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5 Reasons the Ford F-150 Lightning Could Be the Best Electric Pickup Truck

The wide world of electric vehicles can be confusing and frankly scary for many consumers. There are plenty of uncertainties as the automotive industry advances on newfound territory. The Blue Oval has found an effective method of keeping consumers in the loyalty loop as it produces new electric vehicles.

The Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning can tug at the heartstrings of consumers and evoke emotion because they spinoff legendary Ford nameplates. The Ford Mustang is an American muscle icon. The F-150 is America’s favorite pickup truck based on sales.

Ford’s new EVs may be very different from what Ford fans are accustomed to from the company, but referencing popular Ford models in the new nameplates helps many consumers get comfortable with trying something new. The F-150 Lightning is in many ways an electrified F-150, yet it is its own model.
Timing is incredibly important when releasing a new vehicle. The electric pickup truck segment is currently only occupied by the 2022 Rivian R1T. The R1T is far too expensive for most Americans, so it isn’t a direct competitor to the F-150 Lightning or other electric pickup trucks.

The Ford F-150 Lightning will be the first affordable electric pickup truck on the market. Its release can ensure that the electric truck makes an impact on consumers before competitors come to market. Ford is beating Ram and other automakers to the punch, and that could make all the difference in terms of sales.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/5-reasons-ford-f-150-lightning-best-electric-pickup-truck/

Thatcham pointing out stuff.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thatcham_mercedes-to-accept-legal-responsibility-for-activity-6914515850553143296-oXis?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

Mercedes has announced that it will take legal responsibility for any crashes that occur while its self-driving systems are engaged.

The company is currently in the process of deploying “Drive Pilot” technology for its new S-Class and EQS saloon models, which is “Level 3” for autonomy on a six-tier system devised by Society of Automotive Engineers, ranging from Level 0 (no automated driver assistance) to Level 5 (the car drives itself everywhere without any input from the vehicle occupants).

Level 3 autonomy means that drivers may take their hands off the wheel and undertake other tasks, such as reading a book, while the car assumes full control of all driving functions. However, this is only in specific conditions, such as in low-speed traffic on motorways, and the person in the driver’s seat must be able to retake control within a few seconds of an alert from the car.

“The issue of liability in automated vehicles is complex and nuanced,” said Matthew Avery, chief research strategy officer at Thatcham Research, which consulted on the report. “It’s too crude to suggest that the carmaker should be liable in all circumstances; there will be times when an accident is and isn’t the carmaker’s responsibility.

“What is apparent in the case of Mercedes, the first to have approval – albeit in Germany – for technology that will allow drivers to disengage and do other things, is that when the automated system is in control, the carmaker will be liable.

“What’s less straightforward is an accident that occurs when the driver has failed ‘to comply with their duty of care’, for example when refusing to retake control of the car when prompted.”

Avery said it will be the responsibility of carmakers to ensure British drivers of their cars are “confident, comfortable and have a strong grasp of their legal responsibilities” in accordance with the Road Traffic Act.

“Absolute clarity is required for drivers in terms of their legal obligations behind the wheel and their understanding of how the system operates, especially during a handover from system to driver.”

He suggested that drivers who have become engrossed in other tasks for extended periods may take a long time to regain control when prompted by the car — something he called “coming back into the loop”.

https://www.driving.co.uk/news/technology/mercedes-to-accept-legal-responsibility-for-accidents-involving-self-driving-cars/

GM only one Company and only 6 models out so far.

That means about 16 still to come in the next 12-18 months. Most other Companies the same no doubt and then legislation kicks in down the road.

SP has to move once all these models hit the tarmac...

GM Introduces New Super Cruise Features to 6 Model Year 2022 Vehicles

New Super Cruise capabilities include hands-free automatic lane change and trailering for trucks and SUVs
Company will offer over-the-air updates for select model year 2021 Super Cruise-equipped models
DETROIT – General Motors announced today it will introduce new Super Cruise1 capabilities on six model year 2022 vehicles in the first quarter of 2022. Super Cruise is the industry’s first true hands-free driver-assistance technology allowing drivers to travel hands-free on over 200,000 miles of compatible roads across the U.S. and Canada.

New capabilities include:

Trailering – Customers will be able to trailer their boat, camper and more while driving hands-free.2
Automatic lane change – The technology can indicate when a lane change is optimal and initiate the maneuver, while following signaling protocols.3
Enhanced navigation display – Super Cruise compatible roads will be displayed in the in-vehicle navigation systems for vehicles equipped with the embedded Google Maps app and show routes available for hands-free driving, during route selection.
These enhancements will be available on select model year 2022 Super Cruise enabled vehicles, including Cadillac Escalade4, Cadillac CT45, Cadillac CT56, Chevrolet Silverado7, GMC HUMMER EV Pickup8 and GMC Sierra9.

"We’re excited to expand Super Cruise to even more new models with additional capabilities to provide our customers with even more opportunities to go hands-free,” said Mario Maiorana, Super Cruise chief engineer. “The additional Super Cruise-enabled vehicles and new features are an important step toward our goal of enabling hands-free driving 95% of the time and getting people more comfortable with letting go of the wheel.”

Ford still plans to get the 2022 F-150 Lightning electric pickup into the first customer hands sometime in the next three months. The automaker's hope is that customers will relate to their pickup as just another F-150 that just happens to be electric. To give everyone the best chance of that happening, Ford has put the F-150 Lightning through the same kinds of extreme tests the F-150 has to pass, including towing. Development engineers ran the battery-electric pickup up a steep stretch of highway I-70 in Colorado leading to the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnels. TFLTruck calls the westbound grade the "Ike Gauntlet," running 8 miles up to 11,158 feet above sea level at a 7% grade, an exception to the 6% maximum grade most interstate highways are limited to.

The Ford team did this in a Lightning with the extended-range battery pack and the Max Towing Package good for yoking 10,000 pounds to the hitch. Only the XLT and Lariat can be equipped thusly, both getting an EPA-rated range of 320 miles without a trailer. The test trailer was a dual-axle 24-footer with a square face of 60 square feet to maximize wind resistance, taken on an 80-mile ride from Boulder, Colorado to Frisco with two inches of snow on the ground and temperatures dipping to two degrees Fahrenheit.

Another beneficial aspect of development related to the Detroit Free Press is the agility of the engineering team. Remember, Ford is revamping its vehicle engineering units to be smaller and more flexible, with products like the GT, Bronco and Maverick demonstrating the benefits. Another F-150 team member said, "When we've needed to react to things we've learned, the team has been, from my particular perspective, mind-bogglingly nimble for a company of our size. This team doesn't feel like a big company. I've seen things implemented and changed faster than you can fathom" compared to the usual OEM processes.

https://www.autoblog.com/2022/03/28/2022-ford-f150-lightning-electric-pickup-truck-towing-test/?ncid=edlinkusauto00000016

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