There is apparently a problem with the Ford F-150 Lightning’s battery pack significant enough for Ford to stop production and delivery of its electric three-ton half-ton. No word as yet what the problem is. Only that it was “identified,” according to Ford spokeswoman Emma Berg, during “pre-delivery quality inspections.”
No fires, as yet.
But the bigger problem is the F-150’s price, which has inflated like a loaf of Weimar bread some 38.9 percent over the course of a little more than one year (2022 being the electric truck’s first model year) to $57,869.
When Ford launched the truck, the pledge was that it would sticker for just over $40,000 – a price that made it cost-competitive with the price of a non-electric F-150 SuperCrew, which has a base price just under $40,000.
After three consecutive price hikes, the Lightning is now pushing $20k more expensive than a non-electric version of the F-150 SuperCrew.
And it’s actually worse than that.
News stories about the production/delivery stop neglect to mention that the quoted base price of the ’23 Lightning is for the model with the lower-performance (98 kilowatt-hour) battery that has a best-case range of 230 miles. And the problem with that – the problem with every electric vehicle – is that, unlike a non-electric car’s range on a full tank, an EV’s actual driving range is often much less than advertised.
This matters even more when you start out with less. Especially because with EVs, it is smart to always keep enough in reserve to avoid the risk of not being able to reach a place to plug in. And it’s smart for another reason – one Ford mentions in the Lightning’s owner’s manual. It is that running the battery down to “fumes” – i.e., heavily discharging it – is “unhealthy” for the battery’s longevity. Therefore, keeping it “topped off” is a good idea if you don’t want to have to buy a new battery sooner rather than later.
But if you only have 230 miles of best-case range and keep 50 in reserve to preserve the “health” of the battery, then you haven’t got much range for other than short-hops in between charges.
It is a worse problem for an electric truck because of the way trucks are used, as for example to pull trailers. This can reduce the full-charge range by half or even more, if it is very cold outside or the truck is pulling a trailer uphill.
Ford touts the pulling power of the Lightning, but it’s a problem if you can’t pull very far.
Word about this has leached out over the past year as the electric truck has gotten into the hands of journalists (including this one) who have discovered the problem. It’s a problem made worse by the solution – which is to buy the optional, higher-power (131 kilowatt-hour) battery that has an advertised range of 300 miles on a full charge. This way, if you lose 50 percent of the range pulling a trailer, you can at least make it 100 or so miles down the road before you risk running out of charge before you can make to the next “fast” charger.
But there’s another problem.
Several, actually.
The first is that you can’t buy the stronger battery in the base Pro trim. That’s the one that now starts at $57,869. You have to move up to at least the XLT trim first – and that one stickers for $63,474 to start. Then you can spend another $12,500 to get the 300-mile-range 131 kilowatt-hour battery pack. Plus another $500 to get the “mobile charge” apparatus, so you can plug in to both standard 120V and 240V “Level II” outlets at home.
This brings the actual base price of a Lightning useable for more than short-hop driving and light trailer-towing to an eye-popping $76,474. And for that, you still only get a truck that can travel maybe (but probably not) 300 miles and will definitely travel much less if you hook it up to a trailer and try to pull anything much in the cold.
There are certainly buyers who have the money to buy such a truck – and don’t need it to be capable of doing much work – at least, for very long (or very far). The problem, for Ford, is that there are probably only so many buyers who have the means – and the interest.
The former is a problem that goes beyond “electrification” in that any vehicle with a starting price over $50,000 is by definition a luxury-priced vehicle, irrespective of what’s under the hood – or the floorpans, in the case of EVs. There is a limited pool of buyers who can afford to spend about 80 percent of what the average two-income family earns in a year (about $67,000) on a vehicle. Even if the monthly payments are stretched out over seven years, the New Abnormal in car – and truck – financing.
The $50k-and-up price point is a kind of hard deck – to borrow an aviation term – that imposes a similar limit on what can be sold to whom – and how many. If this were not so, practically everyone who drives would be driving a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Cadillac – etc. So long as EVs are priced similarly, they will sell in similarly small numbers. Bearing this out is the fact that, in spite of all the hype surrounding its launch, Ford has only sold about 15,000 Lightnings so far.
During the same time period, it sold more than 500,000 non-electric F-150s.
It is certain Ford will sell even fewer Lightnings this year relative to non-electric ones unless it can somehow reduce the price by something in the range, as it were, of $25,000 – so as to make it plausibly competitive on price with a $40k non-electric F-150 SuperCrew.
And even then, it still won’t be competitive on function. 
The just-under-$40k-to-start F-150 SuperCrew has a range of 624 highway miles (494 in the city) and even though that range will go down if you pull a trailer with this truck, it does not matter much because it can be refueled in about 5 minutes, as opposed to the at-least 30-45 minutes it takes for the Lightning to recover a partial charge at a “fast” charger.
Most people who buy trucks value their time which costs them money if it is wasted waiting with a truck that cannot be used and that can only be used for a little while before it costs its owner more time, again.
These problems are showing up in Ford’s earnings and stock prices, which don’t bode well.
For “electrification,” generally.
If, that is, the goal is to get more people into EVs rather than out of cars.
. . .
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Eric,
As word of EVs problems spread and their sales tank, is there any chance to preserve ICEVs? Is there any chance to stop the drive to ban ICEVs? The way most of America is constituted, EVs simply will not work for the vast majority of people. Also, the vast majority of people still need to get around, and there is no alternative to a private car that will meet their transportation needs. IOW, is there any possibility of derailing the EV train before ICEVs are gone?
Hi Mark,
Your guess is as good as mine! I suppose it all depends on how hard they push. At the new car level, it may well become impossible to offer for sale anything not electric. At the state level, it may be impossible to legally sell anything that isn’t. The real question is whether they will proceed to outlaw anything that isn’t that’s already in our possession.
I think – macro-strategic view – there isn’t much hope until after they are replaced or eliminated or we find a way to separate ourselves from them, as by forming new countries out of this one.
That would be easy enough for them. Simply stop the sale of any kind of fuel for your non-EV vehicle, and just like that, the entire nation grinds to a screeching halt. Along with the economy and the delivery of everything else we take for granted. All it would take is a presidential executive order, and that is that! Do not expect some stupid republican to save you, because they could not find their a** with both hands if they had map and directions.
I’m surprised that no one else has reported it, but it looks like Ford had a fire at a holding lot during a pre-delivery quality check.
I guess that isn’t technically the factory … or is it?
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/15/ford-f-150-lightning-production-halted.html
“Ford Motor Company will be partnering with the world’s largest battery company, a China-based company.”
Aye aye aye aye.
In China they do it for chili.
So sing us another verse
Much worse than the other verse,
And waltz me around by my Willi.
Look what showed up (as an advertisement) in an email last night!
“The Flexible Car Subscription” (Volvo)
https://www.volvocars.com/de/care-by-volvo/
It’s in German, so you’ll have to use a browser with a translate page function. A car subscription for a Volvo for a 3-year term is €1,599 / month. Apparently without a multi-year commitment, you can do a “3 month’s notice” (like an apartment rental) for €1,799 / month!
That’s $1709.97 and $1923.85 respectively! Also it’s talking about a Volvo EX90 which looks to me like the V90 wagon but EV crap instead.
I could go out and buy a brand new, top of the line Mercedes S-class AMG with an engine that drop jaws for that kind of money. Fuck that noise.
For that matter, for that money, I could buy two brand new GV-70s with probably no down payment. That price tag is seriously nuts!
Hey, but good for Volvo! I’m certain most people in Europe are loaded and rich. People will be lining up for it and beating down the doors.
Ford has become a company that has lived past its usefulness. Trying to force a product on your customers that they neither want, need, or afford is a recipe for bankruptcy. All they would need is to pull their heads out of their asses. Start mass producing the Ranger, or Taurus, at a reasonable price, without all the bells and whistles, they’d sell millions of em. Or produce more than a dozen Mavericks. Those would be hugely successful. Instead they go with the product most craved by the gender dysphoric/urban hipster types in California. Bypassing the needs and wants of 90% of their potential customers. Good strategy Ivy league lunatics.
Ford only seems interested in producing garage queens. My neighbor down the street has a brand new Bronco which only sees use on sunny days. So much for Built Ford Tough.
Even the few Maviericks I see around here are pampered queens with $30k+ stickers.
I agree, Norman –
Heck, I’d be interested in a new Maverick, if one were available at the initially advertised $19k price point. But even a car journalist with some “insider pull” can’t get one…
I’d snatch one of those Mavericks up in a heartbeat even into the mid 20k range. I’ve spent a fair amount of time out and about in flyover country the last 3 months, Seen exactly two Mavericks on the road. Oh well, if ford wants to produce cars as garage ornaments, when there’s a demand for something more, its their funeral. Ole Henry would not approve.
I saw a half dozen $19.500 level white Mavericks stashed in the fleet section of a dealer’s lot poking around the property while waiting for service about a year ago. That price is long gone, however, with the base sticker now at $21k and that number for the EcoBoost turbo engine instead of the hybrid.
Not to be picky but I am. The only one I would take is the hybrid. An old co- worker with a newer f150 swears by the the eco boost, yet it turns out it can barely tow his little trailer.
Well here’s proof of what Eric has been saying for a while now. https://principia-scientific.com/the-climate-cultists-want-to-get-rid-of-all-cars/
Hat tip for this link, Blacklander –
It does support what I’ve been saying for years – and which took me years to truly comprehend. That being these people are not looking for reasonable solutions to actual problems. They are unreasonable, even deranged people who regard other people as the problem – and have confected mass hysterias to get them to go along with their own destruction.
Eric,
Not only are these people INSANE, they’ve also become useful idiots for globalist technocrats. Klaus Schwab has been OPENLY calling for the elimination of private ownership of vehicles. However, I don’t see any of THEM giving up THEIR cars or private jets. Instead, they’ve specifically asked to be driven around in gas powered vehicles during their meeting in Davos last month, and Bill Gates & John Kerry had the GALL to claim they have the right to fly in private jets because they’re “Saaaaaaaving the planet”.
Even more ironic and hypocritical of them, when flying these globalists only want un-vaxxed pilots. All while trying to shove the jab on the rest of us…
Hi Shadow,
That too. They’re also pushing consumption of bugs and frankenfood among the masses, as well as stack and pack housing under guise of “Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaving the planet” or “Sustainability”, of course, THEY’LL continue eating real food, meat, etc., and living in multi million dollar mansions.
If anything, electric trucks should cost far LESS than gas or diesel since they do far less.
Why I regret buying a Ford Lightning! (EV Electric Truck)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myTIISQhyvE
The New Ford F-150 LIGHTNING Is FAILING To Sell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjh-AwCBut0
Ford lightning reservation holders are backing out of deliveries….the prices went up and interest rates from 2% to 8% or higher so the payments are far higher….so people are walking away…..
He also says the Mach E isn’t selling ….same problem with Kia EV’s….not selling….this EV market looks ugly….too expensive and maybe people are finding out about all the huge problems with EV’s
high interest rates biting the housing and car market….big problems….
Lightning cancellations are analogous to the homebuilder who reported a 68% cancellation rate in 4Q 2022. Buyers made deposits, but couldn’t swing the drastic increase in mortgage payments due to higher interest rates, so they walked.
Ben Hardy points out the giant hole in Ford’s “200,000 orders” pitch: why would all those wait-listed buyers not immediately snap up the 1,000 Lightnings which dealers are stuck with owing to cancellations?
This is true for all the other EeeVee flimflammers as well. It’s easy to collect 100,000 pre-orders with a $100 deposit. But when the $80,000 bill comes due at delivery, how many of those wannabe buyers turn into ghosts?
EeeVee Fever: it’s all over but the cryin’.
This guys complaining about the app. I’d like to think I’m a very tech savvy guy and have my fair share of gizmos. But an app for a pickup truck. I mean it just sounds stupid. They’ve over complicated like one of the simplest, durable and utilitarian things America ever made…
yeah, I don’t get it. I’d be much more concerned that I would be stuck at an air bnb unable to get enough charge to leave than how crappy the app is.
if he knew all this and still bought it, i’d say he isn’t all that bright
Contrived Complexity, the modern world’s arch enemy.
‘Why I regret buying a Ford Lightning’ — anon1
So the guy needs two different apps — the clunky Ford app (painfully slow even on his shiny new 5Geeeee phone) and the Chargepoint app. When he’s away from home, the Ford app [irrelevantly] demands to know the physical address where he’s charging — just our routine tracking, comrade.
He grouses about seedy, dangerous Chargepoint locations, presumably in Commiefornia (judging from the palm trees, yo).
To get his shipping-delayed Level 2 garage-wall charger from Ford’s vendor Sunrun, he ends up sending two Tweets to the CEOs of Sunrun and Ford to get their attention. So that’s another app he needed to sign up for — Twitter.
Basically he’s a compliant digital citizen, all wired into the Big Corp surveillance metaverse — a place I shun like rat poison. Don’t want no stinkin’ apps …
Despite ALL of their predictions having come up EMPTY the past few decades, the Climate Change zealots are still at it with fear mongering, now even claiming that FORCING people to drive EVs “NOW!” and “Banning gasoline NOW!” will “Saaaaaaave the planet.”…….They tend to be the same people who CLING to their face diapers and lined up to get the latest COVID booster jab……How many people will DIE as a result of such insane delusions if they’re fully implemented?
https://www.technocracy.news/the-empty-predictions-of-the-global-warming-cult/
I like to call the climate-change grifters “End Times cultists.” It pretty much relays all the needed info.
Hi Logan,
The identification of these “climate change” believers as such is important, for that is what they are. Believers. Theirs is a religion. It gives them the eschatological meaning they crave to make sense of their empty, hopeless lives.
The thing is, and I’m pretty sure everyone with a functioning brain knows it, if/when they get their way and ban gasoline, not only will that not save the planet but they will clearly then go in search of the next thing to ban for the same purpose.
Because it will not be saved enough. Because it will never be saved enough. Because the entire idea of humans saving the planet is fucking retarded.
They can’t even cure the common cold and they’re gonna “save the planet” that doesn’t need saving?? Sure thing dudes. 🙄
What is really untenable is the fact that your trailer & load will also have to sit for hours at a re-charger. I haven’t seen any to accommodate that yet. And what of your cargo? Horses or other livestock will not be content to sit for an additional 2-4 hours. Your travel trailer? Setting up house while you re-charge will probably be banned, not that you’d want to. Industrial cargo? Well, just sit and guard it with a shotgun, I suppose. Same goes for bikes and atvs you don’t want liberated while “re-fueling”. As bad as this shit is for cars, passengers, etc., trying to force trucks into this psychotic quagmire is beyond all sanity.
I watched your video, Eric. Good Lord..where do I start? I could barely get to town with that low of a charge. And then what? Be stranded for 3 days? Unless I found a fast charger. I certainly could not drive to work every day with one of those, so i would need 2, ugh. Oh, and hey, it is winter and it is forty below zero out. Guess I have to freeze my a** off in that thing, cause I only have enough juice to get to town…not enough to also keep the cabin warm. And forget wanting to park it in the garage. These things have a knack for starting fire. No sense it burning my house down one day. If the feds are trying to sell us on the idea on how great these ev’s are, well, they will never convince me.
A Shiny New Car Is Out Of Reach For Many Americans
The first is the average monthly auto payment has hit a record high of $777, almost doubling from late 2019, new car prices have also hit a record high of $50,000. This figure has jumped 30% since 2019
EV batteries last 7 years and the EV loan is for 8 years….lol
the middle class has gravitated towards used cars. Cox data shows the average one costs around $27,000 —
The bad news for the middle class is that wholesale used car prices are beginning to re-accelerate after a year of sliding, though they remain 64% higher than Covid lows.
While the wealthy purchase new cars, everyone else is buying used junkers. And after many middle-class and low-income families have been battered by 21 months of negative real wages, personal savings depleted, and credit cards maxed out, their ability to afford a new car in the years ahead plummets, ensuring the used car market will remain robust as more people than ever will be driving older and older cars.
from zh comments
Prices climbed well over 40% in 10 years. With maintenance cost sometimes two or three times what it would cost in an old model.
Not only is a junk chevy econo-box an $800 payment, plus $200 for insurance, you need to save up for a $5,000 engine replacement between 60-80K miles, and a $5,000 trans replacement right after that.
The new cars are absolute junk that can’t make 100K miles without major repairs, and they need to go back to the dealer to go on their computer for even the most minor repair. Hell no!
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/shiny-new-car-out-reach-many-americans
What would you rather have?
75,000 dollars?
Or a Ford Lightning that won’t start the next day after you bought the thing?
Happened to a Ford Lightning buyer in Bangor, Maine. Yahoo comments about the Ford LIghtning are there, just have to go to Yahoo Finance.
Find yourself a good used vehicle and save yourself 65 grand.
“If it weren’t for that 300 pound donkey in the back, we’d still be flying today.” – words from an old racehorse jockey who worked on the railroad back in 1970 quipping about a swerve in the road down in Louisiana.
I’d heard it all then.
EEEEVVVV pickups aren’t designed to sell to the general public….the niche market is school districts, where the landscaping crew drives from one end of the football field to the other. Also airports, city government maybe military base security. All applications which have similar requirements, expensive acquisition cost is a plus, very limited mileage, the infrastructure for overnight charging and the all import virtue signaling. Its only tax dollars being spent….better buy three, one for use, one that is charging and then a backup for this wonderful technology when the first two fail. I am wondering when the copper thieves figure out that there is a lot of copper in a charging station.
‘I am wondering when the copper thieves figure out that there is a lot of copper in a charging station.’ — David H
I am wondering when someone terminates a CCS (Combined Charging System) SAE connector with battery-charger style spring clamps … so that you can fry some douchebag (or a nagging fishwife) with 480 volts.
Just don’t ‘charge’ it to your own credit card. 🙂
Gives new meaning to Bobby D’s “The pump don’t work ‘Cause the vandals took the handles” from Subterranean Homesick Blues. Full lyrics worth a re-read these days too.
> one for use, one that is charging
That is happening with transit buses right now.
Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) have about a 150 mile range, which in many cases is not enough to operate all day in service. Since it takes ~3 hours to fully charge, transit agencies must, in some cases, provide 2 buses per route, thus doubling the capital cost. Additionally, they expect to replace the entire battery pack every five years, at a cost of ~$200,000, or 20% of the ~$1,000,000 cost of a new bus. As well, the added weight of the battery pack is hard on tires, which must be accounted for in total cost of ownership.
All of this to shift the “point of emissions” from the vehicle to the electrical generating station. This is certainly *NOT* “green” if the power is generated using hydrocarbon fuel, which is usually the case.
My school a small catholic one in Michigan. Has a PU 1967. Used on the premises. Rusted out, but it does the needed. Moving stuff. No ev to apply. 80k FOR A NEW ev, versus paid for POS that costs nothing. Of course when it’s your money it means more.
David, most of us on this site know that, and you are are correct, that’s about all they are good for. And it’s fine with us, let them, but leave the rest of us alone. But they won’t. Why are they pushing and forcing them on the general public in the form of mega advertising, propaganda, future laws in certain states, etc…..
In most of our opinions here, it’s all for sinister results/control.
Just googled “thieves steal copper from charging station”
11.8 million hits in 0.31 seconds
https://www.google.com/search?q=thieves+steal+copper+from+charging+station&sxsrf=AJOqlzUmydwg9SlIBIW3ZHUZrcJYVOwVCQ%3A1676541325750&ei=jf3tY8fDLaeYwbkPqZa3sAs&oq=thieves+steal+copper+from+charging+station&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQARgAMgQIIxAnOgQIABBHOgcIIxCwAhAnSgQIQRgAUKAPWKg4YLdOaABwAngAgAFwiAHsBJIBAzIuNJgBAKABAcgBCMABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Ford stock down…they have multiple problems…..
Ford’s Electronic Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) System is a Hot Mess
Ford replaced hydraulic power steering with an electronic power assisted steering (EPAS) system to improve MPGs and provide variable power assist to owners.
But the EPAS system is subject to electrical failures and premature breakdowns, causing a sudden loss of power steering while driving.
A few recalls have been made, but owners continue to have problems and have filed multiple class-action lawsuits.
Hydraulic systems have a multi-decade track record of successful steering with relatively easy maintenance. So naturally, Ford banished it to the curb and replaced it with something much more complicated.
Be gone, hydraulics! Embrace your digital overlord – electronic power assisted steering (EPAS).
EPAS replaces a lot of the mechanical parts of previous steering assist systems (pumps, fluids, hosts, pulleys) and replaces them with tiny computers called ECUs and a whole bunch of code.
EPAS is more complex. Ford’s system contains a Power Steering Control (PSC) Motor, Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and a Torque Sensor and Steering Wheel Position Sensor.
They are difficult to diagnose. Was it a PSC failure or did the ECU send improper instructions? Perhaps one of the sensors is misreading the data it’s supposed to be collecting.
the cost to replace just one part……..Defective Torque Sensor∞
When you turn the wheel in your Ford, the torque sensor monitors which way you’ve turned and how far. That information is sent to the ECU, but what happens when the information never gets sent? One widely accepted theory is that a defective torque sensor isn’t giving the ECU the information it needs, and the power steering as a result gets disabled.
So the simplest solution is to just replace the torque sensor, right? Well, unfortunately the torque sensor is part of the steering column assembly and is not serviceable separately. In other words, once that sensor goes the entire steering column needs to be replaced. And that’s expensive with the
the average repair cost around $1,500……just for the torque sensor replacement….
http://www.fordproblems.com/epas/
Don’t worry just buy a 5th generation F250 restomod for $285,000
Current pricing for the F-250 restomod is $285,000 (the version shown has been optioned out to $325,000). Anyone looking for one of the Bronco restomods will need at least $268,000. Those prices include the cost of the donor vehicle.
As new cars and trucks continue to become more complex and tech laden, the simple, almost minimalist nature of classic vehicles is a quality many buyers are seeking—and willing to spend big bucks on.
https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1138750_jay-leno-samples-velocity-restorations-ford-f-250-restomod
Tesla App To Remotely Control Cars Crashes Across Europe With “503” Error
Need an app to drive your stupid EV?….what a joke….
from the comments…
with more and more grid disruptions, why would you want to be exposed to that nonsense with an electric vehicle these days? Just look at the usa…..the grid was put together by blind people…..FJB!!!!!
These are the people lining up for booster 7 and monkey pox! If you need an app to use your car you are a high functioning ******!
Sorry your government car driving credits are expired for this month. Support the current thing to obtain mire of them.
I long for the lower tech cars of yesteryear. They looked way cooler, and were able to be maintained and serviced much more easily. Less to break in the first place. Who really is pushing all of this? It’s about control.
Self-driving cars controlled by software from an internet connection. What could go wrong?
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/tesla-app-remotely-control-cars-crash-across-europe-503-error
Anon1,
“Need an app to drive your stupid EV?….what a joke….”
Um, yep. The (fools) mantra used to be “there’s an app for that”. Now it is clear that you will NEED an app for that, or that will no longer function.
On a related note, and regarding lithium and LiFePO4 batteries in general:
For homesteaders like me, LiFePO4 batteries are an optimal choice for off-grid electricity, but one thing I did NOT know is that it is said they shouldn’t be charged below freezing (32oF).
My thoughts were that charging efficiency would be reduced in cold temperatures, and that’s expected. But it is said that “lithium plating” will occur if you try and charge below freezing, which will permanently damage your battery.
That said, it appears the truth is (as far as internet wisdom is concerned) that they actually CAN be charged, but the charge rate must be reduced, which is to say 0.1C at 32oF and 0.05C at 14oF. Luckily for me, the current 1000 watts of solar panels I’m using don’t ever seem to produce much more than 700 watts (for a few reasons), and since I have 600aH battery bank, a 0.05C charging rate is actually 30 amps x 28 volts = 840 watts.
So, I shouldn’t have done any damage yet, but I’m going to be more careful. The battery cabinet I constructed for them is nicely insulated, so that should help, but I’m going to get busy with some thermostatic heating of the box.
Just FYI for anyone considering LiFePO4 batteries. Other than this issue, they have so far performed excellently!
Ford F-150 Lightening. What about Safety? What about statements made by the officers of a public corporation that show their disregard for their legal fiduciary responsiblity? Or do shareholders have to file some kind of suit to force the SEC to do it’s job?
Pump and dump is illegal. Not for Billy Boy with his BioNTech scheme. Ah, more of the same.
Buy your AR’s, get your ammo, buy your gasoline powered cars…before Biden Co. their successors ban them all.
How I react when “Biden” appears on muh TeeVeeeee:
https://twitter.com/johnhackerla/status/1625961659109093376
$40,000 to $60,00- for a GD pickup?
The US motor vehicle business deserves to be dead.
Piss on their graves (instead of bailing out the corpse.)
They haven’t offered me anything I wanted to buy in the past 50 years.
I’m reading Kenny Polcari on Quoth the Raven (substack) saying that the Fed isn’t gonna stop raising interest rates for all of 2023 (“A Fed Pivot is Not Happening in 2023” article).
That means, as time goes by, either you face higher payments on the same loan or you gotta come up with more down payment to mitigate the result of higher interest on the loan.
That’s what I’m doing with the upcoming loan on the GV-70 that I have ordered. I have about half saved for a down payment. I might put more down because I have a target monthly payment that I don’t want to exceed.
Similarly, as time goes by, the people that think maybe they could just eke out a workable loan plan for one of those $70K+ EVs is going to become fewer and fewer. Especially combined with the fact that everything else, e.g., food, keeps costing more.
These fucken people are insane. The great American road trip?! That’s gonna become limited to work and the grocery store. Because, after all that shit, who in hell is gonna be floating around the country blowing “spare” cash on sight seeing?
Our daily dose of EeeVee brain damage:
‘The Biden administration announced Wednesday new plans to expand the nation’s charging network “so that the great American road trip can be electrified.”
‘The administration plans to build a network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers from coast to coast. To achieve this goal, the administration announced Tesla would open 7,500 chargers to all electric vehicles, including 3,500 new and existing 250 kW Superchargers on highways.
‘All EV drivers will be able to access these stations using the Tesla app or website.’
https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/white-house-announces-tesla-open-superchargers-all-evs
Don’t want no stinkin’ app. Don’t want to ‘navigate’ to no stinkin’ website.
Don’t want no stinkin’ EeeVeeee for a hassle-filled, crippled road trip.
I think I’m gonna be sick …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgOEGKDVvsg
Put down the crack pipe, “Joe.”
There ain’t enough copper in Chile & U.S. (world’s 2 largest copper producers) combined, to make that happen.
Brilliant video. Thank you.
Mills’ bottom line: EeeVees could become 20-30% of the global fleet — with enormous cost and effort — by 2050.
But a 100% EeeVee fleet is physically impossible.
Sadly, for the typical Congress Clown, this vid would be like watching a lecture on computational quantum mechanics … in Chinese.
They don’t get it. And they won’t get it till their flimflam EeeVee Ponzi scheme experiences CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain).
Glad you liked the video, Jim.
Here is another by Mr. Mills, if you are interested:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sa5JkeerRo
(wherein Mr. Mils commits the heresy of calling CO2 “plant food”)
IMO, it is time to start calling these devices what they *really* are, namely ZEAPOU vehicles.
Zero
Emission
At
Point
Of
Use
which does *NOT* mean “zero emission” when the life cycle of all components is taken into account. For the entire life cycle, we have:
1. Mining
2. Refining
3. Manufacture
4. Use
5. Recycling and waste disposal
Any “analysis” which does not account for all five phases of the cycle is fundamentally ignorant, if not outright dishonest.
Meanwhile, here in So Cal we are experiencing below average temperatures for this time of year, no doubt due to “anthropogenic global warming.” /sarc
During World War 2 the treasury loaned the Manhattan Project 14,000 tons of silver for use in calutrons. It was returned after the war, at least according to two articles online.
https://www.uewhealth.com/14000-tons-silver-loaned-manhattan-project/
Gold conducts electricity pretty well too. Maybe they could use what’s left in Fort Knox to build charging stations.
‘Maybe they could use what’s left in Fort Knox to build charging stations.’ — RK
There’s gold left in Fort Knox?
The last audit was in 1953.
Now if there was only a grid capable of handling AIR CONDITIONING. There certainly isn’t one capable of handling any significant increase in EVs.
EVs, outside of in-town runabouts, are just silly and absurdly expensive. The recent trend of Rivian, Lightning and Hummer EVs are oxymoronic. The general public is finally starting to wake up to the fraud that’s been perpetrated.
According to TLFEV, Rivian says that DAILY battery loss without vehicle use of 3%-12% is “normal.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaReUeOhjC8 (go to 8:45 of the video)
I tried to find info on Reddit or Substak. Came across this gem below. Had he consulted EP he wouldn’t be in the expensive pickle he’s in…
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/F150Lightning/comments/112njen/truck_is_driving_me_crazy/
How the hell is anyone getting any decent milage on this truck? Platinum w/ ER (300+ mile range), I am not even getting 200 miles. Yes I have cabin air on, otherwise windows fog up. I also live in Spokane where we do have hills.. I don’t see how the hell 131 kWh Battery = 300 miles. That means I need to get 2.3Mi/kW for that number to make sense.. I have NEVER seen anything over 1.9Mi/kW, that would be just city driving or highway.. The current screen shot is 50% highway 50% city.. Highway, never went over 73mph, I have been getting 99%/100% on the brake tutor thing, and been tying to accelerate like my late father.
Not to mention, PAK blows ass. I had to force close the app, because it was stuck ‘connecting via bluetooth’, which allowed me to finally get into my truck… When I got home and my wife hopped out.. It bitched at me that I needed a key…
I called ford corporate, apparently waiting 2 months with a vehicle that does not perform as stated is ok. Since that is the soonest my dealership could get me in. People have said city driving is awesome with this.. I maybe get 1.7mi/kWh in the city. Yes it is < 32 degrees. Was this truck only supposed to be sold in florida where it stays warm, and has no hills?
The Florida Gulf-influenced marine environment would actually be harder on the battery system long term, even without hurricanes.
EVs are meant for specific microclimates in California.
Ok so in the Sacramento area where I live, picking up any new dar is getting hard to come by. And we live right near an automall. They all need to be ordered custom. Even BMW regular 3 series they got none on the lot. Friends of mine just drove to LA to buy a Toyota Corolla off the lot.
The EV “business model” is a suicide pact among auto makers. How can they expect to survive if their market is cut by half or more? Few can afford them, and fewer still will consider them practical. In my reading adventure this morning I somewhere read that up to 80% if EV owners will never buy another. So much for brand loyalty. All that aside, it’s fairly obvious that even the EVs that are available, or as in the case of the F-150 Lightning, potentially available, are not ready for prime time, even if they were competitively priced, which they aren’t. The worst of course is that the basis for their introduction is a total fraud. I seriously doubt we could have a significant effect on “climate” if we tried. It is changing, as the climate has done since there was one. It’s the height of hubris to believe it can be stopped from ever changing again.
‘The EV “business model” is a suicide pact among auto makers.’ — John Kable
You know it. I know it.
It reminds me of a detailed account I read about the 1986 DuPont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico, which killed almost 100 people.
One observant guy in the ballroom looked up and noticed that the suspended ceiling tiles were starting to singe and warp. He quietly took his companion by the arm and stepped outside … just before flashover, which instantly toasted all those left inside.
Look up, John Farley and Mary Barra. You refuse to see it, but the signs of approaching disaster are plainly there, and it’s coming for you.
Hi John,
The hubris to believe humans can change the earth’s climate is exactly the problem; the only “climate” we have any control over is inside a building. The control freaks have convinced a substantial portion of the sheeple to believe we’re all going to die unless we go back to living a stone age lifestyle. I call BS on all of it and push back as hard as possible on all the petty tyrants looking to ban natural gas and push us into EV’s.
>I call BS on all of it and push back as hard as possible on all the petty tyrants
Hear, hear. 🙂
Push back on all petty tyrants? If you are refering to using legal means, forget it.
Only pushback that matters is the kind that actually…pushes back. So far I have not witnessed anything that pushed back to the point of reversing trends. Temporary wins are not pushing back.
Newsflash: Destruction is the only pushback. Tyranny either destroys itself (and everything attached to it) or is destroyed by forces from without. Reforming tyranny from within never works. Just prolongs the decline. The aim of activism is to accelerate the decline to a crisis point, at least if the goal of activism is to defeat tyranny. If all activism does is to slow the trend then it is useless.
Their is no painfree way to end tyranny. Voting? Bah! Noncompliance? Bah! Going Galt? Bah! You got two paths: actively work to destroy the present regime, or move to another nation state. Most of us will do neither; just keep on documenting the decline while praying the worst happens to others and spares us and our own. The equivelant of throwing the covers over your head and hoping.
>push back as hard as possible….> well, what are you waiting for? Permission?
‘So long as EVs are priced similarly [to luxury vehicles], they will sell in similarly small numbers. Ford has only sold about 15,000 Lightnings so far [versus] more than 500,000 non-electric F-150s.’ — eric
15,000 Lightnings divided by 500,000 internal-combustion F150s is a pitiful three (3) percent.
All the hype in the world cannot disguise this inconvenient fact.
And now F150 Lightning shipments (though not sales at dealers) are halted for a mysterious, undisclosed ailment.
Do EeeVees spread covid via their grotty batteries?
Maybe this is a lurid rumor. But the onus is on Ford to squelch it, by fessing up to exactly what the problem is … and why credulous buyers should continue accepting delivery of a vehicle whose production and shipment have been halted in their tracks.
Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It’s a little secret, just old Jim Farley’s affair
Most of all, you’ve got to hide it from the kids
— Simon & Garfunkel, Mrs Robinson
500,000 F150’s? It seems in 1990, they sold over 800k of that truck. What happened? lol.
State inflicted poverty happened.
FORD Can’t Sell TRUCKS!!! They’re in BIG TROUBLE!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPQ7yOzhioE
from the comments….
My wife and I make a combined 300k a year… Went to the Ford dealer a few weeks ago and saw the prices of the trucks and our jaws dropped!!! We went right back to our car to leave with about 5 salesman chasing us down. I told them they are out of their minds if they think people are going to pay their ridiculous prices!!!