, plenty of counterfactual statements, etc etc. Could have been written by one of our slightly-more-literate RWNJ residents.

They hate electric vehicles. They don't know why, but they hate 'em.

- DSK

I've got a RWNJ buddy from college, he's been a Musk basher/e-car basher for YEARS.

All of a sudden he's the biggest Musk fan. 

It's pretty funny.

 

[BeSafe]

I doubt it. Antithetical, really. Doesn't support unlimited oil and gas pipeline projects, and so on. The 2022 Lightning is already sold out but that's for the F-150 which are actually driven by soccer moms these days. Natcherly Chevy is sucking hind teat as usual behind Ford.

The F250 will be out in 2023 [if there is a 2023]. That will separate the men from the girls. 

I actually think they will.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38594367/ford-f-150-lightning-onboard-ev-charger/

"I'm not just buying a truck, i'm buying a backup generator for my house!"

https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2022/02/02/f-150-lightning-power-play.html

 

[spankoka]

It's clever of Ford to go for the prepper market. 

 

[Steam Flyer]

I've got a RWNJ buddy from college, he's been a Musk basher/e-car basher for YEARS.

All of a sudden he's the biggest Musk fan. 

It's pretty funny.

Just goes to show, they believe what they're told to believe

- DSK

 

[hobie1616]

But my guess is that the rolling coal types will never change, the definition of conservatism.

The rollers will go for electric trucks when they can put probes on the side to zap bicyclists.

 

[mikewof]

1. This new F-150 Lighting pulls 775 foot-pounds of torque. My 30-year-old Chevy will pull anything out of a ditch and burnouts in the parking lot and it "only" pulls less than 400 foot-pounds of torque. 775 foot-pounds ... is the frame going to be strong enough for that kind of torque after it gets a bit of rust and fatigue?
   
2. The truck is computer controlled and it's a Ford, those two things combined, these things aren't going to be on the road in 15 years, let alone 30 or 40.
   
3. These things are going to be used by mostly suburban warriors. How many ranchers or farmers are going to spend $50k on a truck that fucks out at after 300 miles?
   
4. Rednecks don't buy $50,000 trucks, they buy $500 trucks or sometimes $5,000 trucks, fix them and drive them for another fifty years.
   
5. Everyone hates a redneck until their car breaks down.
   

 

[Steam Flyer]

... Rednecks don't buy $50,000 trucks, they buy $500 trucks or sometimes $5,000 trucks, fix them and drive them for another fifty years.

Girlfriend, you're out of touch with your peeps.

I just (a couple of days ago) from north Alabama to eastern NC. Approx half of all the households I saw on first half to the trip had relatively new pickups sitting in the driveway, mostly worth more than the houses. The whole point of having a good credit rating is so you can buy you a nice truck.

And I saw rather few Trump signs, and only one Confederate flag, that whole trip. Times are a-changin'

They probably haven't changed enough to buy electric pickup trucks yet; but as soon as they realize that electric motors have max torque at zero RPM... ie the truck will jump when you stomp that pedal (and they'll still be calling it the "gas pedal" 400 years hence)... they will love-love-LOVE electric vee-hickles.

- DSK

 

[badlatitude]

The rollers will go for electric trucks when they can put probes on the side to zap bicyclists.

You probably don't know it, but you likely gave old dabs from Truckee, an erection.

 

[El Borracho]

The rollers will go for electric trucks when they can put probes on the side to zap bicyclists.

Surely Ford will allow disabling traction control logic so that the mouth breathers can turn heads with tire screech and smoke, right?

 

[mikewof]

Girlfriend, you're out of touch with your peeps.

I just (a couple of days ago) from north Alabama to eastern NC. Approx half of all the households I saw on first half to the trip had relatively new pickups sitting in the driveway, mostly worth more than the houses. The whole point of having a good credit rating is so you can buy you a nice truck.

And I saw rather few Trump signs, and only one Confederate flag, that whole trip. Times are a-changin'

They probably haven't changed enough to buy electric pickup trucks yet; but as soon as they realize that electric motors have max torque at zero RPM... ie the truck will jump when you stomp that pedal (and they'll still be calling it the "gas pedal" 400 years hence)... they will love-love-LOVE electric vee-hickles.

- DSK

There is nothing inherently wrong with electric vehicles, trains have been electrified for decades. The problem with electric vehicles is the batteries. They are the wrong choice for energy storage on electric vehicles and they are an environmental disaster in the making with the Lithium and Rare Earth Elements mining and refining, they also tend to self-destruct with dendrites  and tend to need constant cooling. You can't just shove one in the back barn and leave it there until you need it, unless you leave it plugged in so it can keep the batteries cool.

Back when I lived in Alabama, people did have newish trucks, it's part of the Southern culture, especially because the economy in the Sun/Bible belt has shifted to a lot of manufacturing. But up in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Texas, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Mexico, money is still hard to come by, and a truck is still a fairly big buy, they need to last a while.

 

[Blue Crab]

Surely Ford will allow disabling traction control logic so that the mouth breathers can turn heads with tire screech and smoke, right?

Makes me want to buy a pack of red man.

 

[SloopJonB]

You probably don't know it, but you likely gave old dabs from Truckee, an erection.

Well, maybe some wood

 

[mikewof]

Here's an EV that rednecks would buy ...

A gas-electric mid-size similar to the Chevy Colorado, $25,000 MSRP for RWD, $30k for 4WD. Towing capacity should easily hit 10,000 lbs. with the electric drive, payload capacity a quarter-ton, more than enough for general ranch work. Shitcan the expensive V6 engines and just throw in a lightweight rev-limited two cylinder, two-stroke to keep the EV capacitor-battery system charged and an option to use it as a small generator for welding and power tools. The time-temp-turbulence optimization should sail through emissions requirements, lessen the need for a lot of heavy steel in the engine box, keep the price down. Enough plug-in capacity for 50 miles which would mean a small battery and a cheapish super-capacitor to buffer the EV charge, and then the gas engine can kick in, with a 10 gallon tank for unlimited milage at any small-town gas station. Repairs should be dead easy, just pull the little engine when needed, it shouldn't weigh much more than 150 lbs., keep the electronic controls easy to fix, mostly module swaps where possible. Build a reputation of DIY, user repairs, make the money in aftermarket parts rather than the dealer service network.

Build them in Canada-USA-Mexico, call it the Chevy Sheridan. Bench seat up front with cheap saddle cloth covers, steel wheels, AM/FM standard, with the now obligatory back-up camera. The cab should be accessible enough for any ranch-hand to get laid in there as needed but not comfortable enough to get pregnant.

And a secret weapon ... make quarter glass vent windows standard. AC and power windows can be options, but rednecks love those quarter glass vent windows, they'll do anything to get them. Directs the cooling air where it is needed, to the nutsack.

 

[Fakenews]

1. This new F-150 Lighting pulls 775 foot-pounds of torque. My 30-year-old Chevy will pull anything out of a ditch and burnouts in the parking lot and it "only" pulls less than 400 foot-pounds of torque. 775 foot-pounds ... is the frame going to be strong enough for that kind of torque after it gets a bit of rust and fatigue?
   
2. The truck is computer controlled and it's a Ford, those two things combined, these things aren't going to be on the road in 15 years, let alone 30 or 40.
   
3. These things are going to be used by mostly suburban warriors. How many ranchers or farmers are going to spend $50k on a truck that fucks out at after 300 miles?
   
4. Rednecks don't buy $50,000 trucks, they buy $500 trucks or sometimes $5,000 trucks, fix them and drive them for another fifty years.
   
5. Everyone hates a redneck until their car breaks down.
   

The frame will be fine GM had a similar issue with the Corvette z06.  They know how to deal with it