When President Joe Biden took Ford’s F, + 0.95% electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck for a test drive in Dearborn, Michigan in May, the event was more than a White House photo op. It marked a new phase in an accelerating shift from gas-powered cars and trucks to electric vehicles or electric vehicles.
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, I see this moment as crucial as the electric F-150, unlike electric vehicles from manufacturers like Toyota or Tesla, doesn’t rely solely on green consumer decisions. It puts the transition to electric vehicles directly into the hands of mass market consumers who do not choose vehicles based on environmental considerations.
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Like Biden, former President Donald Trump pledged to create jobs in the auto industry. But Trump tried to do this by maintaining a fossil fuel system, which is the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The automakers benefited in the short term from some Trump policies, including the withdrawal of fuel economy standards. Now, however, they seem to be facing the challenge of competing globally in a climatically constrained future.
As an environmental historian, I see this moment as crucial, because in contrast to electric vehicles from manufacturers such as Toyota TM + 0.21% or Tesla TSLA, -0.21%,
the electric F-150 doesn’t rely solely on the choice of green consumers. It puts the transition to electric vehicles directly into the hands of mass-market consumers who do not choose their vehicles based on environmental considerations and who buy far more light trucks – pickups, SUVs, and minivans – than cars do today.
The gasoline century
America’s affair with gas-powered cars in the 20th century wasn’t inevitable. From 1890 to about 1915, vehicles powered by horses, coal, electric batteries, and gasoline fought for position on the roads of the United States. And electrically powered vehicles had some clear advantages. Many consumers feared that gas-powered cars could explode and that there was no nationwide refueling infrastructure.
But the First World War was combined with a moment of technological convergence that favored the internal combustion engine. Massive new oil discoveries in Texas and later in the Middle East produced a glut of oil, just as electrical lighting replaced kerosene lamps.
Ford introduced the battery-powered version of its F-150 pickup truck, joining other automakers in the emerging electric truck segment. The F-150 Lightning undercuts several competitors with a starting price of around $ 40,000. Photo: Dominick Sokotoff / Zuma Press
In 1919, Captain Dwight D. Eisenhower joined a small convoy that crossed the United States in gas-powered military vehicles to test the army’s mobility. It took them 62 days – clear evidence that modern vehicles needed better roads.
By World War II, gasoline-powered passenger transportation and road construction had become pillars in support of US economic growth. In the 1950s, President Eisenhower promoted this commitment by building the largest highway system the world had ever seen.
Auto culture and the pickup
Americans’ particular contribution to 20th century traffic patterns was to make cars a competitive consumer market. From the 1950s onwards, a complex economy of simple financing and advertising drove consumers to buy new and buy often. Every aspect of a car was a potential marketing point, from chrome styling to hemi-powered hot rod engines to more modern options like remote start and rear seat cinema.
Another unique American marketing achievement was turning trucks – utility vehicles designed for work – into amusement rides that could also serve consumers. Advertisers used themes such as courage and power to sell trucks depicted in the muddy expanses of western landscapes to suburban drivers.
President Joe Biden at the wheel of the Ford F-150 Lightning.
AFP via Getty Images
The federal fuel efficiency standards passed in 1978 inadvertently reinforced the idea of the truck as a consumer product. These company’s average fuel economy standards classified pickups as “light trucks” along with sport utility vehicles and minivans and set separate fuel efficiency standards for them.
By 2000, pickup trucks were the most profitable models made by US automakers, and manufacturers were looking for ways to make these vehicles more powerful and luxurious. The Ford F-150 became the nation’s best-selling vehicle in 1982 and held that spot for the next four decades.
Lightning in a bottle?
In the 1990s, modern hybrid and electric vehicles emerged, driven by innovations from Japanese manufacturers. Early versions – the Honda HMC, + 0.08% Insight and Toyota Prius, and later the Nissan 7201, + 3.75% Leaf – allowed consumers to choose cars that burned much less gasoline, or none in the case of the Leaf . Options like this had not been available during the gas crises of the 1970s.
While the Prius, the first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicle, is likely to be remembered as transformative in the electric turnaround, Tesla was the first to embrace the possibility of an alternative vehicle and combine it with style and prestige. Tesla brought bling and sex appeal to the early electric cars, many of which had functioned more like their golf cart cousins.
Today’s hybrids and electric vehicles are not just small sedans. Manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, and Ford have popular hybrid SUVs, and all-electric versions are coming out. And now the electric F-150 is breaking new ground. It is aimed at small businesses and corporate customers, especially construction and mining companies that buy a lot of trucks. These buyers are the bread and butter of the auto industry.
To meet their needs, the Lightning has a battery big enough to cover more than 200 miles per charge (320 kilometers) and if you pay a little more, customers get more than 300 miles (480 kilometers). An electric motor on each axle ensures faster acceleration than gas-powered models and enough torque to pull 4,535 kilograms.
What is unique is that the truck’s battery pack can be configured to generate 9.6 kilowatts of power – enough to run an average home for three days during an outage. The Lightning also has 11 power sockets that allow it to double as a workstation multi-gym for charging tools and equipment.
The base model has a sticker price of just under $ 40,000, and the Lightning qualifies for a federal tax break of $ 7,500 on electric vehicle purchases that the Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to end. Taken together, these factors can make it cheaper to buy than its gas-powered siblings.
Ford’s 1908 Model T may look like old history by comparison, but experts chose it as the car of the 20th century because it put gasoline cars within reach for mass consumers. Judging by early consumer excitement, the electric F-150 could play a similar role in electric vehicles today. Ford received 100,000 pre-orders in three weeks for the new model, which is due to roll off the assembly line in spring 2022.
As one analyst put it, “If this truck is successful, it means you can sell an electric version of any vehicle. It could be the domino falling over the rest of the electric vehicle market. “
This comment was originally published by The Conversation. With Ford’s electric pickup F-150, the EV transition shifts to a high gear high
Brian C. Black is a Distinguished Professor of History and Environmental Studies at Penn State Altoona. His main focus is on energy, past and present, and especially petroleum.
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