4 ms·

Ford Aims for Revolution with $30k Electric Truck

35 points by 01-_- 1y ago

bell-cot 1y ago
Same truck, but Ars Technica's article: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44865075 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44865075
lucidguppy 1y ago
I'm all for it - I want it to happen, but I'm driving a used EV right now living the good life. The age of EV hype is gone, now we need real products.
xhkkffbf 1y ago
And isn't the Slate aiming for $20k? Maybe they're cutting out more features?
- guywithahat 1y ago
  I think the Slate 20-25k pricetag includes the 7500 tax credit, which will no longer exist when it comes out. They'll both be around 30k. Slate has announced they're no longer targeting sub-20k after the EV credit. It also looks like their simpler EV process (ie cost saving) is basically to do what Tesla does, and use the same battery pack and platform for all their vehicles, as well as simplify the design down as much as possible. I think it'll be exciting and I hope they're successful with it
nubinetwork 1y ago
Can I put a sheet of plywood or drywall in the back? If not, then just make another SUV like everyone else... an extended cab with a tiny truck bed makes no sense to craftsmen.
- guywithahat 1y ago
  Well they make sense to more casual users, being able to throw bikes, gear, or tools in the back is great. How big that market is however is hard to say. The Subaru Baja certainly wasn't a big success
  - ultrarunner 1y ago
    Because it's all a lifestyle signal, not for actual use. The Baja sent the wrong signal. Simple as that.
    - guywithahat 1y ago
      Most of the people I know who drive trucks actually use them, even if only infrequently. There is a segment of people who only use them to carry bikes or the home depot run, but capturing that market seems to have been tricky for companies in the past
- roarcher 1y ago
  You can on the Maverick. The tailgate has a "middle" position that puts its top edge level with the tops of the wheel well humps in the bed, and you put your sheets on top of them.
AtlasBarfed 1y ago
We need 50 mile PHEVs more than anything. I think there's two decades of these while EV economies of scale and charging infrastructure builds out. Basically, you design a skateboard EV, but way less batteries and you put a recharge engine instead of the frunk. So I don't even think it would be a major departure from the current generation of EV engineering. I think this can challenge a new price point until sodium ion batteries hit their stride and really change the economics of EVs.
- bryanlarsen 1y ago
  So take out about $2000 worth of batteries and add $10000 worth of engine, transmission and other complexities to lower the price?
  - linotype 1y ago
    Don’t worry, when they release 50 mile range PHEVs they’ll just move the goalpost to 100 mile range. It’s like hydrogen, meant to maintain the status quo vs zero emission (via solar, hydro, wind and nuclear).
    - tzs 1y ago
      I believe 50 miles is commonly chosen because something like 70% of non-rural drivers drive less than 50 miles per day. With a 50 mile PHEV and level 1 charging at home at least half of non-rural drivers would be able to operate most of the time in EV mode.
      - bryanlarsen 1y ago
        Hybrid vehicles are an artifact of the CAFE regulations. Manufacturers subsidized them to meet their CAFE quotas. CAFE has been neutered, so their premium over pure gasoline vehicles will go up significantly.
        AtlasBarfed 1y ago
homeonthemtn 1y ago
A truck for who though? If the truck is intended to tow, it will need a reasonable range to be useful. If it's just intended to be a shiny large vehicle for suburban people buying their way to an identity, then we might be talking.
- sanderjd 1y ago
  I feel like it's the same target market as the Maverick, but the (certainly smaller currently) subset of that market that prefers the drivability of EVs. I think if they can actually pull off this vehicle at this price point, it will be nice, though maybe still not successful. But I'm very happy to see US carmakers trying to figure out how to do cheaper EVs. I hope others will follow suit (and that Tesla will get their heads out of their asses and work on this too).

35 points by 01-_- 1y ago

Same truck, but Ars Technica's article: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44865075 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44865075

lucidguppy 1y ago

I'm all for it - I want it to happen, but I'm driving a used EV right now living the good life. The age of EV hype is gone, now we need real products.

xhkkffbf 1y ago

And isn't the Slate aiming for $20k? Maybe they're cutting out more features?

guywithahat 1y ago
I think the Slate 20-25k pricetag includes the 7500 tax credit, which will no longer exist when it comes out. They'll both be around 30k. Slate has announced they're no longer targeting sub-20k after the EV credit. It also looks like their simpler EV process (ie cost saving) is basically to do what Tesla does, and use the same battery pack and platform for all their vehicles, as well as simplify the design down as much as possible. I think it'll be exciting and I hope they're successful with it

nubinetwork 1y ago

Can I put a sheet of plywood or drywall in the back? If not, then just make another SUV like everyone else... an extended cab with a tiny truck bed makes no sense to craftsmen.

guywithahat 1y ago
Well they make sense to more casual users, being able to throw bikes, gear, or tools in the back is great. How big that market is however is hard to say. The Subaru Baja certainly wasn't a big success
- ultrarunner 1y ago
  Because it's all a lifestyle signal, not for actual use. The Baja sent the wrong signal. Simple as that.
  - guywithahat 1y ago
    Most of the people I know who drive trucks actually use them, even if only infrequently. There is a segment of people who only use them to carry bikes or the home depot run, but capturing that market seems to have been tricky for companies in the past
roarcher 1y ago
You can on the Maverick. The tailgate has a "middle" position that puts its top edge level with the tops of the wheel well humps in the bed, and you put your sheets on top of them.

AtlasBarfed 1y ago

We need 50 mile PHEVs more than anything. I think there's two decades of these while EV economies of scale and charging infrastructure builds out. Basically, you design a skateboard EV, but way less batteries and you put a recharge engine instead of the frunk. So I don't even think it would be a major departure from the current generation of EV engineering. I think this can challenge a new price point until sodium ion batteries hit their stride and really change the economics of EVs.

bryanlarsen 1y ago
So take out about $2000 worth of batteries and add $10000 worth of engine, transmission and other complexities to lower the price?
- linotype 1y ago
  Don’t worry, when they release 50 mile range PHEVs they’ll just move the goalpost to 100 mile range. It’s like hydrogen, meant to maintain the status quo vs zero emission (via solar, hydro, wind and nuclear).
  - tzs 1y ago
    I believe 50 miles is commonly chosen because something like 70% of non-rural drivers drive less than 50 miles per day. With a 50 mile PHEV and level 1 charging at home at least half of non-rural drivers would be able to operate most of the time in EV mode.
    - bryanlarsen 1y ago
      Hybrid vehicles are an artifact of the CAFE regulations. Manufacturers subsidized them to meet their CAFE quotas. CAFE has been neutered, so their premium over pure gasoline vehicles will go up significantly.
      - AtlasBarfed 1y ago

homeonthemtn 1y ago

A truck for who though? If the truck is intended to tow, it will need a reasonable range to be useful. If it's just intended to be a shiny large vehicle for suburban people buying their way to an identity, then we might be talking.

sanderjd 1y ago
I feel like it's the same target market as the Maverick, but the (certainly smaller currently) subset of that market that prefers the drivability of EVs. I think if they can actually pull off this vehicle at this price point, it will be nice, though maybe still not successful. But I'm very happy to see US carmakers trying to figure out how to do cheaper EVs. I hope others will follow suit (and that Tesla will get their heads out of their asses and work on this too).