Can lightning really strike the same place twice? Yes, it can, per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
Lightning can, and often does, strike the same place repeatedly–especially if it’s a tall and isolated object. For example, the Empire State Building is hit about 25 times per year.
We also know that lightning can strike the same place twice because …
For a more in-depth look into driving (and owning) an F-150 Lightning, be sure to check out Tom's ownership/build thread: Is an Electric Pickup Truck A Terrible Idea? (My 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Build Thread)
$90K!? For that price I'd buy a new Maverick AND and a new Elantra N and a new Miata. Almost; 1 of them might need to be used to fit under $90K. But still, I struggle to see a large target audience at this price point.
In reply to CrashDummy :
This thing's a lot more capable than a Maverick when it comes to truck things.
I was able to get an ICE F-150 up to $90k without a lot of effort by selecting bells and whistles and tow packages.
No comment on the truck, because, yawn, another $90k truck, who cares?
BUT
I wanted to say that was a great intro to the article. Nice writing Colin!
If Ford hadn't screwed up the launch and dealer allocations on the first run, I'd own a Lightning now.
Unfortunately they screwed the pooch and I'm highly unlikely to buy a new Ford again, let alone one that is now 90k.
Initial impressions as it just showed up and I haven’t driven one before: It’s among the more traditional EVs that I have experienced. How’s that? It has a regular truck-like shifter. No knob, no buttons, no electronic joystick.
More to come.
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
Thanks! I glad you liked it.
It was fun writing it.
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
It is a good, engaging lede. :)
I'm interested in how useful this thing is. What's the range when towing an enclosed race trailer, let's say 5-6,000 lb loaded?
I'm interested in how useful this thing is. What's the range when towing an enclosed race trailer, let's say 5-6,000 lb loaded?
Mine goes about 120 miles with a normal cheap 20x8.5' enclosed at highway speeds, 160 miles with our Montrose enclosed, or 200ish with an open trailer with a Miata. Full details and such are in my build thread Colin linked to.
As far as how useful it is: I just returned a scissor lift to the tool rental place 10 minutes ago with mine, and the bed is currently filthy with drywall and insulation detritus. Its a truck, and does truck stuff. It just happens to do it faster and for pennies on the dollar when it comes to fuel cost. And it's always full of that cheap fuel when I walk out to it in the morning.
One other thing worth mentioning: Like all cars, especially EVs, these have finally started to depreciate. A friend of mine, after driving my truck, was bidding on this (though it didn't meet reserve):
Granted, that's a much lower trim than the Platinum we're sampling this week, but these aren't significantly more expensive than a gas F-150.
Curious what's the GVWR and Payload of the platinum? And does it have the Pano roof?
My '17 F150 3.5EB Lariat with the Pano roof is 7000 and 1574 (which seems pretty low). Wasn't sure how well the Lightning compares.
Not sure on the Platinum, but here's my big-battery XLT with no moonroof. GVWR is 8550 lbs.
Put some miles on the Lightning this weekend: Orlando and back (an hour on I-4 each way) plus some rural driving this evening.
It’s quick, but you already know that.
Comfortable and quiet on the highway. No wandering, no odd noises, nothing really to make things annoying. As such a big cash cow for Ford, I’m going to assume they put more than a few R&D dollars into this. The buttons make sense, the controls are easy to find. Where the giant iPad seems a bit awkward in the Mustang Mach-E, here it integrates nicely–could simply be thanks to the scale of the truck.
Plenty of bolstering and support in the seats–both back and butt. No tiredness, no soreness.
Steering is light but still communicative. It’s way light at slow speeds but feels confident on the highway.
For an EV, it’s also fairly traditional. The controls all feel standard for an F-150. Like I mentioned earlier, I guess I was surprised to find a traditional shifter.
My one thing, and this goes for any F-150: It’s big. Really big. Like, not easy to wheel into the spot at the local EA charging station. 
So we just got back from a drive up and around in Flagler County, so that meant along the beach and some back roads. No too curvy because Florida.
I said it was big to park, but other than that, the Lightning doesn’t feel so huge on the road. No, it doesn’t feel like a Miata, but it doesn’t feel as heavy as expected. Again as with yesterday’s highway driving, not fatiguing to drive. No objectionable tire noise over various surfaces, either.
We thought we had a rattle, but the passenger-side sun visor wasn’t fully snapped into its resting position.
Anyone who thinks $90K is ridiculous obviously hasn't been shopping for Platinum trim trucks. The gas burners are that high too.
And if we are sticking to electric, a comparable Rivian R1T can hit $102,000. Tesla Cybertruck? Base mode is $99,900. Top of the line Cyberbeast is $200K.
Fancy trucks are all crazy expensive.
True story: Sarah and I have banned the phrase “bells and whistles” from the magazine because it’s just so eye roll.
But this truck has all the bells and whistles. :)
My biggest point would be how civil the Lightning is. It’s quiet, it doesn’t wander, it’s not tiring to drive. If I had to put a ton of miles on a truck, those are things that I’d want whether powered by gas or electric.
Expensive to buy, and expensive to sell. Massive depreciation. https://www.cargurus.com/research/price-trends/Ford-F-150-Lightning-d3147
In reply to ddavidv :
That link showed me a '22 Lightning in Houston. They were "only" about $55k new, so it doesn't seem like the price fell off a cliff to me.
Ford recently gaining access to the Tesla charging network was kind of a game changer as well. It turned the Lightning into a true long-distance option, although one that'll still may require more frequent stops if you're towing. But even so, the towing range isn't that dire. For example, my Tundra gets about 11-12mpg towing out open trailer. The low fuel light comes on at around 220 miles. That means I only go a few minutes further than Tom pulling a similar package. Honestly three hours is about my limit for sitting in one spot not moving and not peeing before I have to stretch my legs a bit anyway. And now with the Tesla charging option the liklihood that you'll have to make weirdly-spaced charge stops just to make sure you have the range to get where you're going is severely decreased.
In reply to JG Pasterjak :
I rode with Tom in his Lighting up to CMP from GRM headquarters in Florida and with towing a trailer it was a pretty painless experience with the Tesla network being available. Sure we had to sit at stops longer to charge than you would filling up a gas truck but we took the time to get a real meal instead of hitting the rollerdogs in the gas station or to knock out some work. I would say that the Lighting, from the passenger seat feels like any other modern F-150. It has made it onto on my list of trucks to replace my Frontier when the time comes.
The boys on Reddit are saying there can be had for under $50k brand new. dealers just want to move them. I think this truck would cover 95%+ of my usage. I could rent something for the long or big tows.
cheapest in this thread is some crazy $39k deal.
I was just talking to JG about the Lightning: For the most part, it’s just strangely normal–like, it looks, feels and drives like a regular F-150.
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