Last week's announcement on change in direction from full EV to hybrids and plugins

[dochawk]

As I understood things a week ago, a plugin F-150 wasn't likely until the 2026 gen15.

But I've seen multiple articles on national news sites this week that ford made an announcement of a change in direction, and that they'll be focusing on hybrids and PEV.

Any thoughts as to what this means for an earlier F150 PEV?

Take the lightning, reduce the battery to the size to qualify for federal battery dust incentives, and through a generator engine in the frunk?

At that point, the 3.5 or the larger 4? For that matter, could it take all known grades in the US with the large 4 and that size of battery?

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[fordtruckman2003]

Ford found common sense and will be going heavy into what they should have been doing to start. Every model on the lineup should have a hybrid option. The hours of efficient idling are very attractive to the police market and anyone that works on the road for a living. The power output is a side benefit for pickup trucks and maybe add Expedition.

 

[EricR]

This is GREAT news!

Looking forward to what the PowerBoost 2.0 will be!

 

[23PB&Me]

Take the lightning, reduce the battery to the size to qualify for federal battery dust incentives, and through a generator engine in the frunk?

At that point, the 3.5 or the larger 4? For that matter, could it take all known grades in the US with the large 4 and that size of battery?

Not sure where they would throw it, but I hope it is something quiet and tuned specifically for charging the battery and can output enough juice for a sustained max load up an incline plus a little extra. Not sure what that looks like, but if you aren’t hooked up to a drive train anymore the engine requirements will be different and we shouldn’t see a standard ford motor in that application.

If you look around you can find a patent from ford for a truck bed tool box generator, not sure if that was an actual future plan or paperwork to block third parties from making the lightning more useful.

Another solution would be to keep our power output(HP/Torque) in the ballpark that it is, lower the engine size and compensate for it with a larger electric motor on the transmission. Make it large enough that it can support regular driving and anything short of stomping on the gas or towing leaves the ICE off. Then of course a plug in battery large enough to support committing range. I find my PB electric motor to be too small, yes I can keep it in electric from a stop, and yes, the Prius right next to me will leave me in the dust.

95% of what I do could be a plug in 30-50 mile range with an easy overnight charge to do it again the next day. It’s that 5% that makes full electric a no go for me given our current infrastructure.

Lots of potential with results of research and field testing of today’s designs and the battery technologies on the horizon! I have big hopes for the trucks of the future.

 

[redline]

i would not expect changes till 26/27, and powerboost super duties appear to be on the road map

https://tfltruck.com/2024/08/news-a...s-coming-in-2027-project-t3-truck-is-delayed/

 

[BMCGC]

I thought that news was out months ago. I own a big chunk of Ford stock and watch the news pretty closely.

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids make sense considering the state of the electric grid and availability of charging stations.

 

[HammaMan]

Need a new motor design for a dedicated generator. They could make a very compact flat 4 cylinder for trucks and similar to tuck under the frame. Ram went overboard with their ramcharger that's not out yet. Don't need a large V6 for this. At 75mph trucks don't need but 40kW worth of generator. Towing needs a 70kW -- That's less than 100hp.

 

[dochawk]

Not sure what that looks like, but if you aren’t hooked up to a drive train anymore the engine requirements will be different and we shouldn’t see a standard ford motor in that application.

Yet dodge chose to go with an existing engine, to my surprise.

That has the advantage of using a known entity, and avoiding other types of surprises, yet passes up the possibility to optimize.

For any given RPM, ICE is most efficient at full throttle. It also has a most efficient RPM.

And used as a generator, there's no need for a wide range of peak torque.

Someone (Honda?) filed a patent or demonstrated a push-pull design; two cylinders on the same arm, iirc. It may have been the same engine that had variable displacement for the purpose of keeping at peak efficiency.

 

[23PB&Me]

Yet dodge chose to go with an existing engine, to my surprise..

I haven’t looked at what dodge has done with their new one coming out, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they put electric on top of the most powerful engine just for shits and giggles. Like if Ford took the Raptor R and gave it a 200 HP electric motor like the PB and added a plug in battery for 50 miles of range. Haha(completely talking out of my ass, but funny thought).

what’s that joke, Ford: goes electric to save the environment, Chevy: releases something eco friendly, Dodge: *does a line* “woooooo, let’s put a hellcat in a minivan!”

you do have a great point about having a known reliable engine. At least to get the ball rolling, then gen after introduce an optimized engine for power generation that has had a lot more testing and is ready for prime time. Everything has growing pains.

 

[bdginmo]

The 2.5L Atkinson cycle engines in the other Ford hybrid offerings is rock solid. They're only 150 HP and 150 lb ft of torque, but that's plenty if only using it as a generator. You could add a coolant loop to heat the cabin in the winter so that you aren't wasting your HVB charge.

 

[dochawk]

but I wouldn’t be surprised if they put electric on top of the most powerful engine just for shits and giggles.

But the ramcharger engine doesn't connect to the wheels, at all. It's just a generator.

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