Posted on 10/20/2023 6:15:03 AM PDT by Red Badger
Ford did masterful work with the F-150 Lightning. The electric pickup was a no-brainer pick for our game-changing vehicle of the year. But in EV terms, the truck is effectively old tech — a reworked edition of the 14th-generation F-150.
Going that route was beneficial; Ford got an electric pickup to market far sooner than competitors. But the F-150 Lightning is hamstrung by its combustion-oriented platform. With competitors like the Silverado EV, the GMC Sierra EV and the Ram 1500 REV, GM and Stellantis are skipping the "F-150 Lightning" development stage to build new, ground-up electric trucks on dedicated EV platforms. Those trucks — when they get to market — will exceed the range and capability of the F-150 Lightning. But Ford has no plans to be caught flat-footed.
During the production launch for the F-150 Lightning, Ford CEO Jim Farley confirmed that Ford was already working on a new EV truck to match competitors. For now, Ford is publicly referring to the truck under code name "Project T3," which stands for "trust the truck." We expect the truck to receive some form of F-Series branding.
Here's everything we know about Ford's Project T3 electric truck so far.
The new Ford electric pickup will arrive in 2025
VIDEO AT LINK..............
Ford has confirmed that it will begin building the new electric pickup at its Blue Oval City EV plant in Tennessee in 2025. Ford revealed the F-150 Lightning about a year before it entered production. So it's conceivable we could meet the new truck in 2024.
What specs will the Ford Project T3 electric pickup have?
Ford Ford hasn't gone into specifics yet on Project T3. But the brand has alluded to several items. Expect Ford's EV truck to have a digital platform for over-the-air software updates, faster charging, a longer range than the Lightning's 320 miles, the latest edition of Blue Cruise hands-free driving and for the truck to be even better at charging your home.
One interesting contention is that the truck will be "impossibly quick," which suggests it will be quicker than the F-150 Lightning. Keep in mind that the F-150 Lightning can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds flat.
Ford likened Project T3 to the Millennium Falcon
Ford hasn't really gone into specifics yet about the new truck's capabilities. But Jim Farley did compare the new truck to the Millennium Falcon.
"PJ O’Rourke once described American pickups as ‘a back porch with an engine attached.’ Well, this new truck is going to be like the Millennium Falcon – with a back porch attached," Farley said.
We will assume Farley is not taking the Star Wars reference too literally and is just attempting to portray that the truck will be impressively quick and capable.
Production capacity should not be the issue with Ford's new electric truck
Ford Ford's only real issue with the F-150 Lightning has been building enough of them to meet demand; Ford initially planned to build about 40,000 F-150 Lightnings per year and ended up with nearly 200,000 reservations before closing that process down.
It sounds like that won't be an issue with the Project T3 truck, noting that Blue Oval City will eventually be able to produce 500,000 electric trucks per year.
Will there be smaller versions of the Project T3 electric truck?
One of the benefits of a dedicated EV platform is modularity. And Motortrend believes we may see smaller Ranger and even Maverick-sized electric pickups on this platform. That presumably could mean an electric Bronco-branded SUV as well.
Ford filed trademark applications for "F-150 Thunder," "Ranger Thunder" and "Maverick Thunder," which could be a potential name for the trucks. Thunder does come after lightning, after all.
Will the new electric truck kill off the F-150 Lightning?
Not necessarily. Ford has not confirmed its future product plans yet. But Automotive News believes the F-150 Lightning could stick around as an option for commercial buyers.
Hahaha
NO
The Rump Ranger.
Fabulous!
I recall reading about the Lightening going dead after a 100 mile tow and then taking hours to recharge. I’m not anti electric vehicle, I just wish they worked to the point I actually wanted one.
I don’t need to know anything about it.
Soooo... does that mean that the goal is eliminate both gas and hybrids? No more interest or are they aiming for 100% electric?
My better half and I went out to dinner last evening with friends in their new Toyota VENZA Hybrid of a few weeks. That’s more of a wagon, but of the size of a Ford EXPLORER. I was amazed to watch the instrument panel and observe when it was on battery, when on aux. engine power and when it was coasting/recharging the battery. And I was REALLY impressed by the dashboard display showing that a ride of that size, with 4 hefty passengers was averaging 34.5 mpg. while providing plenty of zip when it was called for. I think Toyota has their do-do together about as good as any auto builder today.
Battery-powered electric vehicles always were, are, and shall always be, conveyances for a niche market, never anything more. The capabilities are so much less than a comparably-sized vehicle of whatever configuration, powered with a hybrid system of on-board power generation and electric propulsion, that they lose out entirely once the limitations are reached. Driving range, quickness of power regeneration, load-carrying capability, and adaptability to extreme weather conditions have not been adequately addressed, and may never be resolved to satisfaction in an economically feasible manner.
Now, electric drive train propulsion has a LOT of advantages as compared to the complex variable transmission ratios and driveline shafts required to adapt the limitations of internal-combustion engines to the task of providing wheel traction. After all, we have had Diesel-electric locomotives in service since before the Second World War, displacing the earlier steam locomotives through efficiency and adaptability, and essentially much less complex than the last of the steam locomotives.
In engineering, as in any other human endeavor, the simple admonition is KISS.
Keep it simple, stupid.
“to be like the Millennium Falcon – with a back porch attached”
I think the person promoting this pick up truck have missed the point of why the consumer BUYS a PICKUP truck. It is not sports car. It is a vehicle used to haul things in its bed OR haul a trailer. While electric vehicles have plenty of torque they do not have the ability to haul that additional weight for any amount of mileage.
Going 0-60 in 3 seconds is not that important in a pick up truck. Hauling a 12m# camper or boat IS important. That is why they are buying a big truck.
All the others, Asian, European and American, are jumping feet first onto the TOTAL EV bandwagon.
Toyota is hedging their bets...................
I can’t wait to see one pulling 14,000 pounds of peanuts in a trailer while bouncing along a rutted dusty field road...
The ultimate failures outlined by such propaganda are multifaceted and roll into ultimately only 2 criteria:
1. Violation of free market principles (government mandates/incentives/controls)
2. #1 resulting in promotion of inadequate base technology (batteries) to compromise the entire concept of EV success.
If the government wasn’t an impediment, we’d see hydrogen absolutely destroying the EV market.
Wow, didn’t know about that- that’s a lot of loss.
Bla bla bla . I’d bet this is a useless piece of shit for anyone having to do real work in the real world. I’ve been using f350s to do that since time immemorial.
Thomas Edison wanted to use DC and not AC to power homes.
Tesla (and General Electric) wanted AC.
DC is even more loss prone than AC.
That would have required a power station on every block.......
Idiots at Gearhead. Little did they suspect Ford would expose their propaganda by canceling the F250 Lightning. Ford took the F150 and they added 2500 lbs to make it electric.
Shame on the authors.
You might also want to calculate the time the pump is attached to the car. As well as the connected time of the electric cord. 5 minutes vs 8 hours?
For Gov "Bail Out" program. Purchase enough of them for "Crash Testing"; to keep Ford in business.
Very true. Lots of downsides to current electric vehicles. Someone posted a link to new tech though that charges the car while in use, no need for manual charging. That seems like the tech to pursue. Supposedly the new tech never needs manual charging, and it isn’t a hybrid, so no gas required either. I shoulda bookmarked the link-
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.