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I have no idea if this’ll be lightning or a lead balloon, because a significant amount of pickup truck buyers do it for the machismo. Which sounds like some ci

I have no idea if this’ll be lightning or a lead balloon, because a significant amount of pickup truck buyers do it for the machismo. Which sounds like some city-slicker talking down to the cheap seats, except, I grew up in a town named Farmington. (Go Farmers.) I know pickups. I know the people who drive pickups. My dad sneers at fancy new pickups because he used to shove a good 700 pounds of mink pelts in a pickup, and he thinks all that leather would get stained by the blood nowadays. And pickup truck buyers love their macho trucks. They like the burble of the engines and the swagger and that it’s not some little penalty box of a green car. An electric pickup? Sure, sounds rational, especially with that torque. But does it trigger the libs enough? - Something that might help, though: that price. “but rather its price because the 2022 F-150 Lightning will start at just $39,974 before any government rebates.” Given the just eye-watering prices of pickups these days: that’s cheap, relatively.

outside1234 5y ago
Also, this pickup is going to be way faster than the IC one. That helps with the overcompensation buyer.
bamboozled 5y ago
Macho man and their egos like the fastest, toughest trucks with the most torque / power. This is it. It wins.
- csharptwdec19 5y ago
  It depends. There's a couple classes of 'Truck guys'. The Truck guys that just want power, yeah they'll probably go for this. The Truck guys that like throwing turbodiesels in to get HP/Torque numbers like what we see in the lightning, I would say it depends on whether Ford makes it 'Moddable' or not.
GiorgioG 5y ago
It isn't fair to characterize everyone this way. I've owned my fair share of small cars (by US standards) but I bought a used F150 (my first truck) a few years ago and I love it. I don't care about how loud the engine is, nor do I think it makes me any more macho (I don't buy things for what others think of me.) It carts my family around comfortably and I can haul lots of things with it without caring if it's dirty/wet/etc. My second favorite vehicle is my wife's minivan - it's too bad they have a bad stigma. My concern with the Lightning (and EVs in general) is range anxiety. I can fill up my F150 in what 3-4 minutes. How long before I can go 400 miles on a charge? What happens during an extended power outage, can I carry 100 miles worth of range in a portable container that's as easy to handle as 5 gallons of gas? None of these concerns have anything to do with this vehicle making me feel more manly ;)
- discordance 5y ago
  It will take some change in behavior, but it’s worked out ok for me. I charge over night (and frequently using solar in the day when at home). That leaves me with 400km of range everyday. For those infrequent long trips I stop every 3 hours/350km and charge for 30 mins. Watch some Netflix, use laptop, or have a short nap and move on. Works out ok.
neither_color 5y ago
After reading your comment I went and CTRL-Fd the page for green, environment, carbon and sustainable. These words either don't appear or aren't selling points. Ford's marketing department knows what they're doing, they're marketing this truck as tough and powerful. I like it.
mavhc 5y ago
That's the price of the one you can't buy though, commercial version
GongOfFour 5y ago
They said the same about twin turbos in their trucks, but they got used to it.
- perardi 5y ago
  Yeahhhh, that’s a fair point, they sell every one they can make of those EcoBoosts.
bryanlarsen 5y ago
To some people machismo means strength, to others machismo means self-reliance. The 11 power outlets and the ability to power your house will really appeal to them. If the world turns Mad Max, someone with an electric truck and a few solar panels won't have to worry about the gasoline gangs.
- jeffbee 5y ago
  99% of truck-driving Americans will starve to death in the first month of a societal collapse, and there's nothing their truck can do about it. If you need a truck with a 120 kW-h battery pack it's either going to take a week to charge it from the excess capacity of a domestic solar array, or you need to quadruple the size of said solar array. Either way, between the truck and the solar panels you'd probably have been better off spending that money on land and seeds.
  - bryanlarsen 5y ago
    A water supply, land, seeds, tools, enough food to get to harvest and having neighbors you can trust. Trucks and guns are way less important. In the case of societal collapse you're probably not going far with your truck so taking a week to charge is probably OK. But of course it's not about what you really need, it's all about perception. In that race, trucks and guns are the most important.
  - kingsuper20 5y ago
    I expect that after the first month the truck-driving Americans will turn cannibal and eat the Subaru-driving Americans. I give them six months of survival.
- buescher 5y ago
  If the world turns Mad Max, The Humungus will be driving around in the electric truck he took from some sap who expected to ride out the apocalypse with his solar panels and electric vehicle.
helm33 5y ago
This truck will do very, very well in a fleet context. The price point here will mean that commercial and government buyers who pencil out TCO(total cost of ownership) will have a compelling cost savings in maintenance and fuel.
rootusrootus 5y ago
> significant amount of pickup truck buyers do it for the machismo Those are weasel words unless you can back them up with data. Ford sells over a million pickups a year, and they're just a third of that market. There's no way to get an audience this large by going for machismo, pickups sell because they have broad appeal.
- cloverich 5y ago
  It is a bit insulting but I suspect many people have enough experience with this that its a bit of a gut reaction. I know a lot of big ego people, they all drive trucks. I've been flipped off by drivers of all vehicles, but only run off the road by trucks, usually for very trivial things. because you know, getting into someone elses lane is effectively a challenge to their manhood, and they better make a point about it less they lose their social standing. That's not the actual thoughts in their heads, but it is their reaction. Trucks are _also_ comfortable, convenient, and all those other things, which is _also_ crucial. But I just can't imagine any of these big ego people driving a small car (and yes, more than a few have explicitly said as much). At any rate, what exactly would objective supporting data look like here?
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    > At any rate, what exactly would objective supporting data look like here? I don't know, which is why I wouldn't stereotype such a large group of the population. To a reasonable approximation, everyone in America is a truck customer. It's way too broad to have a common defining characteristic. I agree that there is a subgroup (think of them perhaps as the 'brodozer' crowd, I guess) that seem to be who you're thinking of. They mostly don't drive F150s, they're more likely to go for a diesel HD pickup. And even then they are just a niche of that market. I know lots of superduty owners that want nothing to do with those folks.
speby 5y ago
It's funny, I view buying a truck for the machismo as one of the primary emotions/feelings/identity actually means buying it for whatever the opposite of machismo is.
Someone1234 5y ago
As a contrasting anecdote: I work with IT people, about 20% of the parking lot is pickup trucks. So while there might be pushback from the "salt of the earth"-type, I suspect a lot of urban truck owners are very far removed from that. The gas/long bed/bench seat base model may continue to sell for the rest of my life to farmers and construction crews, but most people buying a truck likely don't need a truck: It is just a utilitarian general vehicle that may haul gardening supplies, camping gear, and dump runs every so often. So you likely are correct, it just may not matter for the more common demography for trucks in 2021+.
ctdonath 5y ago
“Machismo” might be why Tesla went with the dystopian styling for Cybertruck.

outside1234 5y ago

Also, this pickup is going to be way faster than the IC one. That helps with the overcompensation buyer.

bamboozled 5y ago

Macho man and their egos like the fastest, toughest trucks with the most torque / power. This is it. It wins.

csharptwdec19 5y ago
It depends. There's a couple classes of 'Truck guys'. The Truck guys that just want power, yeah they'll probably go for this. The Truck guys that like throwing turbodiesels in to get HP/Torque numbers like what we see in the lightning, I would say it depends on whether Ford makes it 'Moddable' or not.

GiorgioG 5y ago

It isn't fair to characterize everyone this way. I've owned my fair share of small cars (by US standards) but I bought a used F150 (my first truck) a few years ago and I love it. I don't care about how loud the engine is, nor do I think it makes me any more macho (I don't buy things for what others think of me.) It carts my family around comfortably and I can haul lots of things with it without caring if it's dirty/wet/etc. My second favorite vehicle is my wife's minivan - it's too bad they have a bad stigma. My concern with the Lightning (and EVs in general) is range anxiety. I can fill up my F150 in what 3-4 minutes. How long before I can go 400 miles on a charge? What happens during an extended power outage, can I carry 100 miles worth of range in a portable container that's as easy to handle as 5 gallons of gas? None of these concerns have anything to do with this vehicle making me feel more manly ;)

discordance 5y ago
It will take some change in behavior, but it’s worked out ok for me. I charge over night (and frequently using solar in the day when at home). That leaves me with 400km of range everyday. For those infrequent long trips I stop every 3 hours/350km and charge for 30 mins. Watch some Netflix, use laptop, or have a short nap and move on. Works out ok.

neither_color 5y ago

After reading your comment I went and CTRL-Fd the page for green, environment, carbon and sustainable. These words either don't appear or aren't selling points. Ford's marketing department knows what they're doing, they're marketing this truck as tough and powerful. I like it.

mavhc 5y ago

That's the price of the one you can't buy though, commercial version

GongOfFour 5y ago

They said the same about twin turbos in their trucks, but they got used to it.

perardi 5y ago
Yeahhhh, that’s a fair point, they sell every one they can make of those EcoBoosts.

bryanlarsen 5y ago

To some people machismo means strength, to others machismo means self-reliance. The 11 power outlets and the ability to power your house will really appeal to them. If the world turns Mad Max, someone with an electric truck and a few solar panels won't have to worry about the gasoline gangs.

jeffbee 5y ago
99% of truck-driving Americans will starve to death in the first month of a societal collapse, and there's nothing their truck can do about it. If you need a truck with a 120 kW-h battery pack it's either going to take a week to charge it from the excess capacity of a domestic solar array, or you need to quadruple the size of said solar array. Either way, between the truck and the solar panels you'd probably have been better off spending that money on land and seeds.
- bryanlarsen 5y ago
  A water supply, land, seeds, tools, enough food to get to harvest and having neighbors you can trust. Trucks and guns are way less important. In the case of societal collapse you're probably not going far with your truck so taking a week to charge is probably OK. But of course it's not about what you really need, it's all about perception. In that race, trucks and guns are the most important.
- kingsuper20 5y ago
  I expect that after the first month the truck-driving Americans will turn cannibal and eat the Subaru-driving Americans. I give them six months of survival.
buescher 5y ago
If the world turns Mad Max, The Humungus will be driving around in the electric truck he took from some sap who expected to ride out the apocalypse with his solar panels and electric vehicle.

helm33 5y ago

This truck will do very, very well in a fleet context. The price point here will mean that commercial and government buyers who pencil out TCO(total cost of ownership) will have a compelling cost savings in maintenance and fuel.

rootusrootus 5y ago

> significant amount of pickup truck buyers do it for the machismo Those are weasel words unless you can back them up with data. Ford sells over a million pickups a year, and they're just a third of that market. There's no way to get an audience this large by going for machismo, pickups sell because they have broad appeal.

cloverich 5y ago
It is a bit insulting but I suspect many people have enough experience with this that its a bit of a gut reaction. I know a lot of big ego people, they all drive trucks. I've been flipped off by drivers of all vehicles, but only run off the road by trucks, usually for very trivial things. because you know, getting into someone elses lane is effectively a challenge to their manhood, and they better make a point about it less they lose their social standing. That's not the actual thoughts in their heads, but it is their reaction. Trucks are _also_ comfortable, convenient, and all those other things, which is _also_ crucial. But I just can't imagine any of these big ego people driving a small car (and yes, more than a few have explicitly said as much). At any rate, what exactly would objective supporting data look like here?
- rootusrootus 5y ago
  > At any rate, what exactly would objective supporting data look like here? I don't know, which is why I wouldn't stereotype such a large group of the population. To a reasonable approximation, everyone in America is a truck customer. It's way too broad to have a common defining characteristic. I agree that there is a subgroup (think of them perhaps as the 'brodozer' crowd, I guess) that seem to be who you're thinking of. They mostly don't drive F150s, they're more likely to go for a diesel HD pickup. And even then they are just a niche of that market. I know lots of superduty owners that want nothing to do with those folks.

speby 5y ago

It's funny, I view buying a truck for the machismo as one of the primary emotions/feelings/identity actually means buying it for whatever the opposite of machismo is.

Someone1234 5y ago

As a contrasting anecdote: I work with IT people, about 20% of the parking lot is pickup trucks. So while there might be pushback from the "salt of the earth"-type, I suspect a lot of urban truck owners are very far removed from that. The gas/long bed/bench seat base model may continue to sell for the rest of my life to farmers and construction crews, but most people buying a truck likely don't need a truck: It is just a utilitarian general vehicle that may haul gardening supplies, camping gear, and dump runs every so often. So you likely are correct, it just may not matter for the more common demography for trucks in 2021+.

ctdonath 5y ago

“Machismo” might be why Tesla went with the dystopian styling for Cybertruck.