It feels almost scandalous to be saying these words, but I've been really impressed with Ford lately.
By this point it is painfully obvious that the future of cars is electric. It's simply a better product. It is quieter, it only has around 20 moving parts, it is better for the environment, and they often allow for many more high-tech features. That being said, I think almost all of the notable innovation in the space up to this point has come from younger players, most obviously Tesla, but also companies like Rivian and Lucid. The transportation heavyweights have spoken very public about their toothless pledges to move towards electric, but I still haven't gotten the impression that many of them are truly dedicated to making innovative products in that space.
I think Ford is changing that. Not only did they literally split into two different business units to reemphasize this prioritization of electric vehicles, but the F-150 Lightning seems to prove Ford now fully understands what it will take to be successful in this space. When you're asking people to make a behavior change this drastic, you can't just throw a battery into the existing vehicles, give the consumer a pamphlet about the benefits, and expect them to want the new product. You have to make the new product so compelling that when given the two choices, the consumer will naturally gravitate toward the new option.
That is what Ford is doing with the F-150 Lightning. It is the most powerful F-150 ever produced based on horsepower and torque measurements. It can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds. It can tow 10,000 pounds, more than many current F-150s. And it has an onboard power storage system that is able to power your house in emergencies. Ford isn't just dipping their toe into EVs to see if consumers bite. They truly seem to be taking the benefits of the medium and seeing how they can stretch them to make the best truck they can, and I'm all here for it.
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