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The Ford F-150 Lightning is the most exciting EV ever made

Let’s take a look at why.

by Jordan Golson

Because it’s electric, the F-150 Lightning doesn’t have an engine up front. Instead, there’s a cavernous storage space that Ford nicknamed the Mega Power Frunk.

The Mega Power Frunk is large enough to store two full-size golf bags, and it comes with four 110-volt power ports capable of outputting 2.4 kilowatts of power.

There’s also a storage bin with a drain plug that can be filled with ice and drinks for tailgating — or, frunkgating?

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Lightning is how much it looks like a normal pickup truck. It’s likely most folks won’t even realize it’s an electric truck.

The most noticeable changes from the standard F-150 are the redesigned headlights and taillights.

The daytime running light extends across the entire width of the front grille.

(The lights don’t flicker in real life — it happens sometimes when shooting video of LED lights.)

The F-150 Lightning has a range of more than 300 miles and can be fast-charged from 15 percent battery to 80 percent in about 41 minutes.

The interior looks similar to an internal combustion F-150, except for the giant center screen that’s been ripped straight out of a Mustang Mach-E electric car... or a Tesla.

The seats have been redesigned, too, perhaps to make them more comfortable for relaxing during a fast-charging stint.

Ford is investing heavily in a new EV production facility at the storied Rouge complex within its Dearborn Truck Plant.

Ford recently began pre-production of the Lightning and said it would increase production capacity at the facility to 80,000 vehicles per year.

It uses the most advanced vehicle assembly techniques, including this autonomous rolling robot in lieu of a moving assembly line.

The assembly robots will haul large chassis and body parts around the factory, following magnetic guides embedded in the floor and charging at certain stations along the line.

These enormous robots calibrate the onboard cargo scales that help the truck figure out how much payload it's carrying. That helps make the range estimate more accurate.

At the end of the production line are a series of EV fast chargers that will top off the batteries before assembled Lightning trucks head off for more testing and eventually to dealers to be sold.

We think the Lightning is the most important EV ever made because the Ford F-150 is the best-selling truck in America.

Instead of selling small electric vehicles, Ford is giving the people what they want: giant trucks, but with features only EVs can provide.

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