Driving an EV pickup

[jackfish]

Not sure if any forum members bought a cybertruck I know one asked my opinion when his pre-order came up and it was clear at that point the resale of them would plummet. That was before this video. Which makes me think forum members who bought ford lightnings are geniuses

Oh, we do like being called geniuses!
I had a very early cybertruck reservation, and had a chance to order come up...and I just couldn't do it. Too expensive. Too late. Too much crazy.

Agree that the whistlin diesel guy has an obnoxious style, but he did inadvertently create a fantastic ford advertisement.

 

[sly_karma]

Oh, we do like being called geniuses!
I had a very early cybertruck reservation, and had a chance to order come up...and I just couldn't do it. Too expensive. Too late. Too much crazy.

Agree that the whistlin diesel guy has an obnoxious style, but he did inadvertently create a fantastic ford advertisement.

That youtube channel probably has a huge following. Definitely a market for gonzo mayhem like that, just not from me.

 

[Bill 310]

I was telling a pal about the price discounts on Ford Lightnings up in PG.

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning

Discover your next 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning at Prince George Ford for only $86,829 CAD. Find this and other great Ford models in Prince George, BC today

www.pgford.ca

He is looking for a luxury pickup.This one has the bigger battery.

Apparently, I didn't have my VPN on when I looked at the last 2023 at PG Ford's website. It is priced at 73% of list price and a salesman wrote me this morning



If a red truck tickles his fancy I would like to watch as he negotiaties the price down further via email

Car Cost Canada calculates the wholesale / retail prices at




This morning's email

Good morning.

This is Mike at PG Ford. Yes, we have the 2023 Lightning in stock. This is the last of our 2023 models, and has a huge $32,000 off of the price.

This is the extended version and is a Platinum, which means it is very well appointed. This Lightning is currently being used as a managers demo, hence the large discount.

Great truck, fantastic in the winter!

Please replay with a phone number, so that we can text or speak.

Thank you,

 

[sly_karma]

A year ago, Lightnings were still selling at MSRP as we waited impatiently for trucks ordered many months earlier. Then, 86K would have bought an extended range XLT, and it was over the cap for govt rebates. Platinum was an eye watering hundred and a quarter.

He can give it a try to see if there's any more room, but the dealer must be hurting even at that listed price. One thing to be aware of is the Platinum and Lariat trims were built at the start of the MY2023 build run. There will be a substantial number of OTA updates to load before they're up to speed. Ford pushes these to individual VINs at a time of their own choosing, so it's not a given that they'll come through quickly.

 

[Bill 310]

As per usual, you never disappoint in your level of knowledge.

 

[sly_karma]

Ford are trying, but they're definitely not on top of the software update game. Last week I received Ford Powerup 6.14.0 - while I was driving! That's a first, normally they happen at night as I have it set up to auto check for and install any new upgrades at 1 am.

The Ford app still shows my latest upgrade as 6.8.0, back in August, but the truck itself displays 6.14.0 installed. And it now has AM radio capability for the first time since I've had it. This recent update was all about infotainment system so I guess they felt OK about it being I stalled while driving.

The overall concept is good. The vehicle gets progressively better over time as fixes and new features are added. Ford are taking tiny steps, trying not to brick expensive trucks due to a failed update. That's reasonable. And some big EV players like Hyundai and VW don't have over the air updates at all, the cars have to be taken to the dealer for that.

 

[Max123]

I love the idea of over-the-air updates. I remember this back from when Tesla first released the Model 3 in 2018. Consumer Reports did a review where it performed poorly in a braking distance test, within a week Tesla released an over-the-air update that shaved 20ft off the stopping distance.

Tesla’s Quick Fix for Its Braking System Came From the Ether

Shortly after Consumer Reports panned the Model 3 for its long stopping distance, Elon pushed a change through to adjust the antilock algorithm.

www.wired.com

Likewise, I remember way back in 2017 during Hurricane Irene Tesla unlocked additional range held back in reserve in some of its base models so that owners wouldn't get stranded trying to flee.

Tesla extended the range of some Florida vehicles for drivers to escape Hurricane Irma

The update unlocks the full battery capacity of 60 and 70 kWh vehicles through September 16th

www.theverge.com

I took note and thought that both of these was amazing at the time, and a definite sign of things to come. Large manufacturers that still shun over-the-air updates are doing a real disservice to consumers. A car is a complex system that embodies a vast number of trade-offs, errors & assumptions. Modern electronics allow a sophisticated manufacturer to monitor and respond to these things on the fly. Commissioning is a hugely under rated service provided and it indicates a sophisticated manufacturer with a long term vision for their product (rather than bang it out and forget about it).

I dug out both of these articles, because they represent a real milestone that I think sailed past most of us unawares.

 

[wildmanyeah]

get these all the time for my f150

 

[kaelc]

I hate trying to update my Lowrance screens, over the air isn’t easy to do but if ford wants to lock people in like apple they have to think of the convenience vs ok Microsoft which was a nightmare.

Not to derail but just saw this electric foil boat in good chop.

 

[sly_karma]

I love the idea of over-the-air updates. I remember this back from when Tesla first released the Model 3 in 2018. Consumer Reports did a review where it performed poorly in a braking distance test, within a week Tesla released an over-the-air update that shaved 20ft off the stopping distance.

Tesla’s Quick Fix for Its Braking System Came From the Ether

Shortly after Consumer Reports panned the Model 3 for its long stopping distance, Elon pushed a change through to adjust the antilock algorithm.

www.wired.com

Likewise, I remember way back in 2017 during Hurricane Irene Tesla unlocked additional range held back in reserve in some of its base models so that owners wouldn't get stranded trying to flee.

Tesla extended the range of some Florida vehicles for drivers to escape Hurricane Irma

The update unlocks the full battery capacity of 60 and 70 kWh vehicles through September 16th

www.theverge.com

I took note and thought that both of these was amazing at the time, and a definite sign of things to come. Large manufacturers that still shun over-the-air updates are doing a real disservice to consumers. A car is a complex system that embodies a vast number of trade-offs, errors & assumptions. Modern electronics allow a sophisticated manufacturer to monitor and respond to these things on the fly. Commissioning is a hugely under rated service provided and it indicates a sophisticated manufacturer with a long term vision for their product (rather than bang it out and forget about it).

I dug out both of these articles, because they represent a real milestone that I think sailed past most of us unawares.

Tesla is a technology company that happens to build cars. Their holistic approach to the car, integrating the running gear, software and charging network, right from the first designs, is streets ahead of the legacy car makers. They've taken EV further, faster, than anyone thought possible. Certainly way quicker than if we'd just let the regular auto industry pick away at it. Tesla is responsive because they have all their engineering in house. Musk insisted it be that way so they could make rapid changes and improve their vehicles, even those already out in the wild. The conventional auto makers have done very nicely out of slowly doling out improvements over time that entice folks to buy the new model, so it's not surprising that they haven't fully embraced OTA updates. (Also their cycle time for software changes is way longer because it's almost all contracted out).

I'm happy I'm getting any updates at all. Certainly have noticed fewer little glitchy things in the user interface as time has gone on. The nav system now has what appears to be a much improved search capability for chargers, looking forward to using that on the next trip.

 

[sly_karma]

I'm still in awe of the regenerative braking concept. It's like magic or voodoo or something.

Case in point: I went up to Apex last weekend and monitored distance and battery state of charge (because I am a dull person with apparently little else to live for).

Home, 90%, 485 m elev., 0 km
Okanagan River bridge, 91%, 338 m, 5 km
Apex village, 68%, 1737 m, 36 km
Green Mtn Rd junct. 73%, 905 m, 46 km
Okanagan R. bridge, 73%, 338 m, 67 km
Home, 71%, 485 m, 72 km

Imagine arriving home from the ski hill, a half hour/36 km drive, with $5 worth of gas more than what you left with!

 

[Bill 310]

Ok, I am not understanding this .

Was your start from home number

A) Home, 71%,

or was it

B) Home, 90%,


I can't get my head around how you worked out the $5.00 savings

I know you are meticulous in your spreadsheets but I am lost in this one

 

[Rain City]

Ok, I am not understanding this .

Was your start from home number

A) Home, 71%,

or was it

B) Home, 90%,


I can't get my head around how you worked out the $5.00 savings

I know you are meticulous in your spreadsheets but I am lost in this one

Apex Village to home only.

 

[sly_karma]

Ok, I am not understanding this .

Was your start from home number

A) Home, 71%,

or was it

B) Home, 90%,


I can't get my head around how you worked out the $5.00 savings

I know you are meticulous in your spreadsheets but I am lost in this one

Ok, I am not understanding this .

Was your start from home number

A) Home, 71%,

or was it

B) Home, 90%,


I can't get my head around how you worked out the $5.00 savings

I know you are meticulous in your spreadsheets but I am lost in this one

Left the ski hill at 68%, got home with 72%. I know I used lots to climb up there, but so you do in a gas truck. And no one adds a couple of litres back in your tank coming home.

Overall, driving in mountains uses more energy than the same distance on the flat, speeds being equal. For my truck, the average power use at 60 km/h is 20 kWh/100 km, so a theoretical trip of 72 km should use 15% of battery (20*.72 = 14.4 kWh used of 98 kWh total pack capacity). Our actual figure was 18% used, which is significant. A 20% jump in energy use, or 20% range loss, depending how you view it.

This is why the trip planning apps have "eco route" options in them. But BC is BC, often there's only one viable route, and it'll be mountains.

 

[CiscoCat]

I Have just rolled over 50000km. Zero issues. Towed both of my boats a bunch this past year and Multiple trips long distances. I use it daily on job sites and utilizing the onboard power all the time. As an electrical contractor this truck has been a huge asset on our sites with no power. Pretty cool rig.

 

[sly_karma]

Will crack 30,000 km on mine this week. It's been great so far. Best truck I've ever driven.

I Have just rolled over 50000km. Zero issues. Towed both of my boats a bunch this past year and Multiple trips long distances. I use it daily on job sites and utilizing the onboard power all the time. As an electrical contractor this truck has been a huge asset on our sites with no power. Pretty cool ririg.

Are you seeing many other Lightnings around? Quite a few contractors here driving them. We had 3 of them on one site last week.

 

[CiscoCat]

Will crack 30,000 km on mine this week. It's been great so far. Best truck I've ever driven.


Are you seeing many other Lightnings around? Quite a few contractors here driving them. We had 3 of them on one site last week.

Yes lots of them around Vancouver. Ive converted a few nonbelievers

 

[sly_karma]

Something about that 5K a year cheaper to run...

 

[CiscoCat]

Something about that 5K a year cheaper to run...

Exactly. One of My favorite things is not having to hunt for diesel in the morning. Charging at home is so much better.

 

[sly_karma]

When I'm asked how long it takes to charge, I tell them 20 seconds: 10 sec to plug in, 10 sec to unplug in the morning. Do something else in between.