Ford says upcoming affordable EV truck won't really be a truck

[Blue_Max]

He did. I believe that's slang for utility vehicle in Australia and New Zealand area. It's a sedan/truck type vehicle. I remember reading that just a few weeks ago. But i could be thinking of something else.

Exactly. But this was the reference:

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[Glen Baker LLC]

Ford wants to produce something that appeals to a younger crowd, seeing as how the Maverick ended up being a boomer vehicle.
By the time Ford does all their market research and gets it into production, their targeted market is going to be boomer age.

 

[commadorebob]

A Maverick with a slightly larger cab and a smaller bed. I highly doubt Ford launches a two-door model but who knows at this point?

 

[Scott Asheville]

You guys are totally missing the point of that vehicle. It's a platform atop which multiple tophats can be placed. You want a Maverick, you got a Maverick. You want an Escape, you've got an Escape. You want a van, you've got a van. You want a hot tub with wheels - yea, we can do that too.

I trust Ford to know their customers. And I wager the customer for the initial vehicle is fleets. Because fleets are where Ford generates tons and tons of money.

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

I'm seeing tons of Maverick work trucks, fleets, city/county vehicles using Mavericks now.

usually white

 

[Blue_Max]

You guys are totally missing the point of that vehicle. It's a platform atop which multiple tophats can be placed.

Hence the "Model T moment" phraseology.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

Sort of like this with 4 doors?

Perhaps, I also had another thought, and frankly, I think this is too bold for Ford to go into the direction I'm about to propose, but it's a fun thought. If Ford wanted to do a new car based ute, something less super duty and more ranchero, I thought it would be kinda cool to do a ute that pulled inspiration from mid-engine supercars.

I know that sounds crazy, but with an EV, you don't need a massive hood, you can give the truck more cab forward proportions which is what mid-engine supercars have, but also a way to create something with create a vehicle with more interior and bed space while maintaining a more compact size.

You can already make an EV truck accelerate and handle like a sports car, why not make it look like one? I know that won't appeal to everyone, but the idea of truck utility with sports car sex appeal and driving dynamics would be incredible imo. Something super affordable, practical, but that also looked like the exotic car of your dreams. That's a package that would be incredibly enticing to myself, and a significant portion of the car buying public.

Imagine this a little taller, with 4 doors, and a truck bed where the engine on a mid-engine car would be. A lot of people would hate it, but a lot of people would love seeing something so different. Ford already has the traditional looking truck market locked down. Instead of adding yet another truck that looks like all your other trucks, why not create something super bold?

 

[OneAlienBoi]

Perhaps, I also had another thought, and frankly, I think this is too bold for Ford to go into the direction I'm about to propose, but it's a fun thought. If Ford wanted to do a new car based ute, something less super duty and more ranchero, I thought it would be kinda cool to do a ute that pulled inspiration from mid-engine supercars.

I know that sounds crazy, but with an EV, you don't need a massive hood, you can give the truck more cab forward proportions which is what mid-engine supercars have, but also a way to create something with create a vehicle with more interior and bed space while maintaining a more compact size.

You can already make an EV truck accelerate and handle like a sports car, why not make it look like one? I know that won't appeal to everyone, but the idea of truck utility with sports car sex appeal and driving dynamics would be incredible imo. Something super affordable, practical, but that also looked like the exotic car of your dreams. That's a package that would be incredibly enticing to myself, and a significant portion of the car buying public.

Imagine this a little taller, with 4 doors, and a truck bed where the engine on a mid-engine car would be. A lot of people would hate it, but a lot of people would love seeing something so different. Ford already has the traditional looking truck market locked down. Instead of adding yet another truck that looks like all your other trucks, why not create something super bold?

I know a lot of people are gonna attack me for suggesting something so different, but I've just been thinking about this a lot lately. Ford is over trucked. They offer so many different kinds of trucks, and they're all kinda the same thing in terms of how they look. Some are massive and very expensive, some are small and more affordable, some are hybrids, EVs, v8s, Ecoboost, off-road performance, on-road performance.

Ford offers it all, except in one way, the way their trucks look. They all have a traditional truck look, and they all share some design language and elements, which isn't a bad thing, that's what most traditional truck owners want.

But here's the thing, most traditional truck owners aren't gonna buy a smaller EV truck, it'll be like the maverick which mostly appeals to non-truck owners, but even further in that direction. How do you create a new truck, that manages to be roughly the same price and size as a maverick, while keeping the cross model sales cannibalization to a minimum? You create a truck that looks and drives nothing like a maverick.

Now all of a sudden, you have two affordable offerings in the hottest kind of body style, but they appeal to two radically different audiences. One for people who want a FWD/AWD ICE powered conventional looking truck, and the other for people who want a RWD EV that looks super radical with aero done by F1 aerodynamicists. Two super different trucks appealing to people who want practical affordable vehicles.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

You guys are totally missing the point of that vehicle. It's a platform atop which multiple tophats can be placed. You want a Maverick, you got a Maverick. You want an Escape, you've got an Escape. You want a van, you've got a van. You want a hot tub with wheels - yea, we can do that too.

I trust Ford to know their customers. And I wager the customer for the initial vehicle is fleets. Because fleets are where Ford generates tons and tons of money.

They're making a ton of different body styles, I'd kinda love it if they made a more lifestyle oriented truck, and a super practical fleet truck riding on the same platform. I would be calling this wrong, but I don't believe this first truck will be very fleet oriented. RWD, with the looks/aero being done by F1 specialists, more downforce than a mustang, 0-60 on par with a mustang Ecoboost, super low center of gravity and top notch chassis tuning.

That's all really awesome to me as a massive car enthusiast, but useless to a fleet buyer who doesn't care about chassis tuning, or throttle response. Not to mention because aero and having a radical design is apparently a huge deal with this truck, fleets throwing on bulky accessories would screw all that up.

(On a cool side note of having lots a body styles, Ford said this EV platform can support 8 different body styles including cars. They've also seemed to imply this platform could be used to bring back affordable exciting hatchbacks and sedans. You can see what appears to be a sedan or hatchback here, using the woman as a reference, the roof looks too low to be a truck or crossover.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

Well, they're not gonna release a picture where the people are grimacing. They actually look like they're reacting to something someone said, not what they're seeing.

That guy on the left doesn't look too happy.

He seems pretty happy if you see his full reaction in this vid near the end, it's a short vid. Their reaction was seeing the truck for the first time right after the sheet was pulled off.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

How well is that untruck looking Santa Cruz selling?

The issue is the sante Cruz is a halfway point, that's why it doesn't work. If Hyundai had committed to making it look more like a blocky truck, or if they had owned the non truck look, it would have been better than what they actually did.

 

[F1PRB22GA]

Dumb or Dumber ?

You know Ford, just when I thought you couldn't anything dumber, you totally redeem yourself !

 

[LSchicago]

When I was younger, I never thought any 4 door car was cool. I still feel that way, although, there are some great 4 door cars produced in the last 10 years that changed my thinking. Still, 4 door Corvette? Miata? Nissen Z? not in my book.

Growing up, 4 doors meant an old person's car, or a 4 door truck was usually a utilities truck. No one would desire a 4 door. That was a tough pill for me to overcome.

Personally I think this new truck with have a stubby front-end, picture an Astro van with the last row not having a roof. I believe that is the direction of the new EV truck.

 

[OneAlienBoi]

My brother had 1 of these. I think a 4 door EV version would be awesome.

IDK, not a huge fan of the super cab forward look and it wouldn't pass modern safety standards.

 

[TwuckHappens]

Honestly Hyundai makes great EVs and the Santa Cruz makes total sense as an EV- I think they'd sell more than the gas only option they have right now. Toyota and Subaru are going to make a Rav4 based truck, I'd expect Ford to be in line with that thinking too but I don't have high hopes it will be executed well.


https://www.jalopnik.com/1985054/ford-mustang-mach-e-outsold-gas-mustang/

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