Car and Driver –
In the wake of the supplier issue, Ford has funneled its limited supplies of aluminum toward body panels for F-150 gas and hybrid models, presumably because those are the profitable versions. This means the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center, which produces the F-150 Lightning, is currently idled. If the Lightning is dropped, that plant might not find a new use until Ford begins producing a new EV. Its only other electric offering is the Mustang Mach-E, which is produced at a plant in Mexico and unaffected by the aluminum shortage.
Despite Ford claiming the EV pickup crown (partly a function of GM’s entries being split up among a Chevy and two GMCs), the Lightning hasn’t been a profitable model. Ford assures us that there is a good supply of 2025 Lightnings—we count nearly 5000 available on the Car and Driver Marketplace. And while the automaker has announced some changes for the 2026 model already—chief among them making the “Extended” battery standard across the board—it’s possible none will be built for public consumption. The electrified Lightning joined the F-150 lineup for 2022. More
A general use electric pickup that can’t carry or tow anything more massive than Mazie Hirono’s brain? Really?!?
HAHAHAHAAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAAAHAAAHAAAHAHAHA! *snort*
When I saw them making electric trucks I knew the auto industries had either lost their minds or were being pushed by outside sources.
Our county bus service spent half a million on a electric bus about two years ago.
Haven’t seen it since early summer and word is it’s out of service and to fix it will cost almost as much as the purchase.
Electric is for golf carts and power tools.
I blame the Biden administration for this folly. All the majors knew there was little to no market for these recharge wonders and so long a gasoline remains available, there never will be a demand for them.
Saw a young black guy trying to sell one of these at the stock show to a group of older ranchers. They were having too much fun telling him the range on that electric truck wouldn’t even get them to paved roads. That the towing capacity was almost as much as their daughter’s Honda Fit. Felt sorry for the guy. He said he ws from California and was seriously out of his depth.
Like General McAuliffe said: Nuts!”
Where are all these electric vehicles going to go when their batteries die?
It’s too expensive to replace them because of the cost of the batteries themselves, but also because you have to significantly disassemble the vehicle to get the battery system out. The labor cost is HUGE!
That means all these cars are going to the dumps to be turned into scrap. Where will all these dead batteries go then?
What UPSETS me the most is that since COOF-19 The BASTARDS diverted Resources AWAY from GAS VANS (which were VERY hard to Find) JACKED UP PRICES but had plenty of SUPER SHITTY E-TRANSITS with NO PAYLOAD and RANGE that was MORE PATHETIC than even the FORD LIGHTENING.
DEALERS TREATED ME LIKE SHIT!
NOW the Ford lots in Canuckistan are LOADED with CONSTRUCTION & SERVICE VEHICLES ROTTING.
@$$HOLES!
I ran my E-250 for those 5 years but recently HAD to get a TRANSIT 250 MID ROOF in GAS. EASY to live with, but they shouldn’t have BEEN SO DISGUSTING.
“aluminum … body panels”
…gonna stop you right there. Trucks are made of STEEL, not beer can metals. My wife has a 2012 F-150, last year they used steel, and were keeping it till the Jesus comes or they quit wussifying working vehicles again, whichever comes first.
I grew up on solid bodies and full frames, in vehicles that if you had an accident they hosed your remains out and sold it to the next guy.
Crumple zones should be where you throw your Kleenex after wiping off the snot caused by the crying over your unrechargeable battery and featherweight truck bodies belong in Frisco marked out on a poop map, as far as Im concerned…
Kcir – from Canuckistan
Friday, 7 November 2025, 18:42 at 6:42 pm
“I ran my E-250 for those 5 years but recently HAD to get a TRANSIT 250 MID ROOF in GAS. EASY to live with, but they shouldn’t have BEEN SO DISGUSTING.”
…If you were down in the States Id say get yourself an old Type 1 ambulance, plenty of inside and outside storage and great capacity with dualies underneath and ponies to spare under the hood, and maybe even an AC generator in a rear outside compartment if it was so equipped, you never know until you look. Old ones arent hard to find down here, but Im not sure Canada even uses full sized ambulances let alone resells them to the public, but if they do you may want to look into them…
SNS – have to disagree with you there. We have several new rigs here at including a 2024 Ford F250 Super Duty crew cab. Doors and fenders and the sides of the bed are aluminium. Had to buy a special roof mount for antenna and light bar. This is also true on the new Expeditions.
SNS – at work. FAA tech ops.
@Jethro
Huge disposal fees too.
They still haven’t figured out what to do with all the plastic resin fiberglass wind turbine blades. A couple tons in each one.
Never got sucked in to the EV scam, but I don’t blame Ford or any other manufacturer. Who I do blame is our fucking government for subsidizing this bullshit and fucking over the taxpayers.
It was never about… I don’t have time to list the bullshit that the government and media and academia and … were saying it was about. That much I can absolutely 100% guarantee. It was a Money Laundering Operation and that I can also 100% guarantee. I know this because there isn’t a single person who can point to one of these mandated/subsidized etc schemes that has delivered on promises made to justify it and there are even less that haven’t enriched politicians, the media who get paid to run ads that ballyhooed the shit, connected individuals and fucked the American people sideways.
Welp who can afford defectedly made vehicles. It seems every manufacturer is having serious vehicle recalls, engine failures, trans failures, cheaply made part failures. You name it, new vehicle are shitboxes with expensive price tag. Cybertruck is a joke & giving Elon a trillion dollars a bigger joke. Even the new Toyota Tacoma v6 = a joke, engine failure at 35-45 thousand miles. Buying a new vehicle is nothing but a very expensive POS.
NIdahoOrthodox
Friday, 7 November 2025, 19:07 at 7:07 pm
“Had to buy a special roof mount for antenna and light bar.”
…admittedly it has been some years since I put a light bar on a roof, but they were mostly fairly simple arrangements back in the day involving clamps in both rain gutters and most, like Code 3 and Federal Signal had ports cut in them for antenna mounting. Further, my understanding of Federal regulations is that roofs, trunks, and hoods still need to be made of steel for rollover protection. Is this not the case now? I havent looked closely at the roof of a modern Ford so I dont know just sitting here if they still have rain gutters or not. Also I notice most modern ambulances have done away with the light bar entirely, which is a shame as my rotators and wigwags got a LOT of attention. But LED light bars are boring anyway, so maybe its for the best…
Actually, the person to blame for the is the Fing Brain Dead Moronic self o bloviated over confident criminal Gavin Newsom. Trump Inc ended that brain dead mandate California, actually just Gavin Newsom, tried to push on all of America. Gavin Newsom is so smart he never consulted any experts to see if the grid would hold up tp going total electric by 2028. Which it won’t.
There’s a story I read today about how the 9th court saved his ass from the second recall. After they tried to cheat the vote. It’s amazing. How does this loser look himself in the mirror?
SNS
Bro, I once described myself as an Aluminum Manufacturing Engineer. Pretty funny actually, I was in a hot debate with some clown that described himself as a Quality Control Engineer. Anyway, I’ll gladly go with the aluminum. It’s much stronger the most people think. It doesn’t oxidize and is cheaper to replace. Much easier to Fab by stamping. Strength can be gained by arcs and curves. And in the interest of mileage it’s much lighter than steel. Only one thing better. Titanium. But we can’t afford that.
Yo Brad,
How’s the foot?
BIGGY 🙂
Did you mean Steel Toed? And you’re on the wrong thread.
You never licked me.
Unless you look like Sydney Sweeney that will never happen.
Don’t dream about me, either
No worries. I’m not into Chinese take out.
Don’t live over one, either.
I was hoping for a musical thread myself.
Got an idea.
Dueling Lutes.
Does it exist? Show me.
It’s had a surprisingly long lifespan considering that it shouldn’t have ever been built in the first place.
SNS, it’s actually a rectangular flashing LED assembly that we use whenever on an airfield. Magnetic mount.
They pulled the plug.
The Lightning was grounded.
It was shorted to begin with.
The Purple Jesus left the building.
The program suffered from serious burnout.
It was no longer an electromotive force to contend with.
The battery’s anodes and cathodes were at odds with each other.
It failed to light a fire under customers but had no trouble in garages.
SNS,
Thanks, we could do that but in Canuckistan, the rules when you go above 3/4 tons into the HEAVY DUTY (OLD or NEW) result in a significant REGISTRATION, INSURANCE, & Maintenance/operator rules.
It costs much much more. I looked into it.
I beg to differ with anyone who claims aluminum doesn’t oxidize.
Ford is done they need to change direction Farley is a bean counter not a leader since he’s been there Ford hasn’t really built or developed anything to lead the company forward,now with recalls they can get repairs done because they are down 6000 repair technicians .
“I beg to differ with anyone who claims aluminum doesn’t oxidize.”
Well not after it’s plated, primed, and painted. My point is you will not find a 15 year old vehicle that body panels are aluminum with it’s door panels all rotted out. RIGHT?
I have a +45 year old Aluminum Coal Stoking Shovel that we have been using as a Snow Shovel in the Canadian winter.
Shines like the day My Grandfather brought it home.