Ford VP Disses Cybertruck, Calling Electric F-150 a "Real" Work Truck

[Frank W]

These guys are so funny...


Ford VP Disses Cybertruck, Calling Electric F-150 a "Real" Work Truck


The Shade

A Ford executive just threw some serious shade at the automaker’s competition.

During a media briefing this Wednesday, Ford’s president of the Americas and international markets Kumar Galhotra said that Ford’s upcoming all-electric F-150 pickup truck will be a “real” work truck” — not a “lifestyle” truck like Tesla’s upcoming Cybertruck or GMC’s Hummer EV, Teslarati reports.

“While all other electric pickups are competing for lifestyle customers, the all-electric F-150 is designed and engineered for hard-working customers that need a truck to do a job,” Galhotra noted, as quoted by CNBC.


F Zero

Ford’s F-Series trucks have been the United States’ bestselling pickups for over 40 years. In 2019 alone, Ford sold almost 900,000 of them.

The F-150’s electric variant is due to roll off the lot in mid-2022, cutting maintenance costs by half compared to its gas-guzzling cousins, according to Galhotra.


Hot Market

The electric pickup market is heating up. Tesla is planning to deliver the first Cybertrucks in late 2021. General Motors is hoping to be cranking out its recently announced electric Hummer pickup and SUV around the same time.

As to who has the more powerful and capable truck, that’s still unclear. Tesla’s Cybertruck famously took on a $30,000 Ford F-150 in a tug of war in November 2019.


The same day, Sunny Madra, VP of Ford X, the U.S. automotive giant’s ventures incubator, called it an unfair fight, challenging Tesla to an “apples-to-apples test.”


READ MORE: Ford throws shade at Tesla and GM, says F-150 EV will be a ‘real’ work truck [Teslarati]

More on the beef: Ford VP Calls Out Tesla for Unfair Cybertruck vs. F-150 Battle

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[Ehninger1212]

Is this article supposed to be satire? Because I cant stop laughing.

 

[Crissa]

It's the 'we've always made trucks on rails, therefore we should always continue doing so'.

And that's probably right for the uses that are completely un-aerodynamic. If you have a big pile of ladders and tools to plant electrical poles or something, sure, you're stuck. But... It won't benefit the simple pickup truck to stay that way when you need a skateboard.

-Crissa

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

I don't understand why Ford, GM, etc. think it needs to be a competition. They all need to design and build the best trucks they can. The truck market is larger than Tesla can support, so why can't they all just get along. I am a bit tired of this 'must win' american [business] attitude (and I grew up in the Detroit area and my father worked for Ford). I hope that the Ford EV truck does well, for their sake, because they sure don't have much else going for them.

 

[Frank W]

Loved hearing Elon during the reveal say something along the lines of “fake tough!” I’m sure that there are plenty of diehard Ford fans out there that will stay loyal....for awhile anyway.

 

[cyberhunter]

Most guys that have trucks in Texas use them for work and play. I have quite a few buddies in homebuilding and they all take their trucks as daily drivers, go to the deer lease, pull boats with them, etc.

The only advantage I see for the flat side rails to the sails design is for 5th wheel or gooseneck towing. Nobody tows gooseneck with a 1/2 ton truck and really no one tows a gooseneck except for heavy equipment like skid steers or horse trailers, etc. You don't take a gooseneck to the deer lease, for example... you pull a bumper pull because of the convenience and the off-road needs. The only other "advantage" of flat rails is if the truck is low to the ground and you can reach over the side to get stuff. I'm 6'2'' and I can't do that with my 3/4 ton truck. It does have an offroad suspension that lifts it 2'' and has 35'' tires, so it's taller than standard, but anyone that lifts their truck just a little and has 35" tires has to stand on the tire to reach over and get to the bed contents...you usually have to hop in the bed by either standing on the tire and straddling in or lowering the tailgate and using a tailgate ladder or climbing or jumping up. I'm not talking about a huge-overly lifted stupid looking truck...just a truck with a nice suspension and 35" tires (what the CT prototype has on it). I'd much prefer a truck that auto lowers itself and provides an easier point of entry than standing on the tires or leaping onto the tailgate.

If I were a competitor like Ford, I'd throw as much FUD at the competition as possible. I can't blame the VP for making these comments. He's doing his job and trying to protect his brand identity. The thing is, they are likely getting lapped in real world capability and their identity will start to dissolve much like Nokia, Blackberry,etc. when the iphone came out. Blackberry guys claimed the iphone wasn't a business capable phone, it was aimed at music lovers, etc. Then people started seeing how truly capable it was and the second you could do outlook email, "poof" blackberry is gone. I feel the CT (if it is truly heads above on capability/price) will be a similar things as the iPhone.

 

[Frank W]

You brought up some very valid points especially regarding reaching into the bed and I am even guilty of standing on the tire on a Tacoma and a 70 Chevy 1500 I used to have as a work truck. I personally will get used to the sails with the additional benefit of storage (I’m thinking ratchet straps etc.) pretty quickly. The squatting aspect will be a dream come true in real life. Looking forward my “lifestyle” truck that performs like a sports car and has more utility than anything I have ever driven! ?

 

[Hunter Sawyer]

I'm sure people aren't going to want a truck in which the bed breaks after putting tools back after long days.

Ford's ICE's are bad for this and they expect their EV to be better? The Mach E's own marketing proves that ford needs at least 25% more batteries to get the same range as the Model Y. How am I supposed to be happy with my purchase when my vehicle costs about 25% with same or even less than the specifications of a Cybertruck.

Ford can only make a good Electric truck once they make a good ICE truck. With love from a long Ford owner.

 

[Hunter Sawyer]

The only other "advantage" of flat rails is if the truck is low to the ground and you can reach over the side to get stuff. I'm 6'2'' and I can't do that with my 3/4 ton truck.

I have not owned a vehicle this millennium that I can reach into the bed. To be fair I'm not the tallest person(5'7") but why care about a small convenience that only a small selection of people can do nowadays. Not to mention I use a tonneau cover.

 

[NiceGuyMax]

I guess the VP wont want a ride in my cyber truck.

 

[Crissa]

You don't need flat sides for a gooseneck. They're usually way over the height of the rails, I would bet the sails won't interact with 99% of goosenecks.

The drop-in bed replacements, though, that's what will stick to rails for the longest time. In five to ten years, though, Cybertruck will be established and how to merge drop-ins with the exoskeleton will begin.

-Crissa

 

[SONNYDUT]

Tesla is pushing for EV. I do appreciated. Kind of late to the game to criticize. They shoot themselves in the foot when their EV come out. Not great to compete with yourself (their own ICE vs their EV). It's a loose loose situation. Try to make a breakthrough in batteries and software technology will be 100x hard. Tesla got it. Go Tesla, all the way.

 

[cyberhunter]

You don't need flat sides for a gooseneck. They're usually way over the height of the rails, I would bet the sails won't interact with 99% of goosenecks.

Not to be argumentative at all, but you absolutely need flat side rails for 5th wheel travel trailers and you also do need flat sides when turning a gooseneck. The flanges of the gooseneck come close to crunching flat side rails if there is any off camber activity between the the truck and the trailer when turning. I've watched and seen it come within an inch or two on my current truck. My eyes got as big as saucers as I gingerly made some of those turns and I sold the gooseneck for this very reason. I wasn't comfortable taking the gooseneck on rough dirt roads that present off-camber situations. The sail design of the CT would absolutely interfere and get crunched in this scenario. I'm not saying that different designs couldn't potentially alleviate this issue, but current 5th wheel towing and gooseneck towing setups will not be compatible with the CT prototype.
Having said that, it is a digression from the point: nobody tows these types of trailers with their 1/2 ton pickup anyway. If they are towing these types of trailers it is most often with a 3/4 ton single axle or 1 ton dually. If it is a dedicated tow vehicle, then the bed is commonly a flat bed. The CT will have great utility and do anything a 1/2 ton regularly does but better. It will do almost everything a 3/4 ton does but better. It will do a lot of things neither of those do well in their stock form. I just wouldn't buy a CT and expect it to be my tow rig for a gooseneck horse trailer, but I wouldn't buy a F-150 for that either.
For the VP of Ford trucks to say the CT won't be a very capable work truck is pure FUD, but I don't fault him for it. They should lean on brand recognition as hard as they can until they can catch back up in capability. I just happen to think the pure form follow function design of the CT is going to make it hard to catch when it comes to utility and functionality. I would really enjoy others to catch up. It means truck guys could have tons of options and we all would benefit.

 

[Crissa]

I find it dubious to be a problem. You'd have to be at such an angle to damage to gooseneck.

-Crissa

 

[Frank W]

Meanwhile if you can believe c/net this is how well GM promotes it’s Cadillac EV:

Cadillac dealers have to cough up $200,000 investment to sell EVs


If franchises want to sell future electric Cadillacs, they better make sure their facilities are prepared for them.


Cadillac


Operating a dealership isn't as simple as shoveling out cars from some retail space. Automakers have standards, and often, they have a lot of them. Kick it up a notch and move into selling luxury vehicles and parent automakers want to ensure customers are walking into a fine establishment. For Cadillac dealers, they're going to need to open up their business accounts in a big way if they want to sell the brand's future electric cars.


Rory Harvey, Cadillac's vice president of sales, service and marketing, told Automotive News Wednesday that the company will require dealers to make a $200,000 investment into their facilities if they want to sell electric cars wearing the iconic crest. While that sounds like a lofty sum of money, Cadillac worked closely with its dealer council to draw up the requirements. All dealers must follow franchise agreement regulations to a T, and the current agreement expires this November.


Should a dealer not want to make the investment, it will have to part ways with General Motors' luxury division. Harvey told the website its council communicated there "may be a few dealers" that don't "share the Cadillac vision," but by and large, he expects smooth sailing.


A Cadillac spokesperson told Roadshow, "We see Cadillac's dealer network as a business advantage, and they will remain a critical part of the retail and relationship chain with customers. And together, with our dealer partners we must co-develop the transition to electrification. It is critical that all Cadillac dealers participate, assuring the optimal experience for our customers."


The approximate cost of $200,000 is a "minimum," according to Cadillac and dealers must complete the upgrades by the second quarter of 2021. The spokesperson added the timeline aligns with the upcoming Lyriq's launch.


What does the $200,000 buy dealers? The big-ticket items are charging stations. It's hard to sell an EV if you don't have a place to charge them, after all. Harvey also told the website the cost could increase with time as Cadillac rolls out more EVs. GM already tasked the division with leading the automaker's all-electric future, so definitely expect a lot of electric cars from Cadillac this decade.


We'll first be treated to the Lyriq SUV, which Cadillac showed last month in prototype form. It won't actually launch until two years from now, however. We also know the brand has a hand-built electric flagship sedan in the pipeline, called the Celestiq. All of GM's future EVs will ride on a platform known as BEV3 and support the company's new Ultium battery technology. Just this week, GM also announced "Ultium Drive" as its blueprint for a family of electric powertrains to propel its future zero-emission cars.


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