Posted on 12/07/2021 7:12:38 PM PST by conservative98
Ford CEO Jim Farley explained to Automotive News that not all of its customers are ready to make the transition, due to their specific needs.
"We have a lot of rural customers at Ford that a lot of other brands don't have. We have Super Duty customers who do heavy-duty towing: horse trailers, people in the energy business who are towing big-time loads over very long distances. It's hard for me to imagine that all those customers will go electric in the next 10 years," Farley said.
"They're actually as interested in the technology as anyone, it's just their use case is different than how we've designed the vehicles so far. It does feel, at least for Ford, the transition's happening faster than we thought. But again, it's the first inning of a maybe nine-inning game."
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Unlike GM, which has said it will go all-electric in the U.S. by 2035, Ford sees hybrids playing a role in its lineup for years to come. This sentiment is shared by Toyota, due in part to the difficulties of electric car ownership for urban customers with limited access to charging stations as the infrastructure is built-out.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
EV movement to the forefront was orchestrated by the government, not the companies, but they then said “we have started investments of X billion dollars into EV.” Sudden change of heart.
So the most important point here is: when was the last time the DC and urban Dem governments on the coasts cared a whit about the flyover country yokels in the other states? Never.
How about those customers who just DON’T WANT ONE?
The whole EV movement stems from 1) clean air in cities and 2) curtailing mythical manmade climate change with a mythical solution.
#1 came first and had some genuine basis in fact. But ICE engines have gotten so clean that there is little remaining benefit to be had by changing from ICE to EV.
#2 came later when #1 was sputtering. But, from an overall systems analysis, #2 fails.
The powergrid isn’t ready for them and no one wants them.
We can boycott EVs. Democrats will still buy them though. So that’s half of the population.
I drive a F-150. Company car. Drove 46000 miles last year, about 30% pulling a 7000 pound trailer. Zero interest in electric.
When the weather is nice and I don't have to haul stuff around, the garage has 9 motorcycles that meet a wide range of transportation needs. The big V twins are long distance freeway bikes. The Kawasaka Versys and Honder CTX700 are freeway capable medium distance commuters. In town, the Yamaha SR400 gets 66 MPG on regular gas. The DR650SE is a dual sport. Fast enough for the freeway and capable of doing some serious offroad.
During my extended business trip to San Diego, I took one of Versys/Sportster/Fat Bob/DR650SE along on a trailer behind the 1999 F150. All of my commuting (60,000+ miles) was spread mainly across the Versys/Sportster/Fat Bob. The F150 racked up 50 miles a month after single day transits between San Diego/Pocatello of 925 miles.
I entertained the possibility of buying on the the Zero electric bikes. For the daily commute to work of 15 miles, it would have been fine. The path was down a 4 lane city street with 45 MPH max speed. It would have been far less satisfactory for riding out to Julian with a nominal 90 mile round trip up mountains with twisty roads. The Versys handled that perfectly and delivered 53 MPG.
Electric vehicles that rely on batteries alone for stored power are doomed to forever remain a short-commute vehicle. While electric motors are a perfectly good method of delivering torque to the drive wheels, there has to be some method of GENERATING the electric power on-board the vehicle, and the most likely source would be a hydrogen fuel cell. pretty much bypassing the use of battery power for anything except auxiliary power for short-term use.
Proud EV owner photo caption....
“If I can just get this chariot charged up I’ll make it the eight miles to the Billie Eilish concert. Then I’ll comb over my bald spot and turn on all my charm and pick up some chick from the audience and she can drive me home.”
I’ll be honest with you. I was once against EVs. But I changed my mind once I discovered that they can be used for transportation AND for outdoor cooking.
When EVs can do that (even if it's 400 miles rather than 810) I might consider one.
Until then,no thanks!
let the auto companies build the cars and trucks that the customers actually want and we’d see a lot of 30+MPG diesel-electric hybrid trucks without all that ultra-low emissions garbage stuck on them on the road, but the government can’t allow that. We’d also see a lot of small trucks (that would get 40+mpg when not under load, but the diesel rules and CAFE standards effectively eliminated that body type from the market.
I liked the “range up to 300 miles” part. Yeah, like under optimal conditions, which never happen. In the winter figure at least a 20% reduction in range right off the bat. In reality you’re looking at maybe 250 miles then get ready to set on your ass for 40 minutes at a “fast” charger so you can go another 250 miles.
I’ve got a RAM 1500 with the 5.7 motor that will get me over 400 miles on a tank AND takes 2 minutes and 53 seconds to put in exactly 22 gallons of gas and off I go. Build an electric truck that will do that at a competitive price and I might take a look otherwise they’re just an expensive virtue signaling novelty.
I agree with Jim Farley. Not everyone needs or wants an EV vehicle.
“not all of its customers are ready to make the transition, due to their specific needs.”
DUH.
Way too many people opinionating about EVs fail to acknowledge: hey, they’re not for everyone.
EVs are a great advancement in automotive technology. There’s a lot going for them. They’ll darned near pay for themselves in Atlanta; then again, they’re not going to do well in rural NY in winter - and that’s OK, just pick whatever vehicle works for you.
Too many are emotionally vested in a decisive win/loss for EVs.
They’re cars. Buy what you like, recognize that what works for you doesn’t work for everyone.
And yes, gasoline cars do burn up too. Mine did.
Yes but the government is going to force you to buy one whether you want one or not. That’s my issue.
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