Ford’s Lightning pickup could make electric vehicles popular with all consumers, not just the green ones

MSN ^ | Jun 22, 2021 | Brian C. Black

[Red Badger]

When President Joe Biden took Ford’s electric F-150 Lightning pickup for a test drive in Dearborn, Mich., in May, the event was more than a White House photo op. It marked a new phase in an accelerating shift from gas-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles, or EVs.

In recent months, global auto manufacturers have released plans to electrify their vehicle fleets by 2030 or 2035, setting up a race to see who can most quickly shift entirely away from producing vehicles powered by gasoline.

, I see this moment as pivotal because unlike EVs from manufacturers such as Toyota or Tesla, the electric F-150 does not entirely rely on green consumer choice. It places the electric vehicle transition squarely in the hands of mass-market consumers who don’t choose vehicles based on environmental considerations. Like Biden, former President Donald Trump promised to create jobs in the auto industry. But Trump sought to do it by perpetuating a fossil-fueled system that is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Auto makers benefited from some Trump policies in the short term, including the rollback of fuel economy standards. Now, however, they seem to be embracing the challenge of competing globally in a climate-constrained future.

As an environmental historian, I see this moment as pivotal because unlike EVs from manufacturers such as Toyota or Tesla the electric F-150 does not entirely rely on green consumer choice. It places the electric vehicle transition squarely in the hands of mass-market consumers who don’t choose vehicles based on environmental considerations, and who are buying far more light trucks—pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans—than cars today.

[dfwgator]

The problem is when EVs are no longer “fun toys” for a select few, and will be the only option for everyone.

There is no frickin’ way the grid will be able to handle that. Not in a million years. Unless the plan is to ultimately only allow personal transportation for a select few.

[cpdiii]

I drove from Salado, Texas to Mount Magazine Arkansas this week. I filled up my tank in Salado and drove 466 miles. I few days later I filled my tank and drove home 466 miles. I did not see one damn charging station on the journey but saw many gas stations. If I was in that F150 Lightning I would still be on the side of the road just North of Texarkana, Arkansas.

ps
The electricity is generated in the main by coal, gas, and petroleum.